Thermal Properties of Log Homes: Reprint Edition
Thermal Properties of Log Homes: Reprint Edition
NEWS
t
Reprin
Edition
The International Log
Builders Association is
pleased to provide you
with this free reprint
from our newsletter,
Log Building News #38.
The ILBA is a not-forprofit, educational
association dedicated to
furthering the craft of
log home construction.
It publishes books,
articles, Log Building
News, and the Log
Building Standards (the
building code for log
homes), and conducts
annual conferences and
workshops for log home
customers and log
home builders. Contact
information for the ILBA
is at the end of this
article.
Dalibor Houdek
Number 38
LogBuildingNews
Wood
Species
Specific
Gravity
Thermal Resistivity
(hft2F/Btuin)
Oven dry
At 12% MC
0.33
1.7
1.5
White Spruce
0.37
1.6
1.3
0.37
1.6
1.3
0.40
1.5
1.2
Lodgepole Pine
0.43
1.4
1.2
0.48
1.3
1.1
Red Pine
0.46
1.3
1.1
Douglas Fir
0.51
1.2
frame wall
the window/doorto-wall log interfaces
the log-corner interface.
It is very important to pay attention to
these structural details during design and
construction, as they make a large difference in overall energy efficiency of a log
structure. It was shown that gasketed walls
with tightened through-bolts perform better than those just using fiberglass, and
that exterior/interior chinking reduces air
infiltration even further.
Last, is the issue of thermal mass; a difficult subject to address.
While it is a relatively simple exercise to
calculate the thermal mass (heat storing
capacity) of a log wall, it is rather difficult
to estimate how this affects the overall
energy consumption of a particular building. Nevertheless, the effect of heat mass
was confirmed by long-term testing in a
study4 conducted by the US Department
of Commerce.
In the 28 week-long test, the test house
with nominal R-10 log walls consumed
the same amount of energy as a light
frame building of the same size and shape
LogBuildingNews
References
1 Life Cycle Costing of Log Walls for the
National Energy Code for Houses,
Institute for Research in Construction,
National Research Council Canada,
1996.
2 Air Leakage Performance of 11 Log
Houses in Eastern Ontario and Western
Quebec, CMHC, 1996
3 Stephen Klossner: Energy Related
Performance Testing of Minnesota Log
Homes, 1990.
4 A Field Study of the Effect on Wall Mass
on the Heating and Cooling Loads of
Residential Buildings, National Bureau of
Standards, 1982.
5 Thomas Gorman: The Thermal
Performance of Log Home Walls, Wood
Design Focus, Fall 1995.
Number 38
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LogBuildingNews