It has been nearly a month since LEARN-CC launched and we are proud to announce that Hamiltonians have been rising to our challenge. There have been 79 action submissions and 3 impact submissions thus far. There are private and public projects, community efforts and business practices. With your help, we are beginning to put climate change on the map. Thank you.
If you haven't already, please submit an action/impact or at least check out the maps and slideshows.
We are excited to start this Action of the Month blog, where we will highlight some of our favourite actions. Check here monthly to find out more about an interesting sustainability project in Hamilton.
So let's get going with the first ever Action of the Month. This prestigious title goes to Jim Feilders and his green home.
If you haven't already, please submit an action/impact or at least check out the maps and slideshows.
We are excited to start this Action of the Month blog, where we will highlight some of our favourite actions. Check here monthly to find out more about an interesting sustainability project in Hamilton.
So let's get going with the first ever Action of the Month. This prestigious title goes to Jim Feilders and his green home.
Jim identifies his participation in the One Tonne Challenge of the early 2000s as the tipping point that got him thinking about the Earth and its long-term health. He started a renewable energy business, Jade Environmental Services, in 2005 and decided to build his green home in the fall of 2009.
It took 8 months to complete, but the project was a labour of love for this engineer. He thought up the design and acted as the general contractor, but had the the house professionally drawn and built. He also enlisted the help of his sister for the interior design.
So what makes this house so special? From the furnace to the placement of the windows and the garden, every element of the property was designed with the Earth in mind. The driveway is porous stone, eliminating the toxic runoff created by asphalt driveways. All the faucets and toilets are low-flow and there is a greywater recycling system that uses shower or sink water to flush the toilets. The appliances and furnace are EnergyStar certified and there is extra insulation in the walls and roof to keep heat indoors in the winter.
A very interesting feature of the Burlington home is its passive solar design. The window and eaves placement takes advantage of the fact that the summer sun rises higher in the sky than the winter sun. In order to keep the house cool in summer and gain some extra solar heat in winter, many of the windows face south and the eaves extend out to shade the windows in summer but still let the winter sun in.
It took 8 months to complete, but the project was a labour of love for this engineer. He thought up the design and acted as the general contractor, but had the the house professionally drawn and built. He also enlisted the help of his sister for the interior design.
So what makes this house so special? From the furnace to the placement of the windows and the garden, every element of the property was designed with the Earth in mind. The driveway is porous stone, eliminating the toxic runoff created by asphalt driveways. All the faucets and toilets are low-flow and there is a greywater recycling system that uses shower or sink water to flush the toilets. The appliances and furnace are EnergyStar certified and there is extra insulation in the walls and roof to keep heat indoors in the winter.
A very interesting feature of the Burlington home is its passive solar design. The window and eaves placement takes advantage of the fact that the summer sun rises higher in the sky than the winter sun. In order to keep the house cool in summer and gain some extra solar heat in winter, many of the windows face south and the eaves extend out to shade the windows in summer but still let the winter sun in.
The house is so energy efficient that Jim expects to save enough in the first 5-10 years (depending on energy prices) to compensate for the increased initial cost. He admits that the cost and process can be frightening, but insists there are companies and organizations that are ready and willing to help. He stresses that building green, whether new or as a retrofit, is "good for the homeowner, the pocketbook, and the planet".
If you would like to find out more about this project or about Jim, you can contact him by email at feilders@yahoo.com or visit his website at http://www.jadeenvironmentalservices.com/jims_home.pdf
If you would like to find out more about this project or about Jim, you can contact him by email at feilders@yahoo.com or visit his website at http://www.jadeenvironmentalservices.com/jims_home.pdf