Tips to having a healthy home

Article from Healthy Housing from CMHC

“The Five Essentials of Healthy Living:

The Healthy House is bright, open, efficient and welcoming.

It can be new or renovated, in downtown or suburbia.  Wherever you find it, the Healthy House is characterized by five key elements.

1. Occupant Health
Healthy Housing promotes superior quality of indoor air, water and lighting.

2. Energy Efficiency
Homes account for about 20 per cent of all energy used in Canada. Of this, about 67 per cent is used for space heating and cooling, 18 per cent for lighting and appliances, and 15 per cent for heating water

The Healthy House reduces energy use in all these areas, in all seasons. It minimizes heat loss in winter and gain in summer.  It relies on efficient heating and ventilation systems, reduces the consumption of electricity and other fuels, encourages the use of renewable energy and the recovery of energy that would otherwise be lost. It also reduces the energy used in the manufacture of building materials and in house construction.

3. Resource Efficiency
The Healthy House makes efficient use of all our resources.  It is also readily adaptable to changing needs. Efficient use is made of building materials, and recycling is encouraged.  Durability of building components is essential. The Healthy House also conserves water and energy.

4. Environmental Responsibility
The principles that guide the construction and use of the Healthy House are the cornerstone of environmentally
responsible housing.  The Healthy House may use alternative water and wastewater systems, encourages site planning that reduces land requirements, minimizes waste generation and pollutant emissions, promotes resource-efficient landscaping and considers broader community planning issues such as transportation.  It involves a new way of thinking about how homes and communities contribute to the health of the planet. Houses are becoming smaller and more space efficient with multi-use floor plans. While building lots are smaller, they are more creatively used.

5. Affordability
For the Healthy House to succeed in the marketplace, it must be good for the owner, the builder and future generations.  Many features of the Healthy House make it affordable to own, and its design makes it easily adaptable to its occupants’ changing needs.”

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