Off-Grid Timber Frame, Turtle Valley, BC

Off-Grid Timber Frame, Turtle Valley, BC

Marjorie lives in an off-the-grid home in the mountains near Turtle Valley, about 45 minutes from Kamloops in British Columbia, Canada. Marjorie is a strong and extremely self-sufficient woman and was the builder, designer and contractor for her Timber Frame home. She wasn’t completely alone as she had help from her 23-year-old son. Her dad helped with […]

World’s Greenest Home, San Francisco: HGTV video

World’s Greenest Home, San Francisco: HGTV video

We visited Robin last fall on our ECO tour and we were amazed at the extent of the green features in her home. The previous post is here: San Francisco Solar and Wind Powered Home. Robin really has to be commended. She installed the first wind turbine in an urban setting. This was to her home in central […]

Worlds Greenest Home, San Francisco: part 1

Worlds Greenest Home, San Francisco: part 1

Robin’s San Francisco home has the distinction of being the first home in an urban U.S. setting to get its electricity from a wind turbine… a fact that homeowner Robin wants to improve. Robin of Whirligig Wind Power spent a considerable amount of time working as an advocate to bring small wind power to urban environments. As […]

EcoNest® Straw Clay Home, Santa Fe, NM

EcoNest® Straw Clay Home, Santa Fe, NM

Santa Fe is counted as America’s oldest capital city and has an abundance of adobe-styled homes and businesses. These buildings are distinctive, historical representations, that blend Spanish, Native American and other local cultures and are made by combining sand, clay, water and other fibres like sticks or straw. The look combines design elements of Pueblo […]

Passive Solar using a Water Wall

Passive Solar using a Water Wall

I have blogged before on my friend Jack’s passive solar home. He toured us last fall Bellingham, Washington: Passive Solar, PV and Solar Thermal home. Passive solar, combined with a good heat sink (concrete, stone, masonry, water) creates one of the most cost-effective methods to heat and cool your home. With passive solar you have few […]

Net-Zero, Leeds Platinum Home, Cupertino, CA

Net-Zero, Leeds Platinum Home, Cupertino, CA

This home in Cupertino seemed to have every green and modern feature imaginable. Homeowners David and Stephania are 2 of 3 principles from “Integrated Design Associates, Inc. (IDeAs) is a California and Colorado based consultancy providing electrical engineering and lighting design services for buildings.” There were many exceptional green technologies used, but when it came […]

Extremely ECO Renovation, Belmont, CA

Extremely ECO Renovation, Belmont, CA

David of MyEarthBoundHome.com introduced us to two of his clients, both have lived in their homes for about a year. Yao and Chris, Belmont When Yao and Chris found a great home, with a fantastic view overlooking a 200 acre park, they bought it knowing that some renovations were required to bring this sixties home […]

Passive Solar Vented Sunroom, Eugene, OR

Passive Solar Vented Sunroom, Eugene, OR

What made this John and Heidi’s home unique, was the Passive Solar sunroom. A bright glass room to the rear of the home, south of course. Yes, we have seen sunrooms before, but this one used this warmth to heat other parts of the home. The couple had pipes installed that moved this air throughout. […]

Equilibrium Green Home, Kamloops, BC

Equilibrium Green Home, Kamloops, BC

Our good friends Paul and Danica from Riverside Energy had been responsible for the installation of the Solar Photovoltaics in the Kamloops Equilibrium home and set up a private tour for Mark and I (your eco friend Terry). This home had many partners as you will see in the information below. The Equilibrium Dream Home in Kamloops […]