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Comment by manmal | Hacker News Reader

Unfortunately, while it’s definitely possible to insulate wood houses, it’s often not done [1]. As a result, more than half of energy use at home is spent on temperature control [2]. Yes, European homes are also underinsulated, but bricks provide better insulation per default.

I agree about European deforestation. Wood from the Russian Taiga and the Amazon are illegally imported as a result, that’s so embarrassing and wrong.

I did list specially treated wood in the list of building materials btw, you might have overlooked that. I agree that wood can be a great material for building modern houses, when combined with other materials. Homes purely made of wood would be too unsafe for me personally (fire hazard, termites in the US, high susceptibility to outside forces).

1: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ninety-percent-of-u...

2: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/use-of-energy/homes.php

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> Unfortunately, while it’s definitely possible to insulate wood houses, it’s often not done [1].

"Ninety Percent of U.S. Homes Are Under Insulated"

Yes, because Ninety Percent of U.S. Homes Were Built With Old(er) Building Codes.

> Yes, European homes are also underinsulated, but bricks provide better insulation per default.

A lot of Europe is a lot more temperate than the US and Canada, so it didn't make much of a difference. I'm in Toronto, Canada, and we regularly get -15C winter weather as well as >30C (>80% RH) summer days too. To stay comfortable you really need heating and cooling. Many buildings in the EU don't have cooling (which has caused all sorts of problems during heat waves).

The US has eight climate zones (AK not shown):

* https://www.ecohome.net/guides/3521/climate-zones-map-usa-ca...

And while a lot of the construction techniques would be the same regardless of location (e.g., air tightness), other things would not (insulation, HVAC equipment).

> Yes, because Ninety Percent of U.S. Homes Were Built With Old(er) Building Codes.

Most public housing projects in Vienna, Austria, were retrofitted with modern insulation in the timespan of 10-20 years ago. Public funding exists in various EU countries for home owners to do the same.

> A lot of Europe is a lot more temperate than the US and Canada, so it didn't make much of a difference.

The number of households in Sweden, Finland, and Norway combined is comparable to Canada. Temps seem to be similar there. In Austria we get -10 and sometimes -15 degrees Celcius in winter, and up to 35 degrees in summer. Same in Germany, where 18% of EU inhabitants live. Bricks are a staple in energy conservation in big parts of Europe.

Maybe someone with more local knowledge can correct me, but I am under the impression that most homes in Sweden, Finland, and Norway are made out of wood.

They, like Canada, have a convenient source of wood in the boreal forests.

Single family houses are typically wood framed, yes. Exterior differs, wood planking and brick are probably the most common.

Multi-story buildings in cities are typically prefabricated concrete modules, sometimes clad in brick, sometimes just painted.

Wiod yes, but as far as I understood, well isolated, which was the point a few posts up I think.

At least in Florida, modern building codes of the past couple decades requires excellent insulation. The reason for so many houses being under-insulated (a separate issue from uninsulated) is because most houses are older. For the very reason you started with, houses last for many decades.

It also matters how one determines under-insulated. Energy here is cheap; we use big trucks as commuter cars. Using half our electricity for heating and cooling didn't matter until CO² usage became important; now it's huge.

Building codes require relatively decent insulation and air sealing almost everywhere in the U.S. Builders do like to cut corners on things the homeowner can’t see, but in most areas code enforcement is not lax enough to allow insulation that doesn’t meet code.

> it’s often not done

Sure, 50 years ago. Modern code calls for a lot of insulation.

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