Stories That Build Better Futures

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Discover the latest in sustainable home improvement

How to Improve Your Home's Water Quality: Complete Guide for Homeowners

If your tap water smells strange, tastes off, leaves white spots on dishes, or creates stubborn scale on fixtures, you are not alone. This comprehensive homeowner guide walks you through the main causes of water quality problems, how to test and understand your water, and the most effective options for drinking water filtration, whole-home treatment, and salt-free conditioning so you can choose the right solution with confidence.

Rise

14 min

Latest Stories

If you spend most of your time indoors, the air in your home has a bigger impact on your health than the air outside. This complete guide explains the most common causes of poor indoor air quality—like dust, allergens, wildfire smoke, VOCs, CO₂, humidity, and mold—and shows how ventilation, filtration, purification, and monitoring can work together to create a healthier home. Whether you live in a small apartment or a large single-family house, you’ll learn practical steps and product options to improve your indoor air quality today and over the long term.

The Complete Guide to Healthy Indoor Air Quality

If you spend most of your time indoors, the air in your home has a bigger impact on your health than the air outside. This complete guide explains the most common causes of poor indoor air quality—like dust, allergens, wildfire smoke, VOCs, CO₂, humidity, and mold—and shows how ventilation, filtration, purification, and monitoring can work together to create a healthier home. Whether you live in a small apartment or a large single-family house, you’ll learn practical steps and product options to improve your indoor air quality today and over the long term.

Bathroom Upgrades That Improve Comfort, Efficiency, and Daily Living

Planning a bathroom renovation or simple refresh is one of the best opportunities to improve the comfort, health, and efficiency of your home. This guide walks you through the highest-impact bathroom upgrades—from ventilation and humidity control to faucets, shower heads, lighting, mirrors, fans, and water-saving fixtures—so you can create a bathroom that feels better every day, costs less to run, and is easier to maintain.

How to Keep Your Home Cool While Using Less Energy

Summer comfort does not have to mean sky-high electricity bills. By understanding how heat moves through your home and using a layered strategy—insulation, shading, ventilation, smart controls, and efficient cooling equipment—you can stay comfortable while using far less energy. This guide walks you through practical, budget-aware steps to keep your home cool, reduce strain on your air conditioner, and make smart upgrades over time.

How to Design a Healthier, Better Performing Kitchen

Your kitchen is where you cook, gather, and spend a surprising amount of time—yet it’s also one of the biggest sources of indoor air pollution and everyday frustration in a home. This guide walks you through how to design or upgrade your kitchen for better indoor air quality, cooking comfort, and everyday functionality, with practical advice on range hoods, ventilation, ducting, sinks, faucets, water filtration, workstation sinks, and efficient layouts.

Choosing Healthy Building Materials for Better Indoor Air Quality

Renovating your home is the perfect time to improve indoor air quality—not just the way your space looks. By choosing low-emission paints, stains, sealers, and other healthy building materials, you can create a more comfortable home that’s easier to breathe in today and for years to come.

The Complete Guide to Electrifying Your Home

Electrifying your home is one of the most impactful upgrades you can make for comfort, operating costs, and carbon emissions. This guide walks homeowners and light-commercial property owners through the major electric technologies—EV chargers, heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, rooftop solar, battery storage, and electrical upgrades—so you can build a safer, cleaner, and more resilient home that’s ready for the future.

Rise•

10 min

Expert Product Reviews

Real-world testing, honest verdicts

If you’re exploring wood cookstoves, you’ve probably noticed a big gap between rustic, old-style ranges and sleek modern wood heaters with no oven at all. The Enerzone Pyra tries to bridge that gap: it’s a contemporary, EPA-certified wood cookstove that can actually heat your living space and function as a practical cooker. In the sections below, we break down how it performs in real homes and cabins, how it compares to other wood cookstoves, and what to think through before you invest in a full chimney system, hearth, and installation.

Product Review

wealth

4.758 days ago

Enerzone Pyra Wood Cookstove Review: Is It Right For Your Home?

If you’re exploring wood cookstoves, you’ve probably noticed a big gap between rustic, old-style ranges and sleek modern wood heaters with no oven at all. The Enerzone Pyra tries to bridge that gap: it’s a contemporary, EPA-certified wood cookstove that can actually heat your living space and function as a practical cooker. In the sections below, we break down how it performs in real homes and cabins, how it compares to other wood cookstoves, and what to think through before you invest in a full chimney system, hearth, and installation.

Top Features

True Heating + Cooking Performance
EPA 2020 Certified with High Efficiency

If you are shopping for a modern wood cookstove, the Osburn Gusto stands out as a contemporary alternative to more traditional farmhouse ranges. Before you compare brands or click through product listings, it helps to understand exactly what this unit is designed to do: safely heat a well-insulated home or cabin while giving you a controllable oven and usable stovetop. Below we break down real-world performance, installation realities, and how it stacks up to other cookstoves so you can see whether it belongs in your renovation plans or cabin build.

Product Review

wealth

4.858 days ago

Osburn Gusto Wood Cookstove OB02047 Review: Is It Right For Your Home?

If you are shopping for a modern wood cookstove, the Osburn Gusto stands out as a contemporary alternative to more traditional farmhouse ranges. Before you compare brands or click through product listings, it helps to understand exactly what this unit is designed to do: safely heat a well-insulated home or cabin while giving you a controllable oven and usable stovetop. Below we break down real-world performance, installation realities, and how it stacks up to other cookstoves so you can see whether it belongs in your renovation plans or cabin build.

Top Features

Excellent Balance of Heating and Cooking
EPA 2020 Compliance

Thinking about turning an underperforming open fireplace into a serious heat source? The Englander Blue Ridge 300-I Wood Insert Stove With Blower (model ESW0009) is designed for exactly that job. In this unbiased review, we look at what it does well, where it has limitations, and which homes and homeowners it truly suits in real-world use.

Product Review

wealth

4.4140 days ago

Englander Blue Ridge 300-I Wood Insert Stove With Blower ESW0009 Review

Thinking about turning an underperforming open fireplace into a serious heat source? The Englander Blue Ridge 300-I Wood Insert Stove With Blower (model ESW0009) is designed for exactly that job. In this unbiased review, we look at what it does well, where it has limitations, and which homes and homeowners it truly suits in real-world use.

Top Features

Balanced whole-home heating performance
Solid burn time with practical firebox size

The Nu-Air ES100 HRV is a compact, 127 CFM heat recovery ventilator designed to bring fresh outdoor air into tight, energy-efficient homes while exhausting stale indoor air and recovering heat that would otherwise be lost. This unbiased review explains what the ES100 does, who it suits best, and how it performs in real-world residential and light-commercial applications.

Nu-Air ES100 HRV 127 CFM Review: Real-World Ventilation Performance for Small to Mid-Sized Homes

The Nu-Air ES100 HRV is a compact, 127 CFM heat recovery ventilator designed to bring fresh outdoor air into tight, energy-efficient homes while exhausting stale indoor air and recovering heat that would otherwise be lost. This unbiased review explains what the ES100 does, who it suits best, and how it performs in real-world residential and light-commercial applications.

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Balanced whole-home ventilation (HRV core strength)
Heat recovery = real energy savings (especially in Canada)

The Ortech SOLO 12 is a compact, ductless, through‑the‑wall heat pump designed to provide both heating and cooling without a traditional outdoor condenser or interior ductwork. This in‑depth, unbiased review explains what the SOLO 12 actually does, how it compares with mini‑splits and central HVAC, and whether it makes practical sense for small homes, condos, apartments, and retrofit projects where running ducts or placing outdoor equipment is difficult or undesirable.

Product Review

wealth

4.3154 days ago

Ortech SOLO 12 All‑in‑One Ductless Heat Pump Review: Real‑World Pros, Cons, and Best Uses

The Ortech SOLO 12 is a compact, ductless, through‑the‑wall heat pump designed to provide both heating and cooling without a traditional outdoor condenser or interior ductwork. This in‑depth, unbiased review explains what the SOLO 12 actually does, how it compares with mini‑splits and central HVAC, and whether it makes practical sense for small homes, condos, apartments, and retrofit projects where running ducts or placing outdoor equipment is difficult or undesirable.

Top Features

All-in-One Through-the-Wall Design
Ductless Retrofit Solution

The AlorAir Sentinel HD55 Blue is a 113 pint commercial-residential dehumidifier designed to manage moisture in basements, crawl spaces, and light-commercial environments. In this unbiased review, we’ll walk through what this unit does, who it’s best for, where it performs well, and what limitations to keep in mind before you buy.

AlorAir Sentinel HD55 Blue 113 Pint Commercial-Residential Dehumidifier Review

The AlorAir Sentinel HD55 Blue is a 113 pint commercial-residential dehumidifier designed to manage moisture in basements, crawl spaces, and light-commercial environments. In this unbiased review, we’ll walk through what this unit does, who it’s best for, where it performs well, and what limitations to keep in mind before you buy.

Top Features