Myth #4 Sustainable Homes are Too Air Tight

Traditional homes exhibit severe problems with heat loss. Cold drafts can account for 40 to 50 percent of all heat loss in conventional new homes. Air also leaks through the building assemblies, moving moisture into walls, which causes mold. Conversely, some 20th century "green" homes were, yes, too airtight. While well-intentioned to provide homeowners with a super-insulated house, many builders and architects in the late 20th century designed and built homes so tight, little airflow existed.

Traditional builders have argued that houses need to breathe, and they worry about over insulating and the risks of a building being too airtight. Today's sustainable or high-performance homes are super-insulated. They have an HRV or ERV ventilation system that provides continuous fresh air—combining an airtight building skin with an efficient ventilation system results in much healthier indoor air quality.

Myth #5 Sustainable Means Off-Grid

Whether a remodel/retrofit or new construction, a sustainable home certainly pulls less on the earth's natural resources and your budget—and that can be accomplished without going off-grid. Sustainably designed and constructed homes may have solar panels to help with energy costs. Or, they may have a reclamation system for some of the water used. They aren't off-grid homes that rely solely on their power and other resources, but those homeowners enjoy lower energy and water bills.

Some homeowners do choose the off-grid option with success. And like the term "sustainable" is synonymous with "ugly," off-grid homes used to conjure up images of rickety structures in the woods. Today, however, more and more people worldwide are taking "off-grid" to the next level. It is becoming synonymous with individual autonomy, economic and energy independence, and a way of giving back to the people and places where they're planting themselves and their new lifestyle.

Myth #6 Sustainable Home Improvement Is a Fad

When it comes to sustainable home improvement practices, it's more of a case of grappling with a new reality. All over North America, there is a movement from traditional fossil fuels into cleaner, more energy-efficient behavior. This shift is evident in policies like the Canadian Greening Government Strategy. A federal government think-tank, Policy Horizons Canada, notes that a new consciousness is developing. The "use of the Internet is creating a new generation of discerning consumers who are using their power to push businesses towards deliberate sustainable options." In other words, a 'trickle-up effect is now taking place, where consumers are disrupting the status quo, and supply will have to meet demand.

When it comes to our homes, that demand is transparency and sustainable, environmentally friendly products and materials. This trickle-up effect is showing up in homebuilding practices all over, like in Vancouver, where the city's leadership launched an initiative to be the country's 'greenest city.' Their action plan includes 'Green Homebuilding Policies.' These policies state that new one- and two-family homes must consist of several sustainable features that will help save resources and money and improve the indoor environment.

Today, more and more people are awakening to this new consciousness as they learn about the benefits of choosing a sustainable route in their home building and improvement adventures. Every day, people are proving that, unlike man-buns, the movement is far more than a fad.