How to achieve a healthy and sustainable home? CaixaBank Experience
CaixaBank Experience invites us to take part in a series of videos dedicated to improving wellbeing at home, alongside other leading experts such as Olga Givernet, Alicia Iglesias, and Dean Mouliaá.
In our section, we discuss health, efficiency, and sustainability in the home—three concepts we have been working on for many years as the foundation of our projects, and which in recent years have begun to generate significant interest.
How to create a more sustainable home?
Jade Serra, partner at Slow Studio, explains how to improve wellbeing at home. We spend around 90% of our time indoors, so ensuring that a space is healthy, efficient, and sustainable can improve our quality of life.
How do we achieve a healthy space?
Temperature
The first factor is temperature: a healthy space has a temperature between 17 and 27 degrees. Excessive heat makes us drowsy and reduces our ability to concentrate. Conversely, a cold environment makes us feel restless and makes it impossible to focus on any activity. This is especially important while we sleep, as a temperature between 17 and 18 degrees promotes deep rest.
HUMIDITY
In addition to an appropriate temperature, a healthy space has a relative humidity of around 50%. Below 30%, our mucous membranes dry out, reducing our defences and exposing our bodies to the entry of viruses and bacteria. Conversely, an excessively humid environment makes it harder for us to perspire and for our body’s natural transpiration, causing a feeling of drowsiness.
And how can we tell whether our environment is at the right temperature and humidity?
We can use a simple home indoor-outdoor temperature and humidity meter. This will give us clues as to when we should ventilate.
How do we achieve an efficient space?
We move on to the second factor that determines the quality of our home: efficiency. An efficient space is one that reduces energy demand through natural means. In winter, we capture the sun’s heat and store it in walls. Just as we store heat and wrap up on the outside, we can also “wrap” our homes on the outside with good insulation. Conversely, in summer, we protect ourselves from the sun with slats, porches, or planted pergolas that block direct sunlight while allowing good natural ventilation. These are known as bioclimatic architecture strategies.
How do we achieve a sustainable home?
We have already seen how to make a space healthy and efficient, but for it to be sustainable, we must do so using natural materials with a reduced ecological footprint. Today, we have eco-friendly options for building walls, such as this cross-laminated timber panel, which can be used to construct buildings of up to 18 storeys.
We can also build walls with natural materials, such as this earth brick compacted with lime, or this hemp-based brick, which performs very well thermally and acoustically. Wood is increasingly positioning itself as the construction material of the future, as it absorbs more CO2 during its growth process than during its processing and installation.
To insulate a home, we also have natural options, such as this fibre panel made from residues from the wood industry, or this other one made from recycled textiles. If it is going to be exposed to the elements, we can use cork, a material that does not rot, resists moisture, and is not attacked by insects.
By following these principles, we can achieve healthy, efficient, and sustainable spaces, in harmony with the planet. Our home is our refuge and must safeguard our health and wellbeing; but if this is also achieved without energy consumption and in harmony with the planet, then we can be sure we are living in an exceptional environment.