During confinement provoked by the COVID19 pandemic, we spent a lot of time at home and realized that our homes are not as safe as we thought. In this post, we want to go over what aspects have become evident after being at home for three months.

As an introduction, we would like to point out a factor that we have written about previously in this blog. It is the percentage of houses built following criteria of energy efficiency and low decarbonization. Only 25% of the buildings throughout Europe are built taking into consideration standards of energy efficiency. In other words, up to now, there wasn’t awareness about the contaminating potential of buildings and, as a consequence, the homes we live in currently do not follow the basic principles for environmental care.
To reverse this situation, actions are necessary that go beyond reviewing air conditioning and heating in order to reduce the electricity bill. It is necessary to act on the material, the orientation, the ground…and in new way of building and renovating focused on reaching emission neutrality. To be more respectful with the environment, it is essential to take care of the health of buildings. Also, the air we breathe inside the houses is fundamental for the health and well-being of the people that live in them.
During the months of confinement, we have seen deficiencies in houses that we hadn’t repaired before, such as their quality, exterior spaces, the use of common spaces and ventilation. “We must reflect on the problems of constructive quality, of energy efficiency in the cities”, comments Guillermo Acero, architect and town planner from Paisaje Transversal. Acero also mentions the great dependency of cars in the model of the constructed city that doesn’t take into consideration proximity living and ends up negatively impacting the environment.
The months of confinement have significantly changed our habits. We have spent a lot of time at home and many people started telecommuting. If this new way of inhabiting our homes becomes the norm, surely the time we spend in them will increase. Therefore, it is very important to take care of the quality of our homes.
Without good air quality inside houses, we can have problems with sleeping and concentration when we work. So ventilation systems need to be repaired and protocols applied to air condition, cleaning or ventilation.
While it may be true that the tendencies indicate certain awareness in this area, it is necessary to boost reform of the sector to move away from a compulsive way of construction and to adopt practices of sustainability and respect for the environment.