Using solid wood construction methods in order to reduce emissions affecting the climate; principles and options for reducing the CO2 output created by external building components by using solid wood construction as part of the legal requirements for the energy efficiency of buildings, part 1.

Using solid wood construction methods in order to reduce emissions affecting the climate; principles and options for reducing the CO2 output created by external building components by using solid wood construction as part of the legal requirements for the energy efficiency of buildings, part 1. Up to now, the use of renewable resources, particularly timber, in order to reduce emissions affecting the climate has not received much attention. In spite of the fact that the properties of timber as an effective carbon store are well known in principle and its use has been extensively discussed for the purpose of determining the greenhouse gas budget within the context of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) process, there is still a lack of strategic approaches to activate this potential. In particular, the statutory requirements for the energy efficiency of buildings have up to now not provided any incentives for the use of timber as a construction material in spite of the fact that timber provides a more durable and lasting carbon dioxide storage opportunity in construction than in any other application of the material. The article below weighs up the CO2 sink effect through use in construction compared with the CO2 emissions of new buildings created by the demand for energy. It is shown that the CO2 sink effect of timber in combination with the emission reductions through energy efficiency measures achievable today, and the use of renewable fuels is of considerable significance. It follows that the increased use of timber as a building material is desirable in the interest of climate protection. Against this background it is worth noting that many solid timber construction systems are currently in danger of being outlawed by the increased requirements for the energy efficiency of buildings which are imminent through the new revision of the Energy Conservation Directive and, above all, the EU demands for extremely low energy houses (houses which have an almost zero demand for primary energy) from 2018/2020. For this reason, the submitted proposal suggests ways of adequately representing the carbon sink effect of timber as a construction material in the statutory requirements for the energy efficiency of buildings.