Log Homes are constructed of natural and renewable materials that are inherently more environmentally efficient, yet many clients are concerned about the energy efficiency of a Log Home. Lean in… there is a reason our clients in Canada and Alaska see the benefits of Log Home Living and I am going to tell you why our homes can be a benefit to you no matter where you live. It starts with the building product; we inspect and use only the finest timber in our log homes and cabins. Not only is the wood we use to build our homes a beautiful natural resource, but it also has incredible strength. A wooden block just one-inch square and 2-1/4 inches long can support 10,000 pounds, the weight of three automobiles. Actually, pound for pound, wood is stronger than steel.
It would take a concrete wall five feet thick to equal the insulating quality of just 4 inches of wood. Wood Insulates six times better than brick, 15 times better than concrete and an unbelievable 1,770 times better than aluminum. Why? Wood is a natural insulator. In each log there are millions of tiny cellulose air pockets which insulate home owners from the elements. According to article sited from the Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy and Sustainable Living, logs are able to act like “thermal batteries” and can, under the right circumstances, store heat during the day and gradually release it at night. The heat reserve is slowly released throughout the day, keeping Log cabin homes warm and cozy throughout the evening. Similarly, a properly designed log home will reserve the cool air it collects in the morning and help keep the cabin cool during a summer day. Today’s modern log and timber homes can easily meet or exceed the performance of conventional homes. A host of scientific studies conducted by The National Bureau of Standards, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Research Center of the National Association of Home Builders have proven that homes built with solid log walls are typically 5% to 15% more energy efficient than standard stick frame construction.
(For more information on those studies you can go here… http://loghomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/EnergyPerformanceWP_2010.pdf )
It is shown in these studies, which are fact and not opinion-based, that solid log homes are in fact high performance and low energy usage homes. Our log home owners concur and enjoy the savings they see on their utility bills….
We have been living in our new Log Home since late September 2005 and we love it, it is every thing we dreamed of and wanted and MORE. We were leery of the hype of how energy efficient log homes were suppose to be, well they are SUPER ENERGY EFFICIENT. Our Log home is in the Deerfield valley Vermont which is in the mountains and it gets COLD, single digits for days, and the log home holds the heat in like a loving hug from Grandma. With the unbelievable energy efficiency of The Original log Cabin Homes Logs, we feel we have cheated the oil companies out of our hard earned money. (BOO HOO)
– Lillian Wider (original log home customer)
This is exactly what we provide for our customers here at The Original Log Cabin Homes. Let the worries of energy efficiency hold you back from your dream home no longer. Contact us today for a personal log home consultation. We’ve been helping people get back to nature since 1987.
Until Next Time,
Jennifer
Sources:
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/W/AE_wood_R-value.html
http://loghomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/EnergyPerformanceWP_2010.pdf
