Harkins log homes are sought after because they’re high end, unique, handmade, and high quality. But did you know that in addition to being a work of art, your home would be completely eco-friendly?
Here are four things that make your home a “green” home.
1. REDUCTION OF CO2 EMISSIONS
Did you know that by choosing a home built primarily of wood, you’re contributing to the fight against climate change? Wood draws in CO2 naturally, trapping it within. But once they’ve been cut down, trees don’t release what they’ve taken in. This process, known as atmospheric carbon sequestration, allows us to offset the imbalance in the carbon cycle !
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a typical log home measuring 1200 square feet stores 51 metric tonnes of CO2 and prevents the production of 102 metric tonnes of greenhouse gases. That’s the equivalent of 1000 round trip flights between Montreal and Toronto!
2. BETTER AIR QUALITY
Whether you have a log home or a traditional carpentry (Timber Frame) home, you’ll better control moisture thanks to wood, plus you’ll benefit from better air circulation.
This means you’ll hardly ever need to use purifiers, air filters, humidifiers or dehumidifiers. Just another way you’ll save on energy bills all while reducing your environmental impact!
3. REMARKABLE ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Have you ever noticed how older homes have stone walls to help heat and cool the house? During the day, the sun heats the rocks on the outside, but the coolness of the stones keeps the inside of the house cold. In the evening, the opposite happens: the stones cool the night air, as the heat from during the day heats the inside of the house.
Wood has the same natural heating and insulating properties that we call thermal mass, which will allow you to reduce your environmental impact by reducing your energy consumption. Plus, you’ll save a little each month on your heating and cooling bill!
4. SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY APPROACH
Between 1990 and 2014, 16 billion trees were planted in Canada, about 650 million each year. A 2000 square foot log home uses 75 cubic metres of wood. This quantity of wood is replenished in Canadian forests in less than 15 seconds. Wood is sustainable because we plant it abundantly and its fabrication consumes less energy than other construction materials. Harkins selects its tree with care and their harvest is controlled in order to avoid destroying local natural habitats. In a number of regions, the forests that were cut down are replanted in the years that follow to maintain a healthy forest.
Sources:
https://bclogandtimberbuilders.com/resources/environmental-sustainability
https://www.artisanloghomes.com/5-eco-friendly-benefits-of-log-home-living/