Rothman

Wood-frame homes are more green than those made of steel or concrete, based on a brand new research by 15 U.S. universities and research institutes.

Furthermore, the researchers, known as the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials, or CORRIM, figured all of the power required to create a typical home is taken during the production of creating components - not during actual construction.

"These are milestone findings," said Kelly McCloskey, president and CEO of the Wood Promotion Network. "This offers a snapshot of how building materials impact our environment."

Twenty-three independent researchers worked on the project, which used a process called life-cycle analysis to weigh environmentally friendly impact of home building. The energy is gauged by life-cycle analysis necessary to make building materials, as well as destroy, preserve and construct a normal home over an interval of 75 years.

CORRIM compared the life cycles of two theoretical homes in Minneapolis - one with a wood frame, another with a metal frame - and the life cycles of one wood-frame and one concrete-frame house in Atlanta. The study determined that the construction of the Minneapolis steel-frame home used 17 percent more energy than the matching wood-frame home, and energy was used 16 percent more by the Atlanta concrete-frame home than a matching wood-frame home.

"Everything type of runs from power consumption," explained Bruce Lippke, professor of forest resources at the University of Washington and one of the researchers who helped conduct the study. "If you are using power, you're polluting water, polluting air and throwing out co2 emissions."

The study also figured the carbon emissions connected with energy use represent one of many more essential environmental impacts. They calculated the global-warming potential of the home to be 26 percent higher than the wood-frame home, and the home was 31 percent higher than the comparable wood-frame home.

The use of wood products as opposed to metal or concrete may further reduce steadily the greenhouse emissions|The greenhouse emissions can be further reduced by from fossil fuels wherever wood mills generate heat and power using bark, sawdust and other byproducts of milling," said Lippke.

The report gives these additional suggested statements on how to reduce the energy demands of home construction:

• Redesign domiciles to use less fossil-fuel intensive products;

• Change building codes that promote extortionate utilization of material, wood and concrete;

• Recycle demolition wastes;

• Increase resilience of homes through improved services and products and construction procedures. steel fabricator