Tips to Ensure Your Log Home is Energy Efficient

Are you in the midst of the exciting process of building a new log home or retrofitting your beloved mature one? Heartwood Mills wants to assist in this process by offering a valuable list of pointers for guaranteeing your home utilizes energy in the most resourceful and economical way possible.

Energy codes and construction methods of the recent decade have propelled energy saving measures, resulting in a minimized impact on the environment and maximized savings for your wallet. However, as responsible home builders and owners, we would be remiss if we did not make ourselves familiar with these energy saving measures. When constructing that brand new log home of yours, it would be wise to consider the following options and approaches to energy efficiency.

New Log Home
1) Solar Design: Solar power is an amazing technology that can dramatically increase energy savings. If you choose to install this product in your new log home, you can expect a large initial price tag, but a good return in the long run. However, there are other ways in which to utilize the power of the sun by taking advantage of solar design.

• Logs, with inherent thermal mass, serve as heat absorbers when direct sunlight shines down on them.
• By installing skylights and large windows, you can let natural light into your home.
• Shades, tinted windows or eaves are a great way to control the intensity of a blazing summer sun.
• A floor plan that takes into consideration the natural distribution of convection currents will greatly benefit in cool and hot air circulation.

2) Humidity Control: As you  may be aware, wood is a material that tends to absorb a good deal of moisture. The best way to prevent your home from absorbing too much water in the rainy months is to install long overhanging eaves and excellent rain gutters. Clever landscaping will direct water away from the home. Most importantly, a quality stain and sealer should be applied to the entire home. These products act as a physical barrier between the logs and outside elements and should be reapplied at maintenance intervals.

Retrofitting

Energy Audit: An energy audit conducted by a certified Home Energy Rating System or Residential Energy Services Network auditor will scan your log cabin for any areas that require immediate responsiveness or could necessitate improvement. Methods these trained inspectors may employ include, but are not limited to, thermography and the blower door test. The thermography method pinpoints areas of energy loss by scanning your home with infrared cameras. Heat absconding is distinguished by showing up on camera in red and purple clusters around weak sites. The blower door test is a cheaper test, consisting of positioning a fan on one’s front or back door and using it to pull all air out of the home, then checking to see where it leaks back inside. An energy audit is a very important step in figuring out what moves one should make in order to achieve log home energy efficiency. The following is a list of steps you may need to take in order to correctly retrofit your log home…

• Install a proper and modern HVAC system.
• Improve insulation by switching to expanding foam. Fiberglass batt insulation simply acts as a filter for air to travel through.
• Replace old or thin windows. Double paned is a great choice for keeping air from escaping.
• Change Doors. Hollow metal doors are a poor choice for energy efficiency. Instead, opt for a more aesthetically conducive solid wood door.
• Fix Leaks. Leaks can occur anywhere from the basement to the attic, but are most often discovered in the space between walls and windows or doors. Caulking and resealing may be in order if checks have arisen in logs or cracks where logs meet windows and doors. Sealing duct work is another good tip.
• Update appliances and electronics. Energy star ratings make it very easy to select energy saving products. Installing an improved water heater will also do much good for the productivity of your home and for the health of the environment

Modernization and home system overhauls can do wonders to improve energy use and consumption levels in an old log cabin, while choices in construction play a major key role in the assembly of a new one. Using this short guide can help you reduce monetary spending on expensive power sources by taking advantage of natural resources and modern technology.