Carbon Busters net-zero homes in Blatchford

240. Carbon Busters – Building net-zero in Blatchford

David DodgeNet Zero, Buildings, Energy Efficiency, Geothermal, Renewable Energy 1 Comment

Carbon Busters may seem like a strange name for a builder, but the company has …

Blatchford Carbon Neutral Community

Green Energy Futures – Four stories that matter from 2019

David DodgeBuildings, Climate Change, Energy Efficiency, Net Zero, Passive Solar, Renewable Energy, Solar Leave a Comment

By David Dodge Happy New Year from Green Energy Futures!  This week’s episode of Green …

Greta Thunberg in Edmonton, Alberta

2019–The year of Greta Thunberg

David DodgeClimate Change, Energy Efficiency, Geothermal, Net Zero, Renewable Energy, Solar Leave a Comment

Time Magazine named Greta Thunberg “person of the year” and climate change is the news …

Reverend Annabelle Wallace and elder Les Young

237. God’s green home is net-zero

David DodgeNet Zero, Energy Efficiency, Geothermal, Passive Solar, Renewable Energy, Solar 1 Comment

A few years back, then-minister of Westmount Presbyterian Church Reverend Annabelle Wallace and her congregation …

Blatchford-Town-Centre

234. Blatchford: Largest Carbon Neutral Community in Canada

David DodgeRenewable Energy, Buildings, Energy Efficiency, Geothermal, Solar 4 Comments

  By David Dodge and Kay Rollans Edmontonians have already been recognized as pioneers of …

231. How a brutalist University of Calgary library was transformed to Net-Zero

David DodgeRenewable Energy, Buildings, Climate Change, Net Zero, Solar 1 Comment

By David Dodge and Kay Rollans The University of Calgary — yes, that University of …

Jacob Komar and the geothermal revival

222. Geothermal Revival – Getting to net-zero the easy way

David DodgeGeothermal, Energy Efficiency, Net Zero, Renewable Energy, Solar Leave a Comment

By David Dodge and Scott Rollans Edmonton engineer Jacob Komar thinks there’s a better way …

Les Wold with office1

218. Effect Homes office goes off-grid in the big city

David DodgeCogeneration, Energy Efficiency, Energy Storage, Renewable Energy, Solar 1 Comment

 By David Dodge and Scott Rollans Effect Homes, a local leader in building net-zero, …

First Net-Zero Home in Canada to receive Net-Zero Home label

194. Home builders embrace net-zero with new labelling program

David DodgeEnergy Labelling, Buildings, Energy Efficiency, Net Zero, Passive Solar, Renewable Energy, Solar 1 Comment

By David Dodge Until quite recently net-zero homes were pioneered mostly by an early adopter …

North Glenora Net-Zero Church and Townhomes

193. Visit 21 Inspiring green buildings on Eco-Solar Home Tour

David DodgeNet Zero, Buildings, Electric Vehicles, Energy Efficiency, Geothermal, Passive Solar, Renewable Energy, Solar Leave a Comment

 By David Dodge & Scott Rollans Ever heard of the Eco-Solar Home Tour? Believe …

School saved by influx of 30 students

186. Canada’s first net-zero church and social housing project

David DodgeNet Zero, Energy Efficiency, Solar 3 Comments

By David Dodge and Scott Rollans With very little money in the bank and an …

Funding the green in buildings

169. PACE financing created $3.4 billion in energy efficiency projects in U.S.

David DodgeFinancing, Buildings, Energy Efficiency, Geothermal, Net Zero, Renewable Energy, Solar 2 Comments

By David Dodge Currently, the biggest barrier to people and organizations investing in energy-efficiency upgrades …

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 …

EnergieSprong1

164. The EnergieSprong has sprung!

David DodgeRenewable Energy 3 Comments

By David Dodge & Dylan Thompson We are very quickly learning to construct buildings that …

brad leavitt making smaller bales 30439645186 o

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 …

solar thermal net positive garage suite 28938139024 o

154. Solar Thermal 101 – getting to net-positive

David DodgeSolar, Buildings, Energy, Net Zero, Renewable Energy Leave a Comment

By David Dodge and Dylan Thompson “Not enough!” That’s what Cornelius Koster told Tom Jackson …

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 …

Reid's Heritage Homes is building five net-zero homes as part of NRCan's Eco-Energy program. Here's their first home nearly completed on the left. The only external signs are the solar on the roof and the air source heat pump heating system mounted on the side of the house. Photo David Dodge, GreenEnergyFutures.ca

114. Net-zero contagious: Five mini net-zero communities spring up across Canada

David DodgeNet Zero 1 Comment

By David Dodge and Duncan Kinney The race to build net-zero homes across Canada is …