Embodied Energy in the Home
Last Updated: Mar 20, 2025Sustainable, "green," or environmentally friendly homes are usually associated with solar panels, LED lights, and energy-efficient appliances. Reducing the amount of energy our homes use and incorporating renewable energy sources are essential elements of lowering our carbon footprint. (Check out this Rise article for how you can easily calculate your carbon footprint).
However, what if we told you that the energy used in building the homes we live in often contributes much more to global climate change and other aspects of environmental degradation?
Embodied energy is not discussed often in conversations around the sustainable home sector. However, suppose we are going to commit to living in more sustainable and regenerative homes. In that case, we need to make an effort to understand the total energy footprint of the buildings we inhabit. Below, we look at what embodied energy is, how to calculate it, and simple things that every homeowner can do to reduce the embodied energy footprint of our homes.
Table of Contents
- Climate Change and Resource Consumption Awareness
- What Is Embodied Energy?
- Why Should I Care About Embodied Energy?
- How is Embodied Energy Calculated?
- What Can You Do to Lower the Embodied Energy of Your Home?
Climate Change and Resource Consumption Awareness
According to a 2019 poll released by Yale University and George Mason University, almost seven out of every ten Americans are at least "somewhat worried" about the threats posed by global climate change. For years, climate change was mostly seen as a distant threat that would have limited consequences, at least during the lifetimes of the current generation. However, extreme weather events are becoming a regular occurrence. And, more difficult scientific predictions regarding the scope and rate at which climate change is progressing have been released in recent years. This increased awareness has led to changes in attitude towards the most severe environmental challenge we face.
Despite this growing public concern, many people still feel relatively powerless regarding strategies to combat climate change. Flying less or purchasing an electric car can certainly reduce individual carbon footprints. Nevertheless, the homes we live in are often the most significant contributors to the carbon emissions associated with our lifestyles. The EPA states that in 2018, direct greenhouse gas emissions emitted from homes and businesses accounted for over 12 percent of total US greenhouse gas emissions due to their energy demand. So, investing money in energy-efficient, low-carbon retrofits for your home is a simple way to cut back on the "operational emissions" of your home over time.
But what about the energy used to build the homes that we inhabit? Say a homeowner went completely net-zero energy through installing a 7 KW solar PV system and investing in passive house retrofits. The energy used to source and transport the materials for that home would already have contributed to an enormous amount of greenhouse gas emissions.
What Is Embodied Energy?
The International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment considers embodied energy to be the total amount of energy consumed during the production of a residential or commercial building.
Think about the embodied energy in your home. Look around and review all of the different materials and products used to make the finished product. The granite in your kitchen countertop required an enormous amount of energy to be mined from a stone quarry. The power used to cut down the trees and mill the lumber for the 2x4s and flooring in your living room similarly came with substantial energy requirements. The foam insulation that improves the energy efficiency of your basement and home foundation also required an enormous amount of energy to produce.
The embodied energy footprint of a home is calculated by considering the energy used during:
- Mining and acquisition of natural resources
- Manufacturing and other industrial processes of transforming raw resources into usable building components
- Transportation of building materials from their source of origin to your home
- Energy used during the building process itself
- Energy used to operate the home during its lifetime
In mathematical terms, embodied energy is measured by the quantity of non-renewable energy per unit of building material. The embodied energy of each material used in your home is conveyed in megajoules (MJ) or gigajoules (GJ) per unit weight (kg or ton) or area (m2). To try and make this a bit clearer, the Australian government has calculated synthetic rubber to have an embodied energy rating of 110 (measured in MJ per KG). At the same time, air-dried sawn hardwood has a rating of just 0.5 MJ/kg. The lower the score, the less embodied energy in the building material.
You can find a more detailed list of the embodied energy rating or the coefficient of a large number of building materials here.
What Can You Do to Lower the Embodied Energy of Your Home?
All this talk about mega joules might make you want to dig out your old high school chemistry book to try and understand how embodied energy is measured. Or, maybe advanced chemistry and math are not your things! Fortunately, several "principles of action" can help every homeowner reduce the embodied energy footprint of their homes.
Considering the embodied energy footprint of your home might seem impossible at first. However, the suggestions mentioned above are simple ways that every homeowner can reduce the embodied energy of the homes we inhabit.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
