The Five Essentials of Healthy Housing™

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 percent of all energy used in Canada. Of this, about 67 percent is used for space heating and cooling, 18 percent for lighting and appliances, and 15 percent 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, and encourages the use of renewable energy. 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 affordable and adaptable to changing needs. Efficient use is made of building materials, and construction waste is well managed. Durability of building components is essential. The Healthy House conserves resources, especially 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 uses alternative water and wastewater systems, encourages site planning that reduces land requirements, 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 won, and its design makes it easily adaptable to its occupants' changing needs.