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How Your Health is Impacted by Energy Efficiency

We have discussed before how an energy efficient home can impact your wallet but were you aware that your health can also be impacted? Your health is very important; when you are healthy you are happier and are able to perform better in your everyday life so you should be doing everything you can to maintain as good of health as possible.

When you increase the energy efficiency in your home, particularly through insulation or air sealing improvements such as windows or doors, you create a drier and warmer environment in your home. When you create this improved indoor climate, you reduce humidity and decrease the risk of mold growth and other indoor pollutants. [1] This results in a number of health benefits including decreased risk of asthma, respiratory issues, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Other benefits include less hypertension and heart disease and a significant decrease in deaths related to extreme heat or cold. [2]

Another health impact that you may overlook when making energy efficient improvements to your home is the effect it can have on your mental health. When your home is operating at peak efficiency, your energy bills go down which will dramatically reduce your stress regarding monthly finances, improving your quality of life. On top of these longer term mental health impacts, energy efficiency also interferes with many common causes of inconsistent sleep. Dryer air, more comfortable temperatures, and improved air quality will all help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep through the whole night.  [2]

According to energyusage.com an investment in energy-efficiency has a benefit-cost ratio of over 4-1, with 75% of the benefits being attributed to health advantages. [3] As we discussed earlier, your health is a commonly overlooked but is an extremely important part of your life and minimizing the health risks that are present in your home is an important step towards being as healthy as possible.

[1] https://nchh.org/research/home-rx/

[2] https://e4thefuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Occupant-Health-Benefits-Residential-EE.pdf

[3] https://www.energysage.com/energy-efficiency/why-conserve-energy/