01 — ASSESS
Microclimate
assessment
Understand how shade, surfaces, exposure and neighborhood conditions influence the thermal environment around a home.
Independent climate-resilience advisory / Science made accessibleCanada + United States · Consultation requests open
TerraViva HomesResearch into
real-world impact
real-world impact
A coolerhomeshouldn'tbe a luxury.
Free, science-based guidance to make homes more comfortable, energy-aware and resilient to a changing climate.
Request free guidance Built for people.
Backed by research.
Backed by research.
Urban climateHousing resilienceBuilding performanceAccessible knowledgeClimate justice
Why we're here
01 / Our point of view
Every address has a different climate.
Two homes in the same city can experience heat very differently. Good solutions begin by understanding the place, the building and the people living in it.
We bring research in urban microclimates and building performance into practical conversations about home comfort, energy burden and affordable adaptation.
Discover our approachFrom housing questions to clear next steps.
TerraViva Homes offers free, research-informed guidance to eligible low-income homeowners and renters. We look at how a home’s surroundings, walls, roof, windows and cooling systems may contribute to discomfort or high energy use. Where appropriate and feasible, we use microclimate information and building-performance modeling to compare adaptation options, consider indicative costs, and explain what a household might prioritize next. This is advisory support—not construction, a professional inspection, or a guarantee of savings.
See exactly how we help ↗Learn to question a claimCan you trust
Can you trust
that headline?
THE HEADLINE“This new wall material cuts energy bills by 50%.”
Was that measured in real homes—or predicted by a computer? What climate was studied? And what else changed? Learn how to recognize misleading science headlines, read the underlying evidence, and ask better questions.
Learn to check the evidence ↗What we do
Three ways we help.
No generic checklist. Our goal is to make evidence-informed housing advice more useful, more local and more accessible.
Microclimate
02 — ADVISE
Retrofit
guidance
Explore practical strategies for reducing overheating and improving efficiency, with building conditions and budget in mind.
03 — SHARE
Research &
insights
Make urban climate and building science easier to understand through accessible, research-informed explanations.
Not one size fits allLocal context.
Local context.
Lasting impact.
Solar exposure, surrounding development, ventilation and the building envelope can all shape indoor conditions. That's why advice for one home may not be right for another.
Read our research perspectiveHow it works
Research. Made useful.
Tell us about your home.
Share your location at the city or neighborhood level and the comfort or energy concern you're experiencing.
We look at the context.
We consider the physical building, local environmental conditions and relevant evidence before discussing options.
Find your next step.
Receive guidance on possible measures, further assessment needs and useful resources. Availability is subject to capacity.
Knowledge should not
have a price tag.
Every paper in our access-checked collection has a free full-text version. We credit the original researchers and explain evidence in plain language. Our larger open-access discovery tool is labeled separately while papers undergo individual review.
Explore open research ↗A simple beliefBig clients?
Big clients?
Not our mission.
Big impact? Absolutely.
We exist to make climate-resilient housing knowledge more accessible to people who are too often left out of the conversation.
See who we helpHave a housing question? Let's start a conversation.
Request guidance