Keen to understand more about thermally modified timber and why it is so environmentally friendly?
Abodo Wood recently published a report about the embodied energy and global warming potential of their Vulcan product, which is used as a cladding and decking.
In short, the report shows that thermally modified timber is a carbon negative building product as it stores more carbon than the energy used to manufacture it…
“In all cases the amount of atmospheric carbon stored in the TMT products exceeds that associated with process emissions.”
Key terms in reports like these can be hard to understand, so we’ve created a quick key to help you get your head around them…
Embodied energy = the sum of all the energy required to produce a product.
Inherent energy = the solar energy that is stored in the wood and is recoverable at the end of the product life.
EPD = environment product declaration
GWP = global warming potential
TMT = thermally modified timber
LCA = life cycle assessment
PCR = product category rules
Our Key Takeaways
Almost all solid timbers are carbon negative, however the way they are manufactured has a massive impact on their respective carbon footprints.
There is an increase in both embodied energy and GWP emissions as the degree of wood processing increases.
Chemically treated timber has a poor end of life assessment and means more timber offcuts go to landfill during the construction process.
All thermally modified timber products appear to store more carbon that is released during manufacturing process.
Vulcan thermally modified timber (from Abodo in NZ) has the lowest embodied energy and GWP of the studied products, which can be partly attributed to the New Zealand electricity grid being dominated by renewable sources.