As Sergio and I begin to more seriously consider our move closer to work, an interesting question has come up: Which is less wasteful: a condo or a house? Now, to be honest, in the current market, we might have no choice at all about where we move because we may have to love wherever we have an offer accepted, and we might even end up in a rental (which was our first plan; however, our current plan is to try to sell and buy again). Nevertheless, the question is worth the intellectual exercise of a good, old-fashioned compare-and-contrast.
1. Condos
Condos (and townhouses) are compact. They take up very little space and an especially nice byproduct of the closeness to neighbors is shared heat. In our current condo, we rarely turn on the heat in winter becuase we have neighbors on three sides. Condos also have little to no yard, which means that little to no water is needed to maintain the outdoor space. And, what outdoor space exists is a shared good.
On the other hand, as we know well, condos have rules and regulations, and some of these run counter to being green. For example, we can't compost or install solar panels at our current residence. This is a definite bummer.
2. Houses
Houses almost always have more square footage and yardage than condos. However, this isn't all bad. You can reuse your gray water from clothes washing to water your yard, or even zeroscape it, or use native plants. You can also hang your clothes to dry because there aren't any community bylaws prohibiting you from doing so. You can renovate with zero waste ideals in mind to your heart's content.
However, you will certainly have more to heat (and possibly cool) than you would in a condo, and by extension, you are contributing in worse ways to climate change issues.
Whichever type of residence we end up in, rentals included, we will certainly be closer to work, which will cut down on commute waste for sure.
So, which is less wasteful? Frankly, I'm not yet sure.
