News

Urban planning

The Australian home building industry is seeing a drop in new builds and a boom in renovations

There has been a slow down in residential home building across Australia, both new home starts and home renovations and upgrades across. This stagnation has multiple links to the Covid pandemic. but probably indicates some new incentives are needed. New home builds in Australia is at a 40 year low, but a new report…

Environment

Quebec to end Fossil fuel heating in homes by 2040

Quebec plans to phase out fossil-fuel-based natural gas heating in homes by 2040, aiming to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental advocates commend this decision, calling it a critical step in tackling climate change. Environmental groups welcome Quebec’s recent announcement banning natural gas heating in…

Urban planning

A Toronto Affordable Housing Project Using Prefab Construction Rewrites the Rules

This prefab housing project in Toronto features rapid modular construction to create 25 sustainable units. Smart Density and Assembly, with the CMHC's Rapid Housing Initiative, shows how prefab can provide quality and affordable housing for Toronto. We keep hearing how the way forward for construction is to adopt…

Design

Canadian Green Building Awards 2024 - Deadline March 11, 2024

The Awards recognize excellence in the design & execution of all types of sustainably-designed, high-performance Canadian residential & non-residential buildings & interiors, both new & renovated. Ecohome are collaborating with SABMag, here's more info. It's that time of year again, when Architects, Designers and…

Design

Standardized Sustainable Homes, Enhancing Canada's Housing Landscape

The federal government has proposed a groundbreaking solution to the Canadian housing crisis: the establishment of a standardized home directory. Ecohome would like to see the accent on performance and sustainability. In Canada, the pursuit of homeownership faces formidable challenges, including escalating…

Innovation

World's First "Tree-like" Home Unveiled: Carbon-Negative and Built to Withstand Extreme Weather

Beyond Bricks and Mortar: Partanna's Carbon-Negative, Storm-Resistant "Tree-like" Home Offers Self-Sufficiency for a Changing World. Imagine a home that embraces nature's wisdom, not just mirroring its beauty but also actively healing the environment it inhabits. This isn't a futuristic fantasy; it's the…

Renovation

Canada's Greener Homes Grant Program may be Finishing in 2024

Insights, impacts, and industry perspectives on the early end to the seven year initiative to encourage greener Canadian homes. Starting March 2024, the Greener Homes grant program in Canada will stop accepting new applications , as reported by the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada…

Policy and Regulations

State of New Jersey passes tax credits bill for lower carbon concrete

Bill S287 was signed on Jan 30th and signals State sanctioned incentives for the decarbonization of the concrete industry - including the supply, delivery and use of lower carbon concrete. In a breakthrough for reducing the carbon footprint of North American construction, Bill S287 was signed on the 30th of January…

Products and Materials

Infographic of the mid-rise wood v concrete construction comparison report

High performance energy efficient homes help to reduce the amount of energy needed to heat and cool them, but this is only half of the story! The embodied carbon in the construction is also important, especially when building mid-rise high density homes. Embodied & operational carbon comparison for mid-rise…

Energy efficiency

New Grant for Heat Pumps announced in Canada - the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) Grant 2023

A new grant scheme for heat pumps for 2023 of up to $5000 has been announced in Canada to help low and middle-income Canadian households switch from oil fired heating to electricity. This $5000 can be added to existing home improvement grants. The federal Government of Canada recently announced details of a new…

Policy and Regulations

California bans natural gas heating in homes

We previously reported that the UK and Europe was phasing out the use of 'natural' fossil gas in homes, and that Canada is also dropping hints about banning gas. Now California has decided to go ahead and ban gas furnaces, and gas water heaters in homes. “While this strategy will clean the air for all Californians…