This past July an article Sheena wrote was published in the “In Touch” magazine by the REIC (Real Estate Institue of Canada) on “Decarbonizing the Operation of a Building” (pdf). The article is reproduced completely below. Decarbonizing the Operation of a Building by Sheena Sharp We have all heard about the need to stop …
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Our friends over at Blue Green Group made a post recently that highlighted how air leakage in high performance homes should be more closely integrated into the Ontario Building Code’s SB-12 Section, as well as how more training amongst professionals and builders is needed to implement already existing technology and techniques for air tightness. See …
Continue reading “Repost: OBC Stop the Foot Dragging on Air Leakage Testing”
The focus of this blog post is on how occupant behaviour effects designing buildings for net-zero. The topic of user-behaviour and net-zero design came up when we were analyzing the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) energy modelling software for a net-zero energy envelope retrofit project this week. We noticed that the clothes dryer used close to 20% of …
New changes in the Supplementary SB-12 “Energy Efficiency for Housing” section of the Ontario Building Code were announced on July 7, 2016. These changes, which come into effect January 1st, 2017 and include: – New prescriptive compliance packages that provide minimum 15 per cent energy efficiency improvement over existing packages – Drain water heat recovery units …
“Climate change is a fact in our daily lives — raising the cost of our food, causing extreme weather that damages property and infrastructure, threatening outdoor activities we love, and melting winter roads that provide critical seasonal access to remote northern Indigenous communities. It affects every aspect of our lives, so it is our collective …
At Coolearth we are currently working with a couple to build their retirement home just outside of Parry Sound. The clients were attracted to Coolearth because of our sustainable specialization as well as portfolio of modern homes. At the first design consultation they brought arm fulls of books on Frank Llyod Wright’s houses: and we …
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