Site

1.Passive solar orientation—south facing slope within 20 degrees

Look for building sites that offer a southern exposure (except in the desert southwest).  Visit your land on a cool or cold day and notice where you spend the most time.  (In desert areas, pick a hot day). 

2. Windbreaks

Take advantage of trees, shrubs or physical features to protect your home from prevailing winds.  If none are available, consider landscaping to shelter the exposed side of your home.  Not only will this reduce energy costs, you’ll enjoy less frequent and less costly exterior maintenance.

Design

3. East-West Axis with longest wall facing south

Orient your home on an east-west axis, which will place the long sides facing south and north.  The closer to due south you can face the longest wall, the better your results.  If your site won’t allow an exact orientation, favor southeast over southwest. 

4. Overhangs

Size overhangs to shade windows from high angle summer sun, but not so wide as to block winter sun.  On gables containing a lot of glass consider tapered overhangs that are widest at the peak.  Generous overhangs can also reduce exterior maintenance needs noticeably.

5. Air locked Entry

Especially in areas of extreme cold and heat, create a double entry such as an enclosed porch that allows people to get out of the temperature and wind extremes before entering your house.  This also provides a convenient area to shed coats and boots.

6. Concentrate windows on south and east

Window size and placement have a major effect on energy efficiency.  In most areas, the south-facing wall should have the most window area and north walls the least.  East walls generally should have more windows than west.  Choose windows that have high insulation value—double or triple insulated.  Casement windows are generally more energy efficient than double hung and have an added advantage of fewer obstructions to your view.  Use large windows on south and east to maximize natural light.  This helps overcome the light-absorbing properties of log walls and reduce the need for supplementary lighting.

7. Minimize cathedral ceiling areas

Everyone seems to love massive cathedral ceilings but as you design your home consider the cost of heating all of that enclosed space.  Cathedral ceilings impose extra demands on heating and cooling systems and accommodating them usually means a larger HVAC system, additional ventilation and usually additional zoning to balance temperatures throughout the house. 

8. Control ventilation through ceiling fans, attic fans

Enclosed attic space can accumulate a lot of heat in summer.  Make sure attic spaces are properly ventilated to reduce cooling demand in summer.  Use ceiling fans to circulate air inside.  Windows placed to allow cross-ventilation in combination with ceiling fans will help you avoid running air conditioners in all but the hottest weather.

9. Locate chimneys inside

Locate chimneys inside your home rather than on an exterior wall where they will conduct heat outside the house.  Placed entirely inside the home, a masonry chimney acts as thermal mass—storing energy you’ve paid for and releasing it inside rather than outside.  Bring outside air into the chimney to provide air for combustion and install high quality doors to prevent room air from going up the chimney when using fireplaces.  Fireplace inserts are much more energy efficient than open fireplaces and woodstoves are far more efficient still.

10. Most used rooms face south, storage and little used rooms face north.

Concentrate heavily used rooms such as great room, dining room and kitchen along the south or east side of your home.  Rooms that can be kept cooler, such as storage, laundry, workshop, utility and bedrooms work better located on north and west.

11. Consider fluorescent lighting

Flourescent lighting technology has come a long way in recent years.  Always far more energy-efficient than incandescent lighting, newer lights don’t have the objectionable fluorescent colorcast of older.

Technology

12. Choose energy efficient heating and cooling options

Your choice of heating and cooling system has a lot to do with both your utility bill and comfort.  In a new home you can take advantage of opportunities that would have long payback times if installed as replacements later.

Heat pumps

Heat pumps generally offer the greatest energy efficiency at the best cost.  These rely on heat exchange principles to reduce energy demands.  Air-to-air heat pumps are least expensive but work best in areas where temperatures range generally between the mid 20’s and 90’s.  Outside of that range, back-up support units kick in raising energy demand and costs.  (These are part of the equipment, not an additional cost.)

Where feasible, geothermal heat pumps are about the most efficient mechanical HVAC equipment available.  These use water or air circulating through underground pipes (where temperatures remain constant) for heat exchange.  Heating costs with a geothermal system are as much as 80% less than with other type systems.  The main disadvantage of such systems is high installation cost.  Compare and evaluate payback.

Wood furnaces and woodstoves

If you will be building in an area with plentiful firewood and you like exercise, there are a number of efficient wood furnaces and woodstoves available.  If you will be purchasing seasoned firewood, you’ll be much better off using wood fires only for ambience and occasional supplementary heat.

Install a set-back thermostat

This inexpensive addition to your HVAC system is based on the principle that your heating and cooling needs typically vary throughout the day.  A setback thermostat allows you to set inside temperatures to match your needs.  For example, in winter, program a higher temperature in morning and evening with a lower temperature during the day when no one is home and at night after everyone has gone to bed.

Zoned systems

Today’s log homes are usually much larger than those of our forbearers.  A single central heating and cooling system often has trouble keeping up.  By dividing your home into zones with separate temperature controls and components such as manual or automatic baffles in ductwork you can balance energy demand, reducing consumption and cost.  Since this varies greatly with the design of your home, talk with HVAC providers about the benefits and costs of zoning in your specific situation.

13. Consider active solar

The cost of active solar energy has fallen dramatically in recent years.  Active solar systems rely on photovoltaic principles that capture sunlight and convert it to electrical energy.  Used as a supplement or instead of municipal power, solar panels can reduce your electrical consumption dramatically.  Look for solar consultants in local yellow pages to see if this is feasible in your area or for your type of project.

14. Choose Energy Star appliances

Energy Star guidelines are a set of specific standards developed by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency.  Items and construction techniques that meet these guidelines are identified by the Energy Star logo, which indicates outstanding energy efficiency.  Look for the Energy Star logo when purchasing appliances and ask whether HVAC equipment meets Energy Star standards.  You can learn more about Energy Star at http://www.energystar.gov.

15. Choose an energy efficient hot water option

Heating water consumes a significant amount of energy in most homes. Much of the time this hot water just sits in a tank losing heat. This is one of the easiest areas to take a noticeable bite out of your monthly utility bill.

Use Energy Star hot water heaters or add insulating blanket.

Specify an Energy Star hot water heater for your home.  Consider adding an insulating blanket to further reduce demand.

Tankless hot water

In Europe you’ll often encounter tankless hot water heat that relies on small electrical units to heat water as it flows to the outlet.  This eliminates the need for a hot water heater altogether and you benefit from using energy to heat only the water that’s needed.  Beware however of many of the inexpensive homeowner “do-it-yourself” models found in home supply stores.  These often aren’t powerful enough to handle whole house demand.  Talk with an expert.  Most good systems require professional installation and have a much higher initial cost than hot water heaters. 

Solar

Using the sun to heat water isn’t new, but it’s certainly cheap.  You can purchase or make a solar hot water heater.  Units usually are not expensive and reduce water-heating costs greatly.  Talk with a solar energy consultant about what works best in your area.

Construction

Energy efficiency isn’t just about what you put in your home, proper construction is essential too.  Log homes have sealing and insulating requirements that are somewhat different than conventional homes.  Be sure your builder understands proper construction methods or you may lose much of the advantage gained from other energy conserving measures.

16. Seal joints properly

Log corners, lateral joints (between adjacent rows of logs) and the intersection between roof and log walls are “hot-spots” (literally) and should be carefully sealed.  Make sure proper sealing methods are clearly explained on blueprints or in your construction manual.  Then watch during construction to make sure proper procedures are followed.

17. Insulate properly

Proper insulation can contribute greatly to keeping your home cozy and utility costs down.  In much of the US roof systems need at least R-38 which is often more than required.  Talk with HVAC installers or visit one of the websites listed in the sidebar to find out the optimal amount of insulation.  Be sure vapor barriers are properly installed to prevent moist interior air from getting into insulation where condensation can cause water damage as well as reduced insulating value. Be sure framed areas such as dormers and gables are well insulated and sealed.  If possible use 2x6 framing at least and insulate to R-19.

Install high efficiency windows and doors. Minimally this means double-glazing.  In areas of extreme temperatures triple glazing offers even greater advantage.  It does little good to use a high efficiency unit unless it is installed properly.  Installing windows and doors in log walls correctly requires special care.  Settling spaces should be well insulated and sealed but this must be done in a way that doesn’t interfere with their settling function.  Visit log homes that have been occupied for at least three years and talk to their owners to judge the quality of their sealing system.

Exposed basement walls can be a source of significant energy loss.  Insulate foundation walls to at least three feet below grade.  Best results come from construction a framed wall inside the foundation wall leaving a small separation.  Insulate the framed wall.

Log homes have an established reputation for energy efficiency.  Yet much of their natural ability will be lost without careful consideration from design through construction.  The materials and methods I’ve described here will not only save energy, they’ll reduce your utility bill noticeably, often at little or no initial additional cost.  Carefully managing your energy consumption can actually turn your home into an additional source of income.