DBU study on climate characteristics of timber buildings
Published
The study "Method development for the description of target values for primary energy consumption and CO2 equivalent of building constructions for linking with property allocation and quality assurance up to design planning" by the RuhrUni Bochum under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Annette Hafner is now published and available for download.
"The raw material wood is precious. It is therefore important to use it responsibly and in a way that conserves resources," warns Peter Aicher, Chairman of Holzbau Deutschland. Even if wood is affected by environmental influences or the bark beetle, it does not represent an inferior raw material, but has almost identical properties to conventional construction timber. "If the so-called 'calamity wood' has the same structural quality in terms of load-bearing capacity as conventional sawn timber, it can be used without restrictions," explains Aicher. In addition, the wood retains its important function as a CO2 sink, regardless of external impairments.
"If the wood is used as a building material, the carbon bound in the wood remains stored there in the long term, thereby significantly reducing the burden on the environment."
The goal must be an economically and ecologically sensible and efficient use of the domestic resource. In the interests of sustainability and climate protection, regional wood resources should therefore be used optimally.
Calamity wood is of high quality and can be used without restrictions
In most cases, bark beetle infestation is irrelevant for the use of the wood as a building material. The bark beetle lays its burrows in the bast, i.e. the area between the bark (bark) and the trunk, but not in the load-bearing wood itself. In addition, the sawn timber is technically dried during further processing. During this process at the latest, any remaining populations of insect pests are reliably killed off, so that beetle-free timber processed into sawn timber is guaranteed to be beetle-free. Every piece of sawn timber - regardless of its origin - must meet the criteria of DIN standard 4074 in order to be used as load-bearing timber in a building. In some cases, the wood turns a slightly bluish colour after a bark beetle infestation. It can then be used in the non-visible area.
Environmental factors and the effects of climate change have further facilitated the mass spread of the bark beetle in the past year. In most cases, rapid felling of the affected trees is the only alternative to stop the further spread of the pest. The logs are immediately removed from the forest and stored. This results in an oversupply of so-called 'beetle wood'. The prompt further processing of the calamity wood into sawn timber is an active contribution to climate protection.
Holzbau Deutschland appeals to the public sector as well as to architects and builders to make greater use of regional calamity wood and to specify this in tenders. The use of domestic calamity wood not only supports regional value creation, but is also a sign of solidarity with regional forest owners.
In Jerry Yudelson's latest book, "Reinventing Green Building: Why Certification Systems Aren't Working and What We Can Do About It," published in June 2016, the American pioneer of sustainable building writes that certification systems are not advancing the needed sustainable development in the building sector quickly and substantially enough.
This has been shown by the experience of certification systems for sustainable building such as the DGNB, BREEAM and above all LEED seals of approval in recent decades. On the one hand, they are becoming increasingly widespread and their standards and methods are being perfected - on the other hand, they are becoming more and more expensive and complex.
Jerry Yudelson was described by WIRED magazine as the American "Godfather of Green". He is regarded as one of the pioneers of the green building movement in the USA at the end of the 1990s and played a key role in founding the first local chapter of the US Green Building Council in Seattle. The long-time LEED Fellow has trained around 4,000 professionals from the construction industry on the LEED system during his active time. Between 2014 and 2015, he was President of the Green Building Initiative (GBI), a non-profit organisation that provides the Green Globes green building rating system and programme in America. (Source: greenimmo.de)
Yudelsons says the maths is simple: there are 5.5 million buildings in the US, of which about 35,000 are LEED certified today. That's less than 0.7% of the building stock and that's after 15 years of a lot of hard work. It is relatively simple and very clear that we will never achieve the CO2 reduction targets this way. In addition, we have no documentation and no studies, NOTHING! The big challenge ahead of us is the existing buildings and the property market. He goes on to say in his book that it is a misconception that certifications can save the planet.
Yudelson also offers a solution in the book. A data-driven strategy that utilises the latest cloud-based technologies to reduce certification costs by 90% or more. This could achieve a market uptake to 50% of all buildings by 2025.
Online tool simplifies calculation of resource efficiency
Photo: Factor X Agency, Inden
With funding from the federal support programme "Unternehmen Revier", the Factor X agency of the development company has developed an internet-based tool for the simple calculation of the resource efficiency of one's own building project. The tool has now undergone final testing and will be available online from September.
With the Factor X construction method, the entire life cycle of buildings is considered, resulting in many new opportunities for saving raw materials and thus for climate- and resource-saving construction. Until now, the resource efficiency of buildings has been calculated using a spreadsheet as part of the Factor X Agency's construction consultancy service. This is now to be made even easier by the new online tool, which will be accessible to the public via the Internet. The database-based tool was realised with funding from the federal support programme "Unternehmen Revier".
At the invitation of the Fakor X agency, the almost completed online tool was subjected to a final test. Fifteen testers from science, administration and building practice checked the user guidance and calculated test buildings. The concept was praised by all testers. A few suggestions for improvement are still being incorporated into the programming before the online tool is released in September and will then be available.
Initiator Klaus Dosch, head of the Factor X Agency of the indeland development company, is enthusiastic: "Here we are setting up a tool for climate- and resource-friendly construction that does not yet exist in Europe. Even non-specialists interested in construction are supported by our tool in such a way that they can very easily calculate the resource efficiency of their building project. We have created a link to the building materials database of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR). For the first time, we are making the construction life cycle understandable for laypeople."
Improving resource efficiency in the construction of housing estates is an essential part of the strategy of the indeland 2030 master plan of the development company indeland GmbH. A number of strategies lead to the achievement of these goals and have been tested in the Faktor X settlements in Eschweiler and Inden. With the development of strategies and projects for sustainable building and living, indeland has long since taken on a lighthouse function far beyond the region. Together with the exhibition already opened in May, the tool is intended to contribute to the illustration and dissemination of the Factor X strategies.
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In Jerry Yudelson's latest book, "Reinventing Green Building: Why Certification Systems Aren't Working and What We Can Do About It," published in June 2016, the American pioneer of sustainable building writes that certification systems are not advancing the needed sustainable development in the building sector quickly and substantially enough.
