Selecting a log home plan goes well beyond selecting blueprints with a vaulted ceiling, wrap around porch and an expansive open house floor plan. Log homes are only as valuable as the wood used to architect the residential property. From the type of wood, how it manages moisture to its R-value, the considerations for building a log house plan entail a
shortlist of details which impact its energy efficiency.

R-Value of the Wood

Density or wood range of a log home plans’ determines its energy efficiency. The thermal resistance to heat flow and insulation account for a wood’s R-value. Higher wood ranges represent a wood’s “R-value of wood or thermal resistance. In the daytime, logs absorb heat, quite comparable  to a thermal battery. Once the sun goes down, the log house slowly releases the stored heat from the day.  Read the rest of this entry »