What is YOUR ECOLOGICAL HOUSE™?

Do you want to live in an "ecological house"—a house that conserves energy, water, food and materials, or can even produce more of these vital resources than it uses? If you do, congratulations! You're on your way to being an Earth Steward, someone who helps protect and preserve the planet we all share.

But how will your ecological house work? How do you know that you're doing any good? Will the “eco features” you add to your home really help the environment, or are they just more stuff to consume — trendy, but ultimately damaging to the planet?

What about costs? How can you get the best return on your investment for you and the environment?

Whether you're retrofitting your current house or planning to build a new one, the articles and information on this site will help you create an environmentally friendly house that really works. Learn how to model your house's systems on sustainable natural ecosystems. Learn how sustainable houses are designed and built so they can be affordable, flexible and ultimately recycled at the end of their useful life.

Creating an ecological house is empowering. You don't have to wait for someone else to solve environmental problems; you can start to work on those problems yourself — today.

And keep returning to Your Ecological House™ because we are always adding new materials and features to the site.

Our sister site

ecoTecture journal of ecological design

Visit Ecotecture

ask your ecological house

Is building with concrete good for the environment?

Building a Greenhouse with Old Windows: What are the Issues?

Which Is Best? Passive Solar Heating or Active Solar Heating?

Attic Hatch Insulation: Is Rigid Foam Polyisocyanurate Insulation Best?

Can we use a “green” insulation in the crawl space?

Current articles

Creating Your Ecological House

Should You Build a New “Green” Home, or Retrofit Your Current Home?

What is the Best Insulation for Your Ecological House?

BACKUP HEATING SYSTEM SERIES

The following two articles and related chart were writen as coordinated pieces—Choosing a Backup Heating System and the Backup Heating Systems Chart are auxilliary to the main article, When the Sun Hides: Backup Heating Systems for Passive Solar Houses. The articles can be read together or separately, but you'll learn the most if you read them all, in the order presented.

Coming soon