Heating houses is a major energy suck. Behind passenger cars and trucking, it’s the largest energy draw in the United States. But it turns out homeowners looking to stay warm don’t need to rely just ...

The passive-house building standard relies on lots of insulation and intentional design to use as little energy as possible for heating and cooling. "Things like 'passive house' have become more ...

Passive House design is the best option architects have today for a net-zero future, and it is up to us and our clients to make this future a reality. The building industry accounts for nearly 40 ...

Since ancient times, people have found ways to use the sun’s heat to stay warm or keep cool. They built homes from clay and other materials that hold heat well, and they placed them in ways that ...

David Kuchta, Ph.D. has 10 years of experience in gardening and has read widely in environmental history and the energy transition. An environmental activist since the 1970s, he is also a historian, ...

If you’re building a new home, it makes sense to do it in a way that employs free, renewable energy when it’s available. Most home designs don’t prioritize using energy they receive from the sun, but ...

It’s official: passive house design standards are coming to Massachusetts. The lessons learned in the Northeast can help design energy-efficient, multifamily buildings elsewhere too. The Commonwealth ...

Wild birds chirp inside a dense grove of magnolia trees shading a new home near downtown Fayetteville. The pale gray two-story Prairie-style single-family residence, appropriately named Magnolia House ...