Renewables NB

This passive solar, 2500 square foot home is located on a scenic, south facing slope. It is located on five acres of water front property, facing the St. John River and a lake. The home has lots of natural light, with each room receiving direct natural light at some point in the year.

Though it gets too hot in the late summer at times, which is why they have added curtains to some of the south facing windows, they find it very comfortable the rest of the year. They have put their bedroom in the basement, which is comfortable year round. They also have Read more…

The owner of this home had received the property from his parents, who had owned it since the ‘60s. It is 10 acres of forested land, with 1000 ft of shoreline and a good southern exposure. After some involvement with Solar Nova Scotia, and connections with Don Roscoe – a passive solar architect in NS, the owner decided to build such a home on this property. The home is situated with large windows facing south and the north side into the ground, so as to provide some extra protection from the elements. The house is very comfortable and bright. Read more…

This home, built in 2000, was constructed with comfort and efficiency in mind. The home is well insulated, has an in-floor heating system (heated by instant hot water) as the primary heating source, and sourced local and recycled wood for the construction. It has cork and finished concrete in the basement as well. Read more…

This former cornerstore/butcher shop on Rothesay Road is being renovated, with the top floor being used as living space for two apartments, with 4 tenants in total. As part of their renovations, the owners and construction company decided to install a solar hot water system, so as to be green and to ‘kick it up a notch.’ Read more…

An Energuide 89! The owners wanted to build a home that would have low long-term costs, be comfortable, and modern. They decided to build a passive solar home because it met these criteria. They find the home to be very comfortable, and are happy with their choice. They also chose very energy efficient appliances, and used recycled or very durable materials where they could. For instance, they used HardiePlank siding on their building exterior, as it is very durable and shouldn’t have to be replaced as long as the owners occupy the building. Read more…

Firehall

The water heating system was upgraded from an oil burner to a natural gas burner some years ago, and has since had the solar hot water system as a water preheat to the natural gas burner. The installation was fairly quick and easy, and works well. Read more…

A number of features have been added to the house to make it more efficient, such as the use of strapping (to reduce thermal bridging), putting insulation on the exterior of the concrete foundation (so as to maximize thermal mass), and lots of insulation in the walls and ceiling. The house is also somewhat submerged in a hill, so as to provide extra protection from the elements. Local materials were used for constructing the house, such as local harvested trees cut at a local, water powered mill. Bricks for the masonry heater came from Lewiston, Maine, the closest source for brick, which are hand made. The house also includes a Read more…

A number of features have been added to the house to make it more efficient, such as the use of strapping (to reduce thermal bridging), insulating foil as a vapour barrier, and lots of insulation in the walls and ceiling. Local materials were used for constructing the house, and no trees were cut down in order to accommodate its construction. Read more…

The passive solar sun porch is a main feature of the original design as a beach house.  The solar face of the house is situated slightly west of true south.

All the restoration work on the exterior of the house including the windows is being done using natural materials, replacing wood with wood, and the storm windows are being replaced with new wooden framed windows of the original design. Read more…

South facing passive solar home

This passive solar house is situated in a residential area and blends into the surrounding mixed forest environment being adjacent to a city woodlot.

The high insulation levels of ICF (insulated concrete form) construction, R-30 to R-50, are key to the passive solar heating. The generating element of the passive solar heat is the 2 storey south wall of 80% glass made up of EnergyStar rated high performance windows with triple glazing. Read more…

The incorporation of the solar system and components had the advantage of being installed during a complete renovation of the two storey sun porch. Recycled materials were used for all of these projects, including insulation, double paned glass, and copper sheet and piping. The thermal siphoning air panel (TAP) solar unit is built into the sun porch wall, which has been further modified to maximize passive solar potential. The sun porch is well insulated, ventilated and has duct work that connects the two levels, and which also circulates extra heat into thermal mass (concrete and crushed rock) below the porch, helping regulate heat. Read more…

This is a soapstone masonry heater of Finnish make and design. The masonry heater sits between the living room and dining room and the heat circulates through natural convection. Total annual operating costs are $400 to $500 depending on the price of local cord of wood (approx. 2 cords per year). Read more…

This passive solar house is built in an almost rural setting within the town of St. Andrews with a view of Chamcook Harbour and Passamaquoddy Bay on the north and east side. The north to northwest side is sheltered by a grove of softwood trees. The solar face of the house is facing basically true south and is made up of 50% glass. The windows are EnergyStar rated high performance windows with double glazing. The floor surfaces are masonry heat sink absorbing materials, that store heat during the day, and release it during the night. The roof overhang is designed to keep the summer sun and solar heat from entering Read more…

Kitchen Stove

The owners have been very low energy and resource consumers since arriving in Canada in 1972.

• The main wood furnace and heat distribution system was home-made using an existing design and was constructed of recycled and new materials.
• The small wood heaters are recovered units used for cooking and heating in both the home and business.
• The kitchen stove firebox was enlarged so it would produce hotter and longer fires. The owners use about 6 cords of split wood annually.

Read more…

Heat pump

A ground-source heat pump, supplied by Carrier and installed by Ultra Air, replaced an electric furnace in a 3000 ft² (279 m²).

This is a horizontal, open-loop system, with 180 meters (590 ft) of piping, drawing from a well and draining into a pond on the property.

The system is quiet, with a small compressor and fan, and is only noticeable when one is in the basement.

Passive Solar Farmhouse

This passive solar house is situated in a north/south direction on a 125 acre farm, woodlot and sugarbush operation in the Keswick Ridge area.

The systems in the house allow it to be rated as zero-carbon, energy-neutral, with zero waste and as an environmentally-compatible dwelling.

Three 4 x 5 foot, south-facing windows allow for passive solar heat to enter the interior of house. Much of the passive solar heat is absorbed by the brick mass of a masonry heater that sits directly behind the window area. Read more…

Brick masonry heater

The system is a two and a half story brick masonry heater of Finnish design. The heater includes a cook stove, oven, bread oven, and 2 fireboxes; one in cook stove and another on opposite side of brick mass.

Heat from both fireboxes is circulated through and absorbed by mass. A copper water coil is installed in the heat mass which provides all domestic hot water winter and summer. Hot water is stored in an external tank. The masonry heater sits in front of large south facing windows allowing the mass to absorb passive solar heat. Read more…