1. Installing energy-efficient lighting, heating, cooling and water-heating systems can dramatically reduce energy use and cost. By selecting high-efficiency appliances with ENERGY STAR® ratings, and quality exterior doors and windows, you will further reduce your home's energy consumption.
2. EnerGuide is the official Government of Canada mark associated with the labelling and rating of the energy consumption and energy efficiency of household appliances air conditions, heating and ventilation equipment. The EnerGuide scale ranges from 0-100. A rating of 0 represents a home with major air leakage, a rating of 100 signifies a house that is airtight.

Some Calgarians have been known to grumble about the length of the winter versus summer seasons in the city. What most can agree on is that no matter what time of year, there's no shortage of sunshine.

Ongoing for a year now, ENMAX Energy's Generate Choice program offers affordable solar and wind power for the home thanks to funding from the Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation.

Net zero living is a dream that has become reality for interested Calgary homeowners.

Partnering with Brookfield Residential properties, Landmark Homes has opened their first net zero energy, production-oriented suburban showhome to the public in the community of Cranston.

Nearly half of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada come from our homes. They can be smarter than that.

We want our homes to be comfortable, safe, clean, healthy and to have the smallest environmental footprint possible. That's why consumers, homebuilders, homeowners, property managers, REALTORS®, local governments and schools are all focusing on building homes and buildings that serve people better.

New Calgary community touting smart, sustainable living

Not many people can say they're neighbours with a winning entry in a national sustainable housing project, but the new Calgary community of Echo Haven has the credentials to prove it.

About 15 years ago, Dave Spencer,development manager with Echo-Logic Land Corporation and others decided they wanted to build a green oriented home after volunteering for a project in Scenic Acres.

"We couldn't find anybody who could build kind of exactly what we wanted so we ended up buying this(2.2 hectares) in Rocky Ridge and of course we had more lots than we could use so decided to go into the development business," Spencer said.

This morning Landmark Homes invited CREBNow to check out their first high efficiency showhome.

Stuart Wen, Marketing Coordinator with Landmark Homes gave us a tour and some in depth information as to how they made the home a net-zero home.

From energy efficient light bulbs to Net Zero neighbourhoods to cleaning supplies, ecological friendly products are making their mark with homeowners.

As far as eco-friendly homeowners go, CREB® HomeSmarts — an extension of the Go Green project — familiarizes REALTORS® with energy standards as well as allowing them to use green features as part of property searches for potential homeowners.

While community gardens may seem a rather new trend in the scope of things, they've actually been around Calgary for almost 100 years.

Years ago the City Planning Commission came up with an initiative called the Calgary Vacant Lots Garden Club in 1914. According to a history prepared by Carole Stokes, an archivist with the City of Calgary Archives, the club's executive recognized the cultivation of Calgary's vacant lots would benefit the city's poorer families who could grow and harvest their own produce at a lesser cost.

When browsing through the list of Calgary communities, envisioning how many of them were named isn't the easiest of endeavors. Rarely tying back to any physical idea or origin, the names are normally as pleasant as they are intangible.

However, for one Calgary community, that name couldn't be any more concrete. Located along the banks of the Bow River in southeast Calgary, Quarry Park is a former gravel site that has been transformed into an innovative community by Remington Development Corporation.