We must be Stewards – and not merely reduce our footprint and adapt to climate change. Restoring & enhancing Earth’s ecosystems helps us to recover & protect our own health.

Solar, Wind, Water, Biomass/Waste, and Earth Energies become more appropriate for community-scale grid-tied energy and water systems when they are properly integrated.

RESTCo Principal: Christopher Ives

Chris Ives' awareness of ways to heal our planet stems from his engineering background (1965 Cambridge, England) with 45 years of design, RD&D, and project management in Housing, Energy & Transportation. His experience includes satellites, oil/gas/chemicals, intermodal rail-truck freight, plus 4 demo houses that Tap the Sun for their energy needs.

Today he is an advocate of simpler, renewable technologies that have now become affordable.

In 1961 Chris set out as an apprentice in nuclear plants & mining equipment. Coming to Canada in 1970 he saw a need for renewable energy + demand-side management, built a demo solar house in 1976 with McGill & NRC support, and invented self-pumping solar units. With Canada's Federal Housing Agency CMHC from 1989-2007 he managed 3 Healthy Housing demos for urban, aboriginal and northern housing. He also championed onsite micro-scale utilities (water & sewage + heat & power) for remote communities, wrote CMHC’s “Backup Power for Your Home” and has investigated EMF’s in housing. As the midwife for CMHC’s Vancouver/Toronto Healthy Houses he helped to start CMHC’s Net Zero Energy Healthy Housing initiative (renamed Equilibrium Housing).

Chris is still innovating - in 2007 he founded ERIA EcoSystems near Montreal, Quebec, and created a "LifeRing" Trademark to highlight appropriate designs, products and services. His focus is on sustainable energy & water technologies with high impacts on reducing emissions & pollutants to address the environment crisis. These include new types of heat exchangers and dehumidifiers with low electric power draws, together with air movers and pumps that demonstrate low turbulence & noise profiles. He holds several patents.

Chris is a keen angler, kayaker, oarsman, sailor, and enjoys snorkeling. Time and weather permitting he enjoys sailing his Freedom 21 ft catboat, a keel boat that sometimes planes.

As a shade-tree mechanic he manages to keep a 1970 British MGB sportscar on the road.

Pollen allergies have engendered his strong interest in alternative health – especially the impacts of Indoor Air Quality on respiratory health and environmental hypersensitivity.

Chris has agreed to be the Vice-President Technology for RESTCo.

Contact Chris at chris@restco.ca