Apartment vs House: Which is Truly the Eco-Friendly Living Choice?

Stop for a second and look around—whether you’re waking up to the sound of birds outside your villa window or hearing your neighbour’s footsteps in a high-rise, the way we live has an enormous impact on the planet. Whenever I hear people argue about what's kinder to Earth—living in an apartment or a house—opinions split faster than morning traffic on Devonport’s main street. But is one really greener than the other, or is the answer hiding in the fine print of our everyday routines?

The Science Behind Sustainable Spaces

On the surface, apartments seem like the superheroes of eco-friendly living, compact and stacked like eco-bricks in the heart of the city. There’s solid math behind that. Studies from the International Energy Agency show energy use per square metre is about 40% lower in apartments compared to detached houses. It's not just about smaller spaces; apartments lose less heat, and most buildings share walls, which means less energy wasted heating New Zealand's drafty winter nights.

But hold up—let's not hand over the green crown yet. Detached houses, especially newer builds, have all sorts of tricks up their solar-powered sleeves. Many single-family homes now come with proper insulation, double-glazing, and even rooftop solar panels. They’re not married to outdated building codes. If you’re living in a freshly-built house, you might zip right past older apartments on the eco chart. On the flip side, a hundred-year-old villa with rattling windows and a musty basement isn’t impressing anyone when it comes to energy efficiency.

Where apartments shine is in the shared resources department. Think fewer lawns to water and mow (goodbye, thirsty grass), shared stairwells and lighting, and a much smaller slice of the world carved out for your personal use. Compact living means fewer materials were needed to build your home in the first place. In Aotearoa, statistics show the average new house has ballooned in size over the decades—a whopping 195m² for houses vs. just 89m² for apartments. That’s a lot more timber, steel, and concrete going into houses. And trust me—concrete, especially, has a big environmental footprint.

But it’s not always as black-and-white as apartment good, house bad. In some cases, apartments are built so cheaply or so poorly insulated that a family could end up running heaters around the clock just to keep the damp away. Older buildings especially can be drafty energy vampires. On the bright side, newer high-rises are starting to earn a Better Building Management (BBM) badge in New Zealand, aiming for standards like Homestar or NABERSNZ.

If you care about water, apartment dwellers are chart-toppers here too. With less garden and fewer appliances, you’re simply likely to use less. But if you have a greywater recycling system or a rainwater tank in your backyard at home—that's a win for houses. I’ve seen some pretty clever setups around Devonport, honestly. Even the shape of your roof can make a big difference if you’re trying to catch rainwater.

Here’s a look at some numbers comparing detached houses and apartments in New Zealand, based on data from the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ:

Basically, apartments lead the charge in fewer emissions and less resource use, but it’s not the whole story. The real magic comes down to how you choose to live within those four walls—detached or shared.

Energy and Resource Use: What Really Matters?

Let’s get specific. Heating and cooling are huge energy drains wherever you live, but apartments start with an advantage. Shared walls trap warmth like a good woolly jumper in July. In a house, heat leaks out, especially if you’re living in an old Kiwi bungalow with wooden floors above the breeze.

Lighting is another area to think about. Apartments, being smaller, need less. And the communal areas—those hallways and foyers—use LEDs much more these days, and they’re set on timers or motion sensors to save power. One apartment building with 30 units will almost always use less lighting energy overall than 30 separate houses. That’s just how the math works out.

How about food waste and rubbish? Apartments often mean smaller kitchens and less storage space, which can translate to buying less and wasting less. Also, urban apartments are typically closer to proper recycling and composting services. If your place comes with a communal compost bin or worm farm, you’re lightyears ahead of a house stuck waiting for a council green bin pickup. The flipside is fewer apartments have space for fruit trees, vegetable patches, or chickens—things some house-dwellers in Devonport enjoy.

Transport is a game-changer with eco-friendly living, but it gets ignored in the apartment vs house debate. If your apartment is in the middle of town, with bus stops, ferries, or biking routes just outside, it’s pretty tempting to ditch the car or go electric. People in apartments are less likely to need two cars and more likely to use their legs. Houses, especially those in the suburbs or countryside, often come with an extra car and a longer commute—sinking your carbon savings before you’ve even boiled the jug.

Still, houses can win out with renewable energy. If you own a roof, you can swap a few tiles for solar panels, install a solar water heater, or add a heat pump. Apartments are catching up—some new builds now include rooftop solar shared among residents or battery storage for the whole building, but it’s still easier and more affordable to go green in a standalone home.

Households can get creative in a way that’s tough in an apartment. Want to install a worm farm? Build a rain garden? Set up a massive veggie patch? Go for it. These touches don’t just help lower your eco-footprint; they also connect you with the seasons and your local soil. It’s that hands-on, DIY spirit you spot all the time here in Devonport—harvesting lemons from your neighbour’s tree, swapping seedlings at the local market, or building your own compost heap. Apartments rarely offer the same freedom.

Still, don’t underestimate tiny actions in small spaces. Apartment dwellers can install heat pumps, insulate windows, replace old appliances with energy-efficient ones, and join car-share schemes. There’s always a way to be greener, even if you’re on the third floor and your garden is just a couple of herbs on the windowsill.

Here’s a tip: whatever you live in, check your insulation and drafts. In New Zealand, nearly 60% of heating bills vanish through badly insulated windows and floors. Use draft blockers, hang thick curtains, and add rugs—it seriously helps. Replace incandescent bulbs with LEDs, set your hot water to 60°C, and always wash clothes in cold water if you can. These small moves add up, no matter your address.

Community, Convenience, and Carbon: The Social Side of Sustainability

Sustainability isn’t just what you do inside your own four walls; it’s about the choices your community gives you. Living in a city apartment usually means you’ve got public transport, cafés, libraries, gyms, and even community gardens right down the street. If you can walk or cycle to work, you’re slashing your carbon output in a way that retrofitting your house will never match.

But houses, especially ones in tight-knit neighbourhoods, have their own eco bonuses. They’re the heart of local sharing economies—think tool libraries, hand-me-downs, swapping preserves, or trading lawnmowers. Some suburbs run carpooling groups or set up community fruit-and-veggie markets. If you’re really lucky, you might live near a community orchard or repair café, where you can fix your toaster instead of binning it.

I love the surge in shared facilities popping up in new apartment complexes. Many now have shared electric bikes, car charging ports, recycled rainwater systems, recycling hubs, or communal composting. These little extras push down emissions per person. Ever see the rooftop beehives or green roofs thriving above a city building? It’s the eco-hustle in action, and it genuinely works.

Interestingly, while apartment dwellers produce less waste and use less water and energy on average, studies point out that their carbon advantage is tightly linked to their lifestyle. If you fill your flat with lights, air conditioners, and every gadget under the sun, or drive the same miles as folks in houses, you’re not actually ahead. The myth of the 'inherently green' small space doesn’t always stand up if habits don’t match the potential.

Homes, on the other hand, naturally encourage growing your own food, making compost, keeping chickens, and tipping veggie scraps straight into the earth. That’s an instant way to reduce emissions and boost biodiversity. You can plant native shrubs, create a habitat for bees, or just stop mowing so much lawn—let nature do its thing for a change. More backyards with native plants means more tūī and kererū song in the neighbourhood instead of endless concrete.

Of course, community rules and relationships play a huge part. Nobody wants a grumpy downstairs neighbour if your compost starts to smell, or the body corporate to get grumpy about a solar panel on a shared roof. Sometimes, being eco-friendly in an apartment means winning people over. Houses offer independence, but apartments teach us the art of co-existing—sharing, negotiating, and caring for more than our own patch of grass.

For people who love social connection and are happy to downsize their possessions, apartments can teach us how little we really need. Minimalism, intentional living, and even zero-waste ideas are so much easier with less space and more neighbours. But if you crave a garden, space for projects, or want kids to roam, a house lets you put down roots while still living responsibly—if you mind your choices.

Practical Tips for Greener Living—No Matter Where You Call Home

Alright, so what practical steps can you take if you’re keen for eco-friendly living—whether you’ve got a sprawling section or a sun-filled studio? Here are some tips from both sides of the fence (literally).

• Eco-friendly living always starts with looking at your energy consumption. Switch to renewable power suppliers—New Zealand now gets over 80% of its electricity from clean sources, but some companies go the extra mile.
• Install energy-efficient appliances, whether that’s a heat pump, fridge, LED bulbs, or low-flow showerheads. Look for Energy Star labels—they’ll pay off in power savings fast.
• Tackle drafts and insulation, especially in older homes or apartments. Use draft stoppers, insulate your hot-water cylinder, and add thermal curtains if you can.
• Befriend your building manager or landlord. Advocate for recycling, composting, better insulation, shared bikes, or solar panels. Sometimes all it takes is one proactive resident to start a green revolution.
• Take shorter showers and wash clothes in cold water. Apartments tend to use less water already, but there’s always room to trim more.
• Start a balcony or backyard garden, try a worm farm, or join a local community planting day. Even one tomato plant in a pot helps reduce emissions. Got spare space? Plant natives instead of lawn—less mowing, and more wildlife.
• Go paperless with bills and banking, and embrace second-hand shopping. The less you buy new, the smaller your carbon mark will be.
• If you drive, share journeys or switch to electric. Apartment dwellers, look for car-share schemes; house owners, you may be able to install a home charging station.
• Track your waste. See how much food you throw out each week—it’s usually more than we think! Get strategic with shopping lists and leftovers.
• Stay curious, and share what you learn. Join a local Facebook group or attend a council workshop—Devonport has a few, but every town has something.

To sum it up: your daily habits, openness to sharing, and willingness to get involved matter as much (if not more) than the type of home you live in. Whether you’re ten stories up or out in the suburbs, every step helps. In the race for the most sustainable lifestyle, there’s no single winner—just a bunch of us trying to do a little better each day.