In a rushed world, more people yearn for a home that feels like a relaxing escape. Not just a place to sleep, but in the presence of nature. A good house, well connected to the outside world, brings calm and health into your life. This is not just about whether you have a backyard or big windows. It’s about building or designing in a manner that allows your house to “breathe” fresh air and energy, while comfortably blending indoors and outdoors.
Interestingly, many Californians who focus on long-term planning, like those involved in IRA investing in California, also see the value in investing in homes that promote well-being and sustainability. In which walls breathe and materials join with elements, is the moment when you walk in. We have to know from Shangri-La to house everywhere, is this not a more fitting living room?) Our nature-friendly, sustainable home communities span from the east to the west—and they can be found everywhere in between, too!
The Breathable Home: What Does It Mean?
When we talk about a house “breathing,” we’re not suggesting that the house has lungs or needs to suck in air to survive, but rather that the air inside the house can move fairly freely around the house. And that is more than opening a window; it’s the design of the walls, floors, and roofs and how we use that to hold fresh air, keep balanced humidity. ‘Certainly homes, as previously, become little hot boxes trapping heat, moisture, and stale air, leading to discomfort, including exposure to molds and discomfort.
A breathable home does everything a home should do to be healthy: It’s built well and it doesn’t suffocate,” explained Donnelly, who also chairs the Clean and Healthy New York coalition, noting that instead, air and moisture can move through it, while keeping water out. That means your home remains dry, fresh, and comfortable all year.
Breathability in a home enables the level of humidity to be kept under control and to avoid the accumulation of harmful substances inside. It also cuts down on the need for heavy air conditioning or heating, as natural air keeps temperatures stabilized. In much of the US, that system is conducive to a healthy living environment.
The result? A home that feels fresh daily, without whirring forced air systems working overtime. All of which might sound simple, but it requires smart design and the right material choices. The idea here is to build a space where the structure itself can support your health and your comfort, not just the appliances.”
Natural Materials That Make Your Home Feel Alive
The relationship between your home and the outdoors has most to do with the material that was used in your home’s construction. Natural material–based on substances such as wood, stone, clay, air-permeable insulation will greatly affect the mood in a room and, as well, the useful properties of the structure. A mattress constructed with a natural substance that absorbs and evaporates moisture and humidity is more comfortable to sleep on than a mattress made of cardboard or other synthetic material that traps moisture and hinders airflow through the mattress.
The other type of natural material that is also well-liked when it comes to making shutters is wood. It gives warmth and character, and it breathes with the environment. Certain woods can also “charge,” when they absorb moisture from humid air, and “discharge” when air is dry, thereby moderating humidity levels in indoor spaces. The stone and used brick walls add thermal mass, which soaks up the sun’s heat all day, then releases it at night to keep your house warm without using more energy.
As long as it’s breathable insulation, like sheep’s wool or cellulose, air can flow while the heat remains. These don’t have the plastic moisture-barrier writers of the trip-me-to-the-floor-’70s typically have in their homes now, which serves to trap escaping moisture and keep out marauding allergens, and make the house itself feel stuffy. Here are a few natural materials that work:
- Wood: Gives a warm feel, controls humidity and is naturally attractive.
- Stone: Has durability and can store heat for temperature regulation.
- Clay: Improves indoor air quality and manages humidity.
- Sheep’s Wool Insulation: Naturally breathable and energy saving.
- Cellulose Insulation. Made with 85% recycled material, it’s an eco-friendly material and is also breathable.
Another characteristic of the family home is the use of natural materials to connect with the outdoors from within. They wear well and impart life to your home. In addition to aesthetics, they are good for your health as they reduce air pollution and bring nature indoors.
How Fresh Air and Ventilation Change Your Living Space
Good ventilation is the oxygen of a clean, breathable home. More than just cracking a window or turning on a fan. Standard ventilation systems quietly exhaust air from your home, and often remove some conditioned air during the process, which can drive up energy costs and mixed with moisture, can create an undesirable effect.
In the U.S., where a relatively high percentage of homes use air conditioning and many are tightly sealed and insulated (and thus often trap indoor pollutants and moisture), the consequences can include worse indoor-born health issues, like allergies or mold problems. A more intelligent defense is provided by ventilation, such as natural cross-ventilation or heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) and energy recovery ventilators (ERVs). They assist the clean air in its efforts to find its way inside, and help save energy by making sure you don’t waste heat or coolness.
Wind-capture, where wind pressure forces air into a building, is natural, as is the stack effect, where warm air rises and escapes out of an opening high in a building. It’s one of the oldest and simplest methods, though it takes attention to detail. These parts of the climate or periods of the year are those in which the air does not move of itself at such a rate as to carry off the waste products of respiration and combustion; mechanical ventilation is hence needed. Between these two systems, a home feels fresh, smells less funky (all you require is a paper mill or tannery nearby to understand this), and is more comfortable, period.
