The hidden cost of embodied energy.

• Position: Matters of Scale - Illustration

Energy used to heat a conventionally built house in Vancouver, Canada for one year 101 MILLION BTU Energy used to make and transport the materials to build that conventional house (embodied energy) 948 MILLION BTU Energy used to heat an energy-efficient house in Vancouver for one year 57 MILLION BTU Energy used to make and transport the materials to build that energy-efficient house (embodied energy) 1,019 MILLION BTU Therefore, total energy used to build and then heat a conventional house in Vancouver as of the end of its first year of occupation 1,049 MILLION BTU ... and total energy used to build and then heat an energy-efficient house in Vancouver as of the end of its first year of occupation 1,076 MILLION BTU But ... total energy used to build and then heat a conventional house in Vancouver as of the end of its 30th year of occupation [948 + (30 X 101)] 3,978 MILLION BTU ... and total energy used to build and then heat an energy-efficient house in Vancouver as of the end of its 30th year of occupation [1,019 + (30 X 57)] 2,729 MILLION BTU Energy required to produce one cubic meter of air-dried lumber 1.2 MILLION BTU Energy required to produce one cubic meter of plywood 9.4 MILLION...