Assessing energy use and greenhouse gas emission savings from compact housing: a small-town case study

Data from the US Department of Energy show that single-family detached homes consume about 17% more energy per year than attached homes and roughly double that of units in large multi-family structures. While greater use of these compact housing types could reduce a community's energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, most local climate action plans (CAPs) do not quantify those potential savings. This article describes how the climate action planning process in the Town of Blacksburg, Virginia has addressed residential sector GHG emissions and demonstrates a methodology applied in that community for estimating potential GHG reductions from compact housing. It finds that in an aggressive compact housing scenario GHG emissions from new housing could be decreased by as much as 36%, without factoring in additional energy conservation or efficiency measures. The article concludes with a discussion of the opportunities and challenges related to implementing compact housing in future residential development.