Upgrading homes to make them perform better and to increase energy efficiency can totally alter the physical environment in the home by enhancing indoor air quality, stabilizing temperatures, and generally improving environmental conditions indoors.
While health benefits cannot be guaranteed, if an energy efficiency project is carried out correctly, the results will be very likely to improve the health of those who live in the home.
There have been many studies undertaken in an attempt to evaluate the effects of green renovations and energy-efficiency home improvements on indoor environmental quality and the resultant effect on occupant health. But they have all been done in isolation and many have been broad in scope.
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With this in mind, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, that works with the DOE, sponsored a review of the available literature in an endeavor to describe more specific findings of the health benefits for occupants that result from home performance and energy-efficient upgrades. Even though the literature doesn’t offer many details relating to the standards and work practices followed, the reviewers focused on:
- Air sealing and insulation
- Energy-efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that were properly-sized, selected, and matched
- Moisture problems that were identified and corrected
- Properly done ventilation of rooms and whole houses
- Energy-efficient lighting
- Installation of whole house and room air filtration systems including air purifiers
- Basic pest control or exclusion
Health outcomes related to the possible risks of bad design, inadequate installation, lack of maintenance, and/or equipment failures were not considered. Work that didn’t meet industry standards and specifications was also disregarded.
Goals and Purposes
The potential for energy-efficiency improving health is clearly a very popular topic. There are millions (more than 3,000,000) publications in the public U.S. database PubMed that deal with topics that relate to energy-efficiency and health.
But for the DOE’s Home Rx: The Health Benefits of Home Performance: A Review of the Current Evidence, which was published in December 2016, only about 300 articles were reviewed in detail and only about 50 were analyzed.
When we talk about home performance upgrades we refer to a systematic approach used to improve the durability, energy efficiency, safety, health, and comfort of homes.
The range of work, which includes those listed above, is supported by the DOE Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program and green renovations relating to window replacement, moisture control, ventilation upgrades, and repairs that are designed to reduce allergens. It is also supported by the DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program that covers HVAC, air sealing, insulation, lighting and so on.
Most of these upgrades require some sort of mechanical engineering services that might include an electrical or HVAC engineer.
Ultimately, the goal of the reviewers was to determine the occupant health and indoor environmental outcomes that resulted from home performance or energy efficiency upgrades, and also how indoor environmental conditions can affect the health of building occupants.
The Results Tell All
In a sentence, energy efficiency really can improve your health. Based on the reviewers’ findings, here’s how:
- Base energy-efficiency improvements, including the work done in accordance with the Weatherization Assistance Program, help to create a healthier living environment. Research studies that were analyzed show that there is usually an improvement in general health as well as a reduction in the symptoms associated with asthma. There were also fewer cases of hypertension and the risks associated with upper respiratory problems were reduced.
- Enhanced energy-efficiency upgrades reduce the many indoor air contaminants that are linked to chronic illness. Generally, they control the many environmental contaminants, including mold caused by moisture and dust mites, that so often trigger respiratory symptoms. As a result, they tend to improve the condition of people with symptoms of asthma and other respiratory health conditions. Some studies even found that when indoor air pollutants were reduced, there were noticeable improvements in blood pressure and fatigue.
- Green construction and green renovation reduce indoor air pollutants and a wide range of asthma triggers including mold and pests. The potential benefits of improved home performance and increased energy efficiency are undeniable.
- Improved and enhance ventilation reduces the contaminants associated with inferior indoor air quality that is linked with respiratory problems and a number of chronic illnesses including asthma. Enhanced ventilation also reduces allergens. The studies that show this offer a promising key for positive health benefits when whole-house ventilation is incorporated into the measures taken to improve home performance.
- Various standalone home upgrades and services will improve the health of occupants and they should be incorporated into the specifications of home performance projects. These include upgrades that will help to reduce air contaminants and therefore reduce respiratory risks:
- In-room high-efficiency particulate (HEPA) air cleaners
- Replacement of gas stoves with energy-efficient electric stoves ideally powered by renewable energy
- Upgrades from older wood-burning stoves to newer cleaner-burning types
The results may be difficult for the healthcare industry to accept, particularly healthcare providers and insurers.
But for home performance contractors, the evidence that occupants feel better, experience fewer headaches, and have reduced respiratory symptoms should be enough to ensure that homes are energy efficient and perform to their full potential.
At the end of the day, if you employ a reputable company offering engineering solutions in Chicago, New York or another big city, it’s a no-brainer not to upgrade homes to make them perform better and increase energy efficiency.
