This amazing Green Infill project has 16-units which replaced 2 single-family homes with tasteful townhome style Passive House homes that are super energy efficient and are providing desperately needed new affordable housing. We meet up with developers David and Melissa Campbell of Homestretch to get the low down.
Investment in solar, wind and other distributed forms of energy is booming, but it wasn’t back when Decentralized Energy Canada set up shop. We talk to DEC president and founder Anouk Kendall about how her organization has gone from the fringe to mainstream in just 20 years.
Red Deer’s popular Renewable Energy Fairs put on by ReThink Red Deer was “deep-sixed” by COVID, but the good news is it’s being reincarnated as the Energy Innovation Fair and it’s back live on October 21 at Red Deer Polytechnic.
Alberta’s is betting big on hydrogen, but can hydrogen, blue, green or otherwise help us get to a zero-emissions future? We take a deep dive to find out how and where hydrogen can decarbonize energy use.
The Tufts had a choice: bulldoze their 1953 bungalow and start over or do a deep energy retrofit to net-zero. They chose the cheaper option in this amazing story of renewal.
Stephanie Ripley of the Municipal Climate Change Action Center gives us a tour of a climate-ready model home display demonstrating the four steps to saving money and getting your home on the pathway to net-zero.
Darren and Darcy Crichton started their DIY home retrofit on their 1969 bungalow 20 years ago. Their goals were modest – to cut drafts and increase comfort. But with careful research, they did the right renovations in the right order and today they live in a very comfortable solar-powered, net-zero home. This is their story.
The consultants said it wasn’t affordable–it couldn’t be done. But Salvation Army architect Michaela Jones pushed back hard requoting their 175-unit supportive living complex as net-zero-ready at the last minute. Now this amazing solar powered, geothermal heated and cooled, energy-efficient building will save Sally Ann $6 million.
Jim Sandercock transformed his 1951 home to #netzero by undertaking an EnergieSprong Deep Energy Retrofit, one of the first in Canada. The home was literally reskinned with new walls over the old ones.
So much has changed in the 15 years since net-zero homes came onto the landscape. We now have heat pumps good to -35, streamlined building strategies and it now makes more economic sense than ever to build a net-zero home, eliminate your gas utility bill and produce your own energy.
Canada’s proposed Clean Energy Regulation could help transition its national electricity grid to net-zero, if loopholes are avoided, and if we focus on renewable energy says Stephen Thomas, co-author of Shifting Power.
A river runs through it – Zibi is a carbon-neutral community right on the Ottawa River. It gets electricity from run-of-river, heat from district energy, and represents a new climate-resilient form of urban design.
Buildings are responsible for 30-40% of greenhouse gas emissions. Edmonton builder Peter Amerongen is tackling this head-on by piloting the Dutch idea called EnergieSprong. New walls and roofs are built in a factory and craned onto old energy-inefficient homes transforming them all the way to net-zero. It’s the largest project of its kind in North America as 59 homes are being transformed to net-zero energy.
Alberta’s electricity was 81% coal-fired in 1981. By 2023 it will reach 0%. Now for the hard part – getting to net-zero. Green Energy Futures talks to economist Dr. Blake Shaffer about how to go the distance and reach net-zero emissions.
2021 was the year of net-zero. Nations, cities, companies, and even home builders are involved in making pledges. We look at net-zero the goal and three innovations from the journey to net-zero including an inspiring net-zero passive house, the world’s most efficient windows, and an innovative smart home energy system.
Solar, wind, and energy storage are the most economical solutions to use for Canada to decarbonize the grid and help Canada reach its net-zero goals says a new report entitled Powering Canada’s Journey to Net-Zero.
Net-Zero and passive houses may have 16-inch thick walls and R50 insulation, but what to do about the windows? After years of development, Greg Clarahan says he has the answer – super windows with unheard-of R22 insulation values. This could be a game-changer for green homes.
Passive House 101 – This amazing net-zero passive house has no furnace and is designed to withstand the northern Canadian winter where temperatures reach near -40 Celsius. We present the anatomy of a passive home that is 90% more efficient, is super-insulated, has no concrete foundation walls and that uses a 450% efficient heat pump water heater not only to provide hot water but also to provide supplementary heat in the cold depths of winter
This Canadian home builder now builds only net-zero ready and net-zero homes and the best part is – the homes are selling like crazy!
Permaculturalist Kenton Zerbin is living large in his super-efficient tiny home. Join us as we take a tour of this amazing tiny home with big features.
