Environment
Kontio - the environmental advantages.
Massive wooden logs can present you with a completely new facet of design, difficult to replicate with other building methods using beautiful, ecologically-friendly material that give your project a uniquely warm and welcoming feeling.
Log houses are comfortable and healthy to live in all year round, and Kontio log houses in particular have many special properties which make them a strong, safe and long-lasting choice.
For an in-depth evaluation into how timber log buildings from Kontio can accommodate your desire for an environmentally friendly solution to your needs why not check out our useful guide, click here.
Above - Selective harvesting used in Finland
Sustainable
A Path Towards a Better Future
01
Forest Coverage - Finland
Forests cover more than 70% of the land area in Finland. Forestry is not only a vital part of the economy, but also of the environment.
02
20.3 Million Hectares
That's the total available for timber production in Finland, 61% of which is privately owned.
03
110 Million m4
The annual forest growth in Finland versus annual logging of 60 to 75 million m4 - means stock is growing each year.
04
3 Million Hectares
Of Finnish forests are protected or under restricted use, this represents 13% of the forest area and is the highest share in Europe.
Biodervisity Indicators
A Path Towards a Better Future
Forestry in Finland serves as a major source of economic and social wellbeing and are the most significant renwable resource but they are valuable also for the wildlife and ecosystems they support.
Finnish forests support a diverse range of wildlife from top predators such as brown bear, wolves, wolverines, to golden eagles, a variety of owls, to the rarest of seals, the Saimaa Ringed Seal, found only in the lake from which it takes its name. Whilst numbers are low and some species exist on the endangered list they are, nonetheless indicators of a healthy environment residing at the top of the food chain.
Photosynthesis & Carbon Dioxide
Photo - Greek for "Light" I Synthesis - Greek for "Putting Together"
Stage 1
Plants absorb water and minerals from the soil through their root system.
Stage 2
Sap, a watery fluid containing mostly water but also minerals, sugars, hormones and other substances, is transported to the leaves by the trees circulatory system.
Stage 3
The leaves use CO2 from the atmosphere and together with chlorophyll and the suns energy, convert the CO2 and water into glucose.
Stage 4
Oxygen and CO2 is released as a part of the process, the glucose nourishes the tree, transported by the sap. The amount of CO2 released is less than what is retained.
After harvesting the tree retains the carbon captured for the duration of its life and it is only at the end of its life that sees the CO2 back into the atmosphere, this occurs during disposal and the subequent decomposition, or by burning. Worth noting that at this point the timber is only returning the Carbon captured during it's life to the environment - it is a carbon neutral process.
Carbon Capture
Data from Finlands Greenhouse Gas Inventory shows a worrying trend, once considered to be a carbon sink, this data shows that Finlands forests have, since 2021 become a source of carbon, this trend is not unique to Finland but figures show that forests here contributed the equivalent of 1.12 Mt CO2 in 2023. Although forest growth continues to outpace harvesting and natural loss, this excess was no longer enough offset the increased emissions from forest soils which normally absorb more than three times the amount of above ground biomass.
Left - Log Home, Laajaranta
Climate Warming
Climate warming is a key factor in rising CO2 emissions from acceleration of decomposition of mineral soils, resulting in the forest no longer being a carbon sink. All said, Finland intends to become carbon neutral by 2035 but to acheive this it needs to restore the balance partly by increasing land carbon sinks (planting more trees and reducing harvesting). Finland is also actively restoring peat lands and marsh areas to remedy the situation.
Right - Frameless balustrading as optional extra.
Not Alone
Finland is not alone in experiencing the phenomenon of land sinks, Estonia, Sweden, Germany, France and forestry even further afield in the Czech Republic are all reporting similar declines in their land sinks, the latter caused more by drought and a subsequent attack of the dark spruce beetle.
Left - Pavilion style building by ODC Glass, aluminium windows, doors, sliding doors
Good to Know
This is not the fault of the forestry and harvesting directly, forests are still a major sink. Arctic Pine, like other timber, stores carbon through photosynthesis, with half of its dry weight being carbon. A cubic metre of wood, like Arctic Pine, can store approximately 250 kg of carbon, which is equivalent to 920 kg of carbon dioxide. This carbon remains stored in the wood as long as it's used in products like buildings like Kontio's and accounts for around 47% to 50% of the timber mass.
The carbon is released at the end of the buildings use, depending on the means of dispoal - the carbon being formed into the molecule CO2 during decomposition through natural processes, or through disposal by combustion.
Right - Glass House, Classic 80 internal with optional loft room
Log Buildings
Now for the Good News - Embodied Carbon
Kontio buildings are a manufactured item so whilst carbon capture is important, it does not reveal the complete picture. Embodied carbon is a calculation of all of the CO2 emitted during extraction, transport, processing and then transport and assembly on site, the term even includes the audit trail to disposal.
For conventional building methods you might see steel supplied by China travelling 12,000 miles, plus mining, processing, the furnaces and their operating costs. The UK will buy bricks from Turkey or Belgium, timber from Sweden, Germany, Poland, so a traditional brick/block home in the UK is a conglomorate of materials, requires a range of skills on site, specialised equipment and tools, more vehicles and more site visits, more waste on site and even, looking at the whole picture, more spoil removed from site due to the requirement for deeper foundations.
For Kontio buildings, you have timber inside and out, no requirement for plastering/plasterboards, shallow foundations, fewer trades on site and shorter time on site for electricians, plumbers, etc. At the end of life, you have mostly timber - not a complex mix of products.
Left - Nilonkangas School internal
Kontio - Sustainability at the Core
Carbon Footprint
There is nothing to touch the environmental credentials of a log home from Kontio, this starts at the level of planting and could end 150 years later when finally, it is time to replace the building, some degree of recycling might be possible, failing that, with disposal the captured CO2 will be returned to the atmosphere from whence it came - it's called being Carbon Neutral.
Concrete
Concrete production, particularly the cement component, significantly contributes to global CO2 emissions, accounting for approximately 8% of the total.
This is primarily due to the chemical reactions involved in cement production, specifically the calcination of limestone.
Steel
The steel industry is a significant contributor to global CO2 emissions, accounting for roughly 7% to 11% of the world's total.
This is due to the energy-intensive processes involved in iron and steel production, including the use of fossil fuels and the chemical reactions that transform iron ore into steel.
Embodied Carbon
Timber buildings can contribute to reducing CO2 levels in the atmosphere by sequestering carbon within the wood structure and potentially reducing the carbon footprint of the construction process compared to traditional materials like concrete and steel.
Thermal Mass
A building that has good thermal mass is one that has the ability to absorb, store and release the suns energy. The material density and thermal capacity of material used in the building help to keep the temperature in a building stable - Log Buildings have good thermal capacity with inherent qualities of heating and cooling.
Thermal Mass
Thermal Mass, the term can be interchangeable with thermal capacity, it refers to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a substance by a certain amount. You can think of the process in this way, the logs in your building serve as a battery, taking in heat during the day and releasing it slowly overnight.
Factors that determine thermal mass include:
- Thermal Conductivity - describes the ease with which heat can travel though a material, for high thermal mass the thermal conductivity needs to moderate, ensuring that there is an equilibrium between gain and release synchronising with the buildings heating and cooling cycle. Thermal conductivity is measured in W/m.K
- Density is a measure of the mass or weight per unit volume of a given material and is measured in kg/m3. High density materials maximise the overall weight and is an aspect of high thermal mass. Timber does not have high thermal mass though timber is a good insulator - using massive logs overcomes this and delivers good thermal performance via insulation and added thickness.
- The specific heat capacity of timber (wood) typically ranges from 1200 to 2400 J/kg°C. This value can vary based on the type of wood, its density, moisture content, and temperature. For example, the specific heat capacity of pine and spruce is around 2300 J/kg°C within the temperature range of 0-100°C, these are typical values for Arctic Pine as used in Kontio log buildings.