Tiny house, tiny footprint? The potential for tiny houses to reduce residential greenhouse gas emissions

Abstract

While considerable improvements to the energy efficiency of housing have been achieved over recent decades, the residential sector still represents a significant and increasing proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is exacerbated by an increasing global population and living standards, demand for larger houses, and smaller household size. Tiny houses have emerged as a potential solution to this issue. While research exists on the environmental benefits of smaller housing, there is little on that of tiny houses. This study quantifies the life cycle GHG emissions of a tiny house, and their potential to reduce residential GHG emissions. A hybrid analysis and a dynamic energy modelling tool were used to quantify embodied and operational GHG emissions, respectively, for a tiny house located in Australia. The study shows that a tiny house may result in a 70% reduction in per capita GHG emissions over its life compared to a traditional Australian house. This indicates the potential of tiny houses to be a useful option for reducing GHG emissions in the building sector.