All the splendor of Cypress...
and energy efficiency too.

National Bureau of Standards finds that a log's "Thermal Mass" is a very important factor in energy efficiency and can reduce a log home's overall energy needs and expenses by as much as 30 percent.

A 28 week test conducted by the National Bureau of Standards found that the "Thermal Mass Effect" of a log home is an important factor in the overall energy efficiency of that structure, and can significantly reduce a log home's overall energy needs. This means it costs less (about thirty percent less) to heat and cool a home built with logs,

The TEST was performed by building several identical 20'x 20' buildings on the Bureau's testing grounds near Washington D.C. The only difference in the 6 buildings was the material used for the exterior walls.

As an example, the insulated wood frame house was built with 5/8" exterior wood siding, 2&qout; x 4&qout; stud wall, 3'x 6" fiberglass insulation, plastic vapor barrier and 72&qout; gypsum dry wall, giving the wall a nominal rating of R 12.

The log home, however, was built with 7" solid wood logs with no additional insulation, no vapor barrier, and no interior dry wall. This wall had an R-Value of 10.

Put plainly, it takes longer for temperature to move through a log wall than a wood frame insulated wall. Once a temperature has been established on the inside of a log home. It takes longer for that temperature to change so your heating/cooling units cycle less often. The results clearly demonstrate the higher efficiency of a log home compared to insulated frame wall construction.