A recent article by the American Institute of Architects lays out the case for energy efficiency in schools as a means of improving student performance.  It’s an interesting article, albeit one that doesn’t come as a huge surprise.

According to the article:  “Numerous studies now indicate that better lighting, ventilation and indoor air-quality in schools contribute to higher student achievement. Indeed, buildings with more filtered air and fewer materials that contain toxins reduce the instance of asthma and colds and flu, and therefore absenteeism among students, and it also reduces teacher turnover.”

Of course, improving energy efficiency in schools is an investment that pays for itself exponentially – healthier kids, healthier planet, lower energy bills, and on and on.  For us, the most striking part of the article is the question that necessarily arises: Does the same hold true for energy efficiency in the home?

We’ll leave the number-crunching to the think tanks, but can’t help but imagine that any of the perks of energy efficiency that improve performance in schools would have the same effects at home, including increased comfort and improved indoor air quality.  We’re already aware of the multitudinous ways in which energy efficiency can benefit children by helping to guarantee that the planet will continue to be livable as they grow older.

But an equally important benefit, as evidenced by this study, is that energy efficient buildings truly are healthier living environments.  With indoor air pollution making the EPA’s Top-5 list of environmental threats to public health, this is no small potato.

When weighed against such a huge payoff, our reasons for putting off any efforts to improve the efficiency of our homes (take, for example, the excuse of “inertia”) seem really… well… lame.  A little caulking in the basement, a little foam up in the attic, maybe an extra layer of insulation – you really could do that.

By Will Mallett