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Heat pump: go or no?
Today 13% of all BC households use heat pumps for heating, up from 5% in 2008. From 2019 to 2023, average heat pump sales were nearly double the previous five years' average, and by 2022 began to exceed furnace sales.
Community land trusts: how they work and why they matter
Community land trusts lock in affordability permanently. It’s model we are starting to consider here on the Shore.
A North Van family’s all-electric life
It was no sacrifice to Brady’s family when they went all electric. Actually life got better and cheaper! Here’s what they use on a daily basis.
Reducing carbon emissions and building more homes are NOT mutually exclusive goals
Reducing carbon emissions and building more housing are not mutually exclusive goals. Better emission standards contribute to healthier populations and lower building operating costs over the long run.
We love Lonsdale: here’s how to keep it great
The Lonsdale Great Street plan protects what people love about Lonsdale: the small storefronts, the fine-grained retail character, the mountain views. It proposes to lock that character in before market pressures erode it, programs to support displaced businesses, and a better street experience.
A home in North Vancouver for $350,000?
Can we create ground-oriented-ish homes on the North Shore that cost $350,000? Turns out we can make this happen. Not only can we make it happen, but we don’t need a cent of public subsidy.
Cloverley school traffic safety plan scaled back
Cloverley School is reopening after forty years. The city has been working hard to make sure kids can get there safely. The original plan included wide sidewalks and curb bulges along all four adjacent streets. But some of those features have since been scaled back following parking concerns.
A Better House: The power of interconnectivity (and its rewards)
The Cornwalls installed a house battery backup. What they learned is of global importance. The energy landscape is shifting from centralized systems to ones in which ‘prosumers’ generate and manage their own electricity, gaining greater control over energy use and costs.
Lynn Valley’s new housing proposal is for the generations
A new, 397-home development in Lynn Valley Centre is exactly the kind of project our community needs—and the opposition to it reveals exactly the kind of thinking we need to move past.
Should we charge for parking in parks?
The debate over parking fees in public parks continues. Should we treat access to nature like commercial parking? Here’s an exchange from social media on user fees, maintenance costs, and how we balance convenience with conservation.
A Better House: Cost-effective, all-electric, net-zero homes
Often when people think about high performance homes, they associate them with a high price tag. Bruce Murdoch’s houses run counter to this stereotype. He finds cost savings by carefully planning the shape and size of buildings and by using heat pumps.
How I quit feeling guilty about not working out enough
Riding an e‑bike turns errands and commuting into effortless, stealth exercise. When movement is the easiest option, the not exercising guilt disappears—not because we’re more disciplined, but because we don’t need to be.
Can missing middle housing ever be truly affordable on the North Shore?
Building more homes on a single lot doesn’t make housing truly affordable in the same way that it once was. But it does make homes incrementally cheaper.
A Better House: Tweaking the heating system
The Cornwall’s new passive house used a combination of a buffer tank and a heat recovery ventilator with their heat pump. It took some tweaking to make the system work in all temperatures.
A Better House: Harvesting solar energy in Canyon Heights
The Cornwalls, who live in Canyon Heights in their passive home serviced by a heat pump, reduced their hydro draw by 44% with solar panels, more efficient appliances and passive design and construction.