Timber has a central role to play on the journey to hitting net zero carbon targets and by using the right building boards and panel products, these can help boost energy efficiency levels even further.
According to the Spring forecast by the Construction Products Association, the construction industry is expected to decline by 2.2% this year. At the same time, the UK Government has set the target of building 300,000 new homes every year by the mid-2020s.
However, a shortage of skilled workers – amongst other hurdles – means this will not be achieved unless a significant portion of these homes are built using new, innovative construction methods. Modern methods of construction (MMC), when using materials such as timber, could offset these difficulties, offering a more sustainable option than traditional construction methods.
Timber is not only quicker and easier to install than traditional materials, but it also has strong sustainability credentials. For example, using timber in construction can reduce the built environment’s whole-life carbon or full carbon impact.
The carbon impact of the built environment consists of two components: the operational carbon, which is produced by the type of energy or heating systems within the building, and the embodied carbon, resulting from the manufacture, maintenance and disposal of the construction products that comprise the building or structure.
According to the Climate Change Committee, the use of timber can reduce embodied emissions in a single building by 20% to 60%. Furthermore, the use of oriented strand board (OSB) panels in construction offers a natural carbon capture benefit. Since trees absorb atmospheric carbon as they grow, using OSB products in construction essentially stores that carbon within the building structure for its lifespan. This reduces a building’s overall carbon footprint.
When timber is harvested from sustainably managed forests, it boasts strong environmental credentials, helping construction industry stakeholders achieve their sustainability goals. At the individual building level, carbon storage is approximately 50% higher in timber-framed homes than in masonry homes.
Despite these benefits, a lack of understanding and awareness of timber’s properties as a building material has become a significant challenge. There are often misconceptions about the use of timber in the non-structural elements of buildings. However, 82% of the public supported the use of wood in construction as a strategy to meet the UK’s net zero commitments at the 2020 UK Citizens Assembly.
Manufacturers are working hard to reassure construction professionals and the public alike of the safety and benefits of timber construction products. For example, MEDITE SMARTPLY’s SMARTPLY ULTIMA OSB/4 has been developed especially for the offsite industry and sets the standard for racking strength, load-bearing capacity, moisture resistance and rigidity in OSB/4. Manufactured in panels of up to 2.8m wide and up to 7.5m long, with a maximum thickness of 40mm, SMARTPLY ULTIMA is ideal for offsite construction, whereby entire sides of an apartment, home or school can be sheathed offsite in a controlled environment and delivered to site and craned into place.
Since airtightness is another essential factor in achieving energy efficiency, SMARTPLY AIRTIGHT panels contain an integrated vapour barrier with airtightness engineered into the panel substrate. Used as structural sheathing in timber frame structures, such panels also enhance the buildings’ environmental credentials by reducing the buildings’ overall carbon footprint. The sustainability and safety credentials of MEDITE SMARTPLY’s OSB panels make them a natural choice for construction professionals, as well as helping meet the UK’s needs for sustainable yet high-quality construction materials that stand the test of time.
MEDITE SMARTPLY is part of Coillte, an innovative, FSC certified Irish forestry and forest products manufacturer. Based in Clonmel and Waterford, Ireland, MEDITE SMARTPLY produces a versatile range of Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) and Oriented Strand Board (OSB) building products.
Image: SMARTPLY AIRTIGHT
Source: Structural Timber Magazine – Issue 36
