Affordable net-zero

168. Dawning of the age of affordable net-zero homes

David DodgeNet Zero, 2017 Landmark, Buildings, Energy Efficiency, Energy Labelling, Renewable Energy, Solar 11 Comments

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson  Welcome to the future, a time when your home …

2017 Chevy Bolt EV

167. Chevy Bolt: the first low-priced, long-range electric vehicle

David DodgeElectric Vehicles, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy 1 Comment

By David Dodge Two important things happened in the electric vehicle (EV) world in recent …

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165. EnerGuide – The missing ingredient label for an energy efficient home

David DodgeBuildings, Energy Efficiency, Energy Labelling 3 Comments

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson Energy efficiency is the big missing link in determining …

Skeena passive house

163. Skeena – Canada’s largest passive house

David DodgeRenewable Energy, Buildings, Energy Efficiency, Energy Labelling, Passive Solar 4 Comments

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson Vancouver, the self-styled “world’s greenest city” has built Canada’s …

Solar powered Cabin in the Woods

162. 2016 year in review

David DodgeRenewable Energy, Buildings, Energy, Energy Efficiency Leave a Comment

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/299824333″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson 2016 was …

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157. Straw-bale 101: A tale of two homes

David DodgeBuildings, Energy Efficiency, Passive Solar 5 Comments

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson When you hear the term “straw-bale home”, you could …

MG 7900

156. Nova Scotia has created the first energy efficiency utility in Canada

David DodgeEnergy Efficiency, Energy 1 Comment

  By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson What’s that old saying, a penny saved is …

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155. We’re feeling Rand-y about clean tech investment

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When we first met Tom Rand three years ago, he was bullish about the clean …

Student-led Climate Leadership for Alberta Schools white paper

150. Student white paper calls for climate change action in Alberta schools

David DodgeEducation, Energy Efficiency, Solar 1 Comment

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson You may remember the students from the Centre for …

kidsclimate01

142. Alberta students school Premier Rachel Notley on climate change

David DodgeEducation, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Solar 1 Comment

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson There’s a stereotype about young people. They don’t care …

The Temperance Street Passive House will be the first passive house certified in Saskatchewan. Photo David Dodge, GreenEnergyFutures.ca

139. The first certified passive house in Saskatchewan

David DodgePassive Solar, Buildings, Energy Efficiency, Solar 5 Comments

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson In 1976, gas prices doubled overnight. Naturally, this freaked …

Energy audits are often supported by municipal or provincial energy efficiency programs because they provide a strategic recipe book for all future energy efficiency improvements to businesses or homes. It provides hard, cold facts about return on investment for each change you are contemplating. It might be the best money you spend. Here, Rob Gawreletz inspects the attic insulation and seals in a home audit by CReturns, in Edmonton, Alberta. Photo David Dodge, GreenEnergyFutures.ca

138. Energy efficiency coming to Alberta, at last!

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By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson On March 2, 2016, energy efficiency companies and experts from …

Edmonton's new carbon neutral net-zero garage suite is full of sensors and will be part of Godo Stoyke's PhD lifecycle assessment of the home to determine if energy efficiency and solar energy production can make not only the operation of the home carbon neutral, but whether it can also offset the carbon used in materials and construction and decommission. Photo David Dodge, GreenEnergyFutures.ca

137. Carbon neutral laneway home–first of its kind

David DodgeBuildings, Energy Efficiency, Energy Storage 2 Comments

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson This carbon neutral garage suite is a first for …

Visiting the Kinney Earthship, in the dead of winter on the Canadian prairie landscape north of Lethbridge, Alberta does invite comparisons with the lunar landscape! So much so it inspired photographer Steve Nagy to create this selfie in the middle of the night on a fine winter day. And in fact the number one question the Kinney's get about their Earthship is how does this passive solar heated home work when it's -30 degrees celsius.

136. Earthship living in a cold Canadian winter

David DodgeBuildings, Energy Efficiency, Net Zero, Passive Solar, Renewable Energy, Solar 8 Comments

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson  When we last visited the Kinney Earthship it was a smokin’ hot 30 …

Peter Amerongen is one of the acknowledged grandfathers of the net-zero home—a home that produces as much energy as it consumes. Using his secret formula for insulation you can make a net-zero home in the most northerly city in North America. Photo David Dodge, GreenEnergyFutures.ca

132. Insulation 101: One builder’s secret blueprint for a net-zero home

David DodgeEnergy Efficiency, Net Zero 3 Comments

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson The era of net-zero homes is upon us. These super-efficient …

Carl Lauren of Tyee Log and Timber Homes in Kimberley B.C. wanted to promote energy efficiency in home building so he pushed City Hall to start a program. Pictured is the crew that hand builds log homes at Tyee in Kimberley. Photo David Dodge, GreenEnergyFutures.ca

131. Small town energy efficiency program is simple by design in Kimberley B.C.

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By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson All Carl Lauren wanted to do was promote the …

Even the suburbs of Vitoria-Gasteiz are green and pedestrian friendly. Photo, David Dodge

128. Vitoria-Gasteiz: Spain’s green capital is made for walking

David DodgeBiogas, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy 2 Comments

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson Change is hard. Green energy enthusiasts talk a lot …

Edmonton's Energy Transition Strategy seeks to reduce emissions by 35%, reduce individual energy use by 25% and get 10% of our electricity from local renewable energy sources by 2035. Photo David Dodge, GreenEnergyFutures.ca

123. Mayor Don Iveson on Edmonton’s landmark Energy Transition Strategy

David DodgeEnergy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Waste Energy Leave a Comment

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson Climate change is often portrayed as this giant, fuzzy, …

Jason Rioux's shipping container cabin. The cabin was built out of seven containers in a hub-and-spoke pattern near Bobcaygeon, Ontario. Photo Courtesy of Jason Rioux

112. Welcome to the Octopod: An off-grid, solar powered shipping container cabin in Bobcaygeon, Ontario

David DodgeBuildings, Energy Efficiency, Solar 1 Comment

By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney  Whether you call it a cottage or a cabin, …