Along with lowering monthly utility bills, green home features can also cut costs for homeowners by reducing their mortgage insurance premium.

Depending on the home's degree of energy efficiency, up to a quarter of a borrower's premium can be covered by a rebate through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) Green Home program.

Like oxygen, hot water is something you only appreciate when it's absent. So, it's not surprising that a water heater is a vital part of the home. Since each home has its own hot water needs, understanding the various types of heaters and what they offer will help you make the right choice for your family.

Alternative power sources for off-the-grid acreage living

Alternative energy sources like wind and solar were once viewed as novel concepts that would never become practical for the average homeowner. Alternative energy sources like wind and solar were once viewed as novel concepts that would never become practical for the average homeowner. However, for many acreage owners and other rural residents, going off the grid – living in a self-sufficient manner without reliance on one or more public utilities – is catching on in a variety of forms.

Choosing the best high-efficiency water heater

A typical hot water heater accounts for about one-fifth of the energy used in most Canadian homes.

Choosing the right hot water heater, therefore, can have a huge impact both financially and environmentally – especially as energy prices and carbon levies continue to rise.

Many of us still choose conventional, gas-fired hot water tanks because they're cheapest – but are they really? The initial price of your hot water heater can represent as little as 12 per cent of the overall cost over its lifespan. The other 88 per cent is energy.

Solar's appeal is growing for Calgary homeowners due to falling costs, and rebates

With the cost of solar power generation dropping, and a provincial rebate program launching, it's a pretty good time to be living in the sunniest city in Canada.

More homeowners are investing in solar as it becomes more economically viable.

In the past, many who embraced it traded the wallet shock for the feel-good vibes of reducing their ecological footprints.

That's the original reason Michael Betzner added solar to his Bowness home about eight years ago.

Ventless heat-pump dryers dry clothes more efficiently at cooler temperatures

It may seem like the last place in your house you'd look for cutting-edge technology, but the laundry room is a pretty cool spot these days. No, seriously.

An exciting innovation that's reached our shores in recent years is the ventless heat-pump clothes dryer. They've been available since the 1990s in Europe, where the higher cost of electricity is a major incentive toward using less of it, but are just now developing a presence here.

With a long list of ecological and economic benefits, green roofs are picking up in popularity

Imagine looking down on an urban centre from above and seeing nothing but verdant green. Stark rooftops are now overgrown with grasses, shrubs and trees. Here and there, sunlight glints off small ponds. The outlines of streets and roads are just visible through the greenery.

This may sound like a vision of a post-apocalyptic future in which nature is reclaiming abandoned cities. But in fact, it's a modern technology that proponents of green roofing would love to see become a widespread reality. The sooner the better.

New energy savings programs set to save Albertans money

Saving money and energy in your home has just gotten a whole lot easier.

The province has announced details of energy savings programs aimed directly at all Alberta residents, whether they are homeowners, renters, or businesses.

New programs could see homeowners coming out ahead

If you've been paying attention, you're aware that, starting Jan. 1, we'll be paying $1.01 more per gigajoule for natural gas to heat our homes and a few extra cents a litre to fuel our cars.

It's the provincial carbon levy, and it's inevitable.

If you're like me, you want to know what the government is going to do with the revenue.

For starters, it's setting up an agency whose goal is to reduce our utility bills, decrease emissions and save energy in general.