Small is Beautiful U.S. House Size, Resource Use, and the Environment

Abstract

SummaryAs house size increases, resource use in buildings goes up, more land is occupied, increased impermeable surface results in more storm-water runoff, construction costs rise, and energy consumption increases. In new, single-family houses constructed in the United States, living area per family member has increased by a factor of 3 since the 1950s. In comparing the energy performance of compact (small) and large single-family houses, we find that a small house built to only moderate energy-performance standards uses substantially less energy for heating and cooling than a large house built to very high energy-performance standards. This article examines some of the trends in single-family house building in the United States and provides recommendations for downsizing houses to improve quality and resource efficiency.

Climate Change and the Long-Term Evolution of the U.S. Buildings Sector

“…Figure 2.1 shows the historical record. Although it is unclear whether this trend will continue in incoming decades, researchers are increasingly concerned with the impacts of continued growth on building energy demand (see Wilson 1999;Laurence 2004;Battles 2004;Gerencher 2006). a One exajoule is roughly equivalent to one quadrillion British thermal unit (quad).…”

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Select Visual Signals to Prevent Bird-window Collisions

“…However, established urban areas are already dominated by developed neighborhoods and abundant vegetation. Recently, these areas are experiencing an influx of new development as older houses are being replaced by larger houses (Wilson and Boehland 2005) that often have more windows. In these areas, mature vegetation and canopy cover are naturally attracting birds to yards.…”

“…In the future, as these houses age and the vegetation matures, it is likely that collisions will increase. In general, newer houses have more exterior glass (Wilson and Boehland 2005) than older ones, which means that bird collisions may increase in the future. Previous studies have reported that collisions occur mainly at large windows and when there is abundant sheet glass on a building (Klem 1989, Hager et al 2013).…”

Connecting Regional Governance, Urban Form, and Energy Use: Opportunities and Limitations

“…In an average household, physical characteristics: the size of the structure [31][32][33], space heating and cooling, water heating, and lighting [5,[34][35][36]; household demographics [9,38], appliances in use [35], and climatic variability [31] have been shown to be critical determinants of household energy use patterns. Pitt [37•], in a recent study of climate action planning, found that a compact housing scenario for future urban growth could decrease residential energy us by as much as 36 %.…”