syrinx

The Ecology Action Centre in Halifax recently purchased an older building and "eco-renovated" it for energy efficiency, amongst other things (air quality, maximum re-use of materials, use of local materials, water conservation, accessibility...). It utilizes solar energy captured by 2 rows of solar panels on the roof which is distributed via radiant in-floor heating, drawing on supplemental electric as needed (they figure it will be a roughly 60/40 mix of solar and electric over the whole year). Some features I really like: the cement floors; use of internal windows to maximize transmission of daylight though the building, natural finish walls. 'Lots of info. about it on their website; most of the sources cited are local, showing that green technologies create sustainable local employment.