Energy Efficiency and Environmental Protection
At every level, building houses with timber frames is highly beneficial to the environment. The most obvious concern is how to keep a house warm with minimum impact on precious energy resources, minimising CO2 emissions into the bargain. Timber frame housing is far and away the easiest to heat and keep warm. As a result, you do not necessarily need a full central heating system in a timber framed house ... a heat pump/air cooler is sufficient to meet all heating needs. We recommend Genvex heat pumps for their reliability and performance. We have actually built a house - in England - that requires neither heat pumps nor central heating, depending solely on the heat from human bodies to stay warm! We did this by employing Warmcel insulation, a feature of every house we construct. Needless to say, the walls were quite a bit wider than usual, but it does illustrate the possibilities.
Warmcel insulation is made from recycled paper and woodchip, chemically treated to make it fire retardant. Given its origins, the  energy that went into creating the insulation is negligible. And, of course, the wood used in timber framing is a renewable resource. We are conscious that the Earths woodlands recycle the CO2 we exhale and turn it back into oxygen, which is why we use timber from older trees. They are much less efficient at recycling CO2 than younger ones, and they are being replaced at a rate of 2:1 by young saplings, ensuring protection for the future. Finally, all of the materials we use are biodegradable and will eventually return to the Earth. To learn more about Warmcel insulation, click here.