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Wood, Still Proven to be the Best Value
Sustainable Superiority and Lumber Prices Provide Wood's Competitive Advantages in Hawaii
In recent years, sustainable building and green design have added a significant amount of worth to Hawaii's homes. Sustainable, energy efficient homes are increasing in value due to their lower operating costs and superior comfort levels. No other building material achieves these green standards more so than wood. Furthermore, a recent study found that wood, compared to steel, has once again proven to be the most environmentally sustainable building material.
In 2010, the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) conducted a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) to identify and compare the environmental impacts related to borated treated lumber framing and galvanized steel framing. An LCA assesses the overall environmental impact of products from the manufacturing process to recycling or disposal. This study focuses on each material's greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), fossil fuel use, water use, acidification, ecological toxicity, smog forming potential and eutrophication. Based on a 2225 square feet U.S. family home, the study shows that the environmental impact of borate-treated lumber used for wall framing is less than one-tenth of a percent of the family's annual overall impact on each level.
The study also states that the cradle-to-grave life cycle impacts of borate-treated lumber framing were approximately 4 times less for fossil fuel, 1.8 times less for GHGs, 83 times less for water use, 3.5 times less for acidification, 2.5 times less for ecological impact, 2.8 times less for smog formation and 3.3 times less for eutrophication than those for galvanized steel framing.
Each area of this LCA study has concluded that wood is the superior environmentally sustainable building material. From overall environmental impact to water use, wood is completely superior to steel. "The green movement is gaining more and more momentum each year and will continue to influence how we build our homes," said Connie Smales, President of Plywood Hawaii, Inc. "Homeowners who choose to build green using borate treated lumber are fundamentally creating a home that preserves the future of our environment."
In addition, because of wood's environmentally home building aspects, Hawaii's homeowners can also benefit from reduced energy bills. Unlike other building materials, wood has a cellular structure that contains air pockets, limiting its ability to conduct heat and reducing heat transfers from the sun. This minimizes the energy needed for cooling a warm home, resulting in hundreds of dollars in reduced energy costs every year over the entire life of the home.
Also in terms of price, leading indicators show that wood holds a competitive cost advantage in Hawaii due to an ever increasing worldwide demand of other building materials. A survey conducted in March of this year compared the price of Douglas Fir (DF) preservative pressure-treated wood and 20 gauge steel studs from Oahu's top three home supply stores, which includes City Mill, Home Depot and Lowes. "The survey evaluated four different dimensions of treated lumber and steel studs up to the price of $25," said Dave Rinell, President of Rinell Wood Systems, Inc. "The results illustrate that lumber has an 82 – 107% competitive price advantage over steel studs."
To encourage the use of treated wood in Hawaii, the Hawaii Lumber Products Association (HLPA) is committed to promoting wood as a sustainable and economical building material. As Hawaii's only devoted lumber association, the HLPA is dedicated to providing homeowners and building industry professionals with information on wood's environmental benefits and money-saving opportunities.
Wood's true value lies rooted in the fact that it is the most environmentally sustainable building material. From this, homeowners can benefit from reduced costs during the building process and all through the entire life of the home. Wood, therefore, proves that it is the best value building material as it is beneficial for Hawaii's residents as well as the environment.
The Hawaii Lumber Products Association is comprised of professionals representing the development and construction industry as well as building material producers and service companies. They are committed to the education and promotion of lumber products as the best choice for home construction in Hawaii. To find out more about using wood to build commercial buildings, please visit www.hawaiilumber.com.
HLPA Going Strong!
2011 marks the 8th year for the Hawaii Lumber Products Association. With over 35 members here and across the mainland the HLPA has made a major impact across Hawaii educating and promoting lumber products as THE preferred building material based on its proven track record and its achievement of long-term performance success in Hawaii's construction industry. This goal is achieved by promoting lumber as a renewable building material resource that provides benefits to the environment, produces sound construction economics, creates architectural flexibility and meets the highest structural engineering standards. At HLPA we work daily to bring this positive message about lumber pr oducts to the public and industry professionals on a consistent basis through education and promotion supported by widespread industry stakeholders.
Wood Still Leading the Way in Sustainable Building
Numerous Examples Demonstrate Wood’s Green Credentials
A world-wide trend towards environmentally friendly building is gaining popularity each year as more and more consumers are warming to the idea of green homes. Although there is a vast amount of green building materials to choose from, no other commodity can compete with the sustainable benefits of wood. There are a number of both residential homes and commercial buildings around the world that can showcase wood’s various uses for sustainability. With wood, there are opportunities to reduce the immense environmental impact of building and operating homes through construction and building design. However, in order to initially be considered sustainable, wood must be certified and acquired through forestry and harvesting practices that ensure the long-term health and diversity of forests.
Sustainable forestry practices, or certification systems, are the management of forest resources to meet the needs of today without compromising the needs of future generations. “There are more than 50 different forest certification systems in the world today that represent nearly 700 million acres of forest land,” said Jeff Browning, President of the Hawaii Lumber Products Association (HLPA). “Additionally, there are 15,000 companies involved in producing and marketing certified wood products.” In North America, the two major certification systems are the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). These organizations are also responsible for the dramatic increase in reforestation.
Since the year 1900, there has been an 86% increase in reforestation. During the early twentieth century, people cut down twice as many trees as they planted. Today, sustainable forestry management ensures that more than one tree is planted for every one that is cut down. The United States alone grows 36% more trees than it harvests. In addition, even after being cut down, wood continues to showcase its sustainability through the manufacturing process as it uses less energy to produce than other building commodities.
Natural wood uses less energy and produces less air and water pollution than other major manufactured building materials. “Wood is a material that can be used instantly and only needs a few preparatory treatments,” said Browning. “It’s manufactured in the forest and only needs to be shaped and sawed into the correct sizes.” In addition, wood has the ability to reduce CO2 emissions. This is due to the fact that the production of solid wood products results in the storage of a portion of the trees’ carbon in another long-term storage medium. Also, with continuous technological advancements, engineered wood systems can maximize the use of the material to reduce the use of resources. With construction and design, these wood products can come together to create a sustainable home or commercial building.
There are various and innovative examples around the world that can showcase the use of sustainable wood. A few examples include Hillside House in Mill Valley, California and the venues for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Hillside House is a four-story home clad with sustainable western red cedar siding. The venues for the 2010 Winter Olympics were made with various types of sustainable wood from the forests of British Columbia, including spruce-pin-fur and douglas-fir glulam for the Richmond Olympic Oval, douglas-fir glulam beams for the Trout Lake Ice Rink and western red cedar for the BC Hydro Home of the Future.
Over the past decade, the concept of green building has entered the mainstream and the public has become increasingly aware of the potential environmental benefits of this alternative to conventional construction. A trend towards environmentally and climate-friendly building is becoming apparent in the construction industry world-wide and will continue to grow in the future. With sustainable qualities from production through construction, wood is undoubtedly leading the way in this green trend.