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| BENEFITS OF WOOD - GREEN BUILDING |
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| 1) Reducing Energy Use During the Building Service Life |
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One third of the energy used in North America is used to heat, cool and operate the buildings we live and work in. As most energy is produced from non-renewable fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases, reducing energy use in a building will lower its environmental impact. This can be accomplished by low energy lighting, passive ventilation systems, and minimizing a building's heating and cooling needs. The materials and construction of a building have a significant impact on the last category: minimizing heating and cooling needs.
Wood has very good insulating value compared to other materials. Laboratory tests conducted at the National Research Council of Canada and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory show that light metal framing significantly reduces the effective thermal resistance, or R-value, of a wall assembly resulting in increased energy use (Figure 1). Wood-frame construction is easy to insulate to high standards. In fact, several wood-frame assemblies have been designed for the Arctic.
Wood-frame construction can easily be adapted to any energy code requirement. This means wood frame houses, offices, schools, and other commercial and industrial buildings can keep energy usage for heating and cooling low.
For more detailed information on the energy efficiency advantages of wood, see The Thermal Performance of Light-Frame Assemblies at: http://www.cwc.ca/publications/tech_bulletins/
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