Moose Mountain Log Homes Inc. strongly believes we build the most energy efficient log system available, but we know it takes more than only the best logs and joinery to build an energy efficient log home. We want to make sure you consider all aspects of your home that have an impact on energy efficiency.

There are three factors to consider when you think of building a super energy efficient log home, conservation, storage and design.

1)      Conservation.
Conservation can largely be summed up as the “R” or “U” insulation factor and how well sealed your log home is.

a) In all forms of construction insulation slows the flow of heat out or coming into the building depending on the season. Insulation and various forms of a vapor barrier are critical in a log home but unlike regular conventionally built homes there is an additional major factor that will significantly affect your heating and cooling bills that is unique to massive log, log homes. Insulation is important in many areas of the home. Obviously the roof, walls, plus windows and doors are key areas. Other areas, often over-looked are under the basement floor and the inside and outside of the basement walls. Here the steady conduction of heat out of the house is only a benefit in the hot summer time. That conduction of heat is never ending, as the mass of the earth will continuously absorb any difference of temperature from your home that is higher (or lower) than that of the earth temperature touching your foundation. In your windows the airspace between the panes is insulation. In colder climates consider using triple pane windows with a titanium or the low “E” film on the glass and Argon or Krypton gas in-between the glazing. My suggestion is definitely use the extra benefit of a titanium or low “E” and Argon or Krypton on all windows facing from East onward to North and continuing further around to the Northwest sides of your home (in the northern hemisphere). I would like to expand on this further in the design section. Logs can be a good insulator alone but only if there is enough log to generate a high enough insulation factor. While there are many numbers floating around about the “R” value of wood, a realistic number for most softwoods is around R 1.4 to 1.6 per inch of wood in the pines and spruces, the denser wood such as Fir and hardwoods are right around R 1 per inch and the softer and lighter less structural valued the wood the higher the “R” value such as Balsa and Cedar. The proper formula accounting for the difference in round log thickness at various points laterally through the wall is: Average mid-length diameter of logs multiplied by 0.74 multiplied by the “R” value of the species used. This accounts for the wider and narrower profiles when looking at a log wall in cross section. This will give a true performance rating, not to be confused with a comparison of the perception that an insulated 2X6 frame wall with R20 insulation is R20. In fact the actual best case performance of a R20 insulated 2X6 wall is between R12 and R15. This is only part of the reason why the well built and well sealed Moose Mountain log wall with a minimum 16 inches of average diameter pine logs will consistently outperform a 2X6 or 2X8 insulated frame wall. For more information on specific log species and their effects on efficiency please click here and scroll down to: Logs

b) More importantly in the energy conservation category with logs is, the seal between the logs, as well as every other point in your home. Wood on wood can create a minimal seal but that is not adequate in a super energy efficient log home. Experience says a proper seal in a log wall requires two flexible internal gaskets, capable of movement with the logs but alone, under compression, needs to be an air and weather tight seal between the logs. These gaskets should be internal, inside the joinery at the closest points to the inside and outside of the log wall, with insulation between. It is hard to believe there are still builders that consider a wood on wood seal adequate and only use a batt insulation between the logs with today’s energy concerns. I believe those who want to build an exceptional log home will be thankful, that the newest version of the building codes out now, should help people become aware and eliminate the approach of not requiring a seal in-between the logs completely. However, it is still buyer beware as some builders are very much behind the times. Please don’t buy into the sales pitch such as our log homes are: 1) so well built, or 2) don’t need to be sealed – for any number of excuses – basically amounting to that they do not need internal gaskets, as independent testing has verified it is extremely important. For many builders, potential buyers and owners of homes under construction a point often over looked is checking, (the horizontal drying cracks) that forms in almost all pieces of wood. Any check that will allow air to follow the check from inside to outside of the home is a source of heat loss, often a major source. Add several of these together and you could just as easily leave a window open all winter long. I prefer to control checking prior to its occurrence rather than have to try and deal with it after it has already formed. A perfectly connected vapour barrier from your logs along the inside of all exterior framing, around windows and doors and along the inside of your roof ceiling can easily impact the energy consumption of your home as much as the insulation itself. Most forms of insulation have negligible values if they are damp, as water is an excellent conductor of heat. During colder weather, warm moist air migrating past the vapour barrier at electrical interactions, staples or unsealed unions of the vapour barrier, through insulation in frame wall areas and ceilings will eventually reach the dew point, condensing and releasing water while it is still within the insulation, as it is on its path escaping your home. Extra effort spent on a continuous vapour barrier around pot lights, electrical receptacles, floors, as well log or any other beams, posts or trusses that extend outward, plus windows and doors and any other sources of vapour barrier breach is time well spent. This will normally reward one in energy cost savings within a relatively short period of time, greater than the cost of the labour and material to do it properly. Another approach worthy of considering is to use closed cell 2 lb. sprayed in foam insulation in your vaulted ceilings. Done properly it is its own vapour barrier with the highest of “R” values for its thickness. This does though require a thorough understanding of the properties of 2 lb. foam. We will be glad to share our experiences.

2)      Storage

Energy storage can be very valuable in housing. Energy (heat) storage of any significance in conventional homes is normally limited to basement concrete slab floors, the foundation and possibly a masonry fireplace. Consider the stone wall style of architecture like Adobe in climates that are hot during the day and much cooler during the night as a basis for discussion about thermal mass. The thick rock walls have very minimal insulation value but they excel in mass. Climates where major temperature fluctuations occur, indoor temperatures can easily be moderated or entirely balanced by energy storage in a mass. Thick rock based walls (and fireplaces) can store large amounts of temperature, by absorbing and radiating back any difference to the indoor and outdoor temperatures surrounding those walls. In effect these walls almost act like a massive flywheel or battery trying to maintain the midpoint between the temperature fluctuations. Logs with enough mass will have a significant effect in trying to maintain that midpoint temperature. By volume wood does not have the same mass as many rock based construction materials, but mass is mass and given enough mass, logs would store similar amounts of energy. The greater the fluctuation in a shorter time frame such as day-time to night-time the greater the benefit mass alone has in trying to maintain a midpoint temperature. Consider that when you combine the insulation value of wood with a good mass value found in the larger logs, you have a factor not found in almost any other construction material. Because the mass and insulation are combined in logs, the temperature is stored and radiated back over more beneficial periods of time than with rock. In the massive log, log walls this can add days of heat storage benefit offsetting a down turn in outdoor temperature. In fact, if you have a sufficiently insulated, large enough mass also known as a heat sink, you could actually store enough excess summer heat to entirely heat your home in the winter. Where does mass alone have a diminishing value? In climates that have longer term consistent (colder or hotter) temperatures. In such climates the energy efficiency factor tilts the scale on importance to favour insulation. How can we maintain the midpoint of storage for temperature closer to a comfortable room temperature? There are a couple of ways that apply to log homes, the first is to have insulation between the outside temperature and the mass. As we know, logs do that naturally since wood is an insulator and a mass at the same time. The second applies to all forms of mass in colder climates and that is to store solar gain in the exterior of the walls. Daytime solar energy hitting log walls is stored in those walls helping to raise the wall temperature and offset some of the night-time loss.  

3)      Design

a) Obviously large windows facing north (in the northern hemisphere) can create a major heat loss. The very best windows normally used in residential construction may not even equal the lowest insulation value walls for energy loss. As good as windows and doors have become recently, they still are a major source of heat loss in the total building envelope. The difficult challenge to be achieved is to position windows in such a way that the total solar gain in the wintertime equals or exceeds the energy lost from those windows. (You likely will need to consider adding insulated curtains for the night time.) There is an important natural factor that helps this to occur. Even though weaker, the angle of the sun becomes closer to horizontal during the winter months. This has two benefits; the first is that the sun shines more under the roof eaves warming the log walls higher up as the angle of the sun is more perpendicular to the angle of the wall. This helps to raise the mean temperature of the log wall mass. The second is this angle also allows the solar energy to extend further into the rooms allowing more storage of that solar gain in everything from your floors to your furniture, making for a positive greenhouse effect. Conversely, in the summer as the solar energy hits the windows as much as 35% is deflected away because of the more acute angle of the rays to the glass but in the winter the sun’s angle is more perpendicular and less deflection occurs. A great design takes advantage of a good South (in the northern hemisphere) and Western exposure with generous roof overhangs that can also minimize the solar gain during the summer months. This aspect of a good design has far reaching benefits for log construction as it also greatly reduces maintenance by better protecting and increasing the longevity of the finish on and the logs themselves. Consider using clear glass without a titanium or the low “E” film and Argon or Krypton gas if you want to increase the amount of solar gain on windows facing from Southeast to West (in the northern hemisphere) but also realize the consequential heat loss at night-time. A potential disadvantage is that you will have more UV rays entering the home with the possibility of fading the floors or furniture associated with that UV sunlight however that is the same UV that indoor plants need to be able to survive.

b) Another design driven efficiency is maximizing your living space within a minimum of exterior surface area. Simply put, stacked floors are not only more cost effective to build but also heat lost through one level’s ceiling into another level’s floor is not actually heat lost from the house. While building a box may not be the most appealing design it often is one of the most energy efficient as you end up with one of the largest of interior space to the least exterior surface area ratios. I think that it is very important to balance efficiency with design flair. Keep in mind what first drew your desire towards building a log home.

c) Something else to consider in your design is the prevailing wind direction. Is there something you can do to redirect or avoid the wind such as choosing your location, tree planting or minimize the amount of home surface areas the wind has access to? Even a perfectly sealed building looses heat to wind that takes away heat that has radiated on or migrated towards the exterior. Log buildings with notched corners have an advantage here in that the wind blowing along a wall is deflected away by the horizontal log overhangs extending past the corners. The logs in the wall with their irregular shapes reduce the effect of air movement and air currents thus reducing heat loss. These last two characteristics of log walls are harder to quantify exactly how much it benefits the energy requirements but it definitely is a benefit.

If your interests are to build off grid or to use any alternative energy as a heat source, efficiency is the first fundamental step you will need to address. It will make the difference in determining the effectiveness and feasibility of those alternative sources. The cost of producing solar or ground source heat (geothermal) is still significant, the more efficient your home the lower the amount of mechanical requirement and cost outlay and the sooner the payback. To check the energy efficiency of your construction, consider doing an infra-red thermal scan during the final stages of dry-in or lock-up where you are fully insulated but prior to vapour barrier installation. At this stage it can be easy to determine where you have any leaks or low insulation locations. We enjoy getting the feedback on how exceptionally well our patented log joinery is performing not only compared to other log homes previously tested by the Thermographer but also in comparison to conventional construction. Feedback such as “in conventional housing you do see every stud, electrical receptacle and any poorly fitted insulation or vapour barrier breaks, but in a Moose Mountain log home the wall is amazingly uniform giving minimal indications of heat loss”.

In summary no matter how much insulation you can afford to use you will have some heat loss, in large log, log construction, for much of the year storing energy in the mass of the walls will offset a major amount of that heat loss. In addition, a good and efficient design may further offset much of what is lost by producing additional solar gain for that storage. When you apply everything presented here on sealing and insulating, plus passive solar, along with energy storage in the log wall mass into a great design, building a super energy efficient log home is a very realistic and beneficial goal that all potential log home owners should seriously consider. A well built log home should be around for many, many generations with the additional bonus that you likely have the healthiest environment of any super energy efficient home being built today by using a far greater component of naturally renewable materials of the healthiest origin. If you consider what attracts people to build with logs in the first place, almost certainly it is the log home aesthetics, my opinion is no other form of construction can possibly offer so many exceptional benefits within such a beautiful package.

 By Lloyd Beckedorf