Green Homes

Environmental and Health Impacts of Homes

The environmental and health impacts of homes are both numerous and far-reaching. In Canada it is estimated that 17 percent of all energy used goes toward running homes, whereas the U.S. Department of Energy reports that 20 percent of all fossil fuel use in the United States is from the residential sector. The implications of this are increased greenhouse gas emissions and other air quality issues. According to Natural Resources Canada, homes that are more than 25 years old have the potential to save an average of 35 percent of their energy use.

The effect of buildings in the residential sector is also increasing as a result of the increased average size of houses in North America. Larger houses mean more resources are used in terms of energy, water, and building materials. Over the past 50 years, the average size of housing has more than doubled, from 1,100 square feet in 1950 to 2,300 square feet in 2003. Furthermore, as the number of people per household decreases, average square footage per person has tripled from 290 square feet in the 1950s to 893 square feet in 2003.

From a health perspective, both new homes and older ones can have an effect on the individuals living in the home in terms of indoor air quality (e.g., from toxins in building materials, poor air flow, and lack of natural light). The impacts on the environment include waste from construction (estimated at 25–30 percent of the municipal waste stream), deforestation for wood products, and energy used in construction. A typical wood-frame [Page 220]house produces somewhere between three and seven tons of solid waste from the construction process alone.

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