Definition of Green Building and Healthy Home

It is all quite confusing. What is the definition of Green Building? And what is the definition of a Healthy Home? Are they one and the same? Lots of questions and to be honest, the industry does not provide a lot of answers.

Here’s the problem, there is a pure definition, that can be found in a dictionary or in an encyclopedia (Wikipedia) for Green Building, but there is no clear definition for Healthy Home. And to further complicate the issue, you will find that different organizations, stores and manufactures all define each one of these concepts in a different way.

First, what is the actual definition of Green Building? Based on my research, Green Building is the practice of:

1. increasing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use and harvest energy, water, and materials, and

2. reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better site planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal — the complete building life cycle.

But Green Building is also sometimes known as "sustainable building", “environmental building", “green home building” or just simply “green” which also leads to additional confusion. The U.S. Green Building Council’s definition of Green is "a high performing home that's energy and water efficient, has good indoor air quality, uses environmentally sustainable materials and also uses the building lot or site in a sustainable manner."

So, as I see it, the definition of Green Building is the practice of designing, planning, and constructing buildings where the priority and emphasis is placed on the current and future environmental impact of the building.

Ok so we have a clear definition of Green Building. But what is “environmental impact"? Environmental impact is a beneficial or negative change in the environment that has come about as a direct result of any part of the building process from conception to completion. Including any possible future impact the process or the building may have due to emissions or other unanticipated outcomes on the environment.

Here are the Key Elements of a Green Building:

• Energy efficient- a generally tight house with energy efficient use of water, energy efficient appliances, windows, Cooling and Heating units and HVAC and ventilation systems.

• Recycled content used in the building process

• Uses environmentally sustainable materials

• Uses the building lot or site in a sustainable manner

• Use of locally manufactured goods

• Indoor environmental air quality

The bottom line is that the main focus of building a Green Home (“sustainable building", “environmental building", “green home building” or just simply “green“) is the environment.

But building a Healthy Home has an additional focus as its priority. So then what is the definition of a Healthy Home?

1. A Healthy Home is one that has been designed, constructed, maintained, or rehabilitated in a manner that supports the health of its residents.

2. It is one that nurtures body, mind and spirit. All living spaces are open, flexible and easy to maintain. Natural, eco-friendly building materials are used and are free of harmful synthetic chemicals

3. And it is a house that is healthy for its occupants as well as for the global environment.

Basically, as I see it, a Healthy Home is a home designed, planned and constructed where the priority and emphasis are placed on the current and future mental and physical impact the building and its contents will have on its occupants.

Therefore, the Key Elements of a Healthy Home should be:

• Built or remodeled using low VOC or non-toxic building materials

• No pesticides are used in or around the house before, during or after construction

• Eliminate or reduce the use of carpets

• House is designed for cross ventilation

• Fresh air intake system installed or strategy developed to support flow of fresh air

• Water filtration system

• Consideration is given to all products brought into the home including furniture, household items, consumables, cleaning products, personal hygiene products etc…. All items are reviewed for possible toxic content or toxic emissions.

• All of the key elements for a Green Building are usually found in a Healthy Home unless they are found to be potentially harmful to the occupants (due to potential health concerns such as asthma, allergies, etc)

Building a Healthy Home takes into consideration the environmental impact the home or building will have, but not at the expense of the occupants. For example, building with recycled materials is considered an environmentally friendly practice and is used in designing a Green Home but in a Healthy Home that particular recycled product may off-gas toxins that could lead to future health problems or exacerbate current health problems for the occupants.

A growing body of evidence links housing conditions and indoor air quality to health outcomes such as asthma, lead poisoning, and lung cancer. Because I have a neurological disorder I felt that it would be beneficial for me to build a Healthy Home while at the same time trying to preserve as many elements of the Green Building process as possible. But in some instances it was not possible to follow the guidelines for Green Building. Using recycled materials was not an option for me because of the potential off-gassing. My priority needed to be my health and at times that was at the expense of the environment.

The good news is that the definition of Green Building is evolving as we begin to understand more about indoor air quality and the potential health hazards. More and more Green Building Guides and organizations are making Indoor Air Quality a priority and I believe in the future we will have a single comprehensive definition of Green Building and Healthy Home that has found a balance between the health of the individual and the health of the world.

When designing your next home weigh your options and make a clear decision on what your priorities are and what sacrifices you are willing to make. What is more important to you, the health of the environment or your physical health? Most likely it will be a compromise between the two. There is no right or wrong answer and there are good arguments for both sides but ultimately the decision is yours to create your own definition of Green Building.


Ideal Bite is a great site for daily eco-tips and information on green living. I love getting my daily bite and their website is very playful and creative, which makes looking for information a whole lot more fun! I highly recommend signing up for their free daily tips.

If you enjoyed reading Definition of Green Building and Healthy Home you might also enjoy reading my article Disadvantages of Green Building

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