HOMERA – A Metastudy about Healthy Living with Timber and engineered Wood

The emissions of timber and engineered wood products have repeatedly been a subject of debate, with claims being made that they adversely affect health. They are unfounded, however: 

For the HOMERA (HOlz MEnsch RAum = German for Wood People Space) metastudy published by the Technical University of Munich TU in 2017, researchers of the Faculty of Timber and Building Construction reviewed more than 40 individual studies of how wood affects buildings’ indoor climate and the people who use them. The divided the findings into four categories: emissions, materials, medical issues and perception. 

Their principal conclusion can be summed up as follows: Studies carried out to date have revealed no negative effects of wood in interior rooms on people and their health. 

The preface to the study says: 

“All of the studies yielded positive findings in respect of how wood affects indoor climates and/or people spending time in them. This brochure presents a selection of studies in all four categories and is intended to relieve users’ and planners’ insecurity and encourage them to use timber and engineered wood products in building interiors.” 

Healthy Living with SWISS KRONO OSB Products

SWISS KRONO OSB consists to at least 95% of thinnings from sustainably managed forests. The use of only a very small amount of completely formaldehyde-free resins (PMDI) ensures that SWISS KRONO OSB only contains the formaldehyde that naturally occurs in wood. 

For SWISS KRONO OSB/3 EN 300, OSB/4 BAZ, F and SWISS KRONO OSB/3 sensitive, studies published by the German Institute for Civil Engineering (DIBt) in July 2019 confirm that they pose no risks whatsoever for building users. 

For feel-good indoor environments

Wellbeing is a very subjective matter. Yet various studies have shown that most people perceive wood as pleasant and comfortable. More than half of study subjects stated that they experienced the air inside timber structures as better than that in conventional buildings. Most people living in wood houses feel more upbeat about life and are more satisfied with their own health. It has also been demonstrated that natural materials are conducive to superior performance and rest. 

There are also highly sensitive persons who experience typical wood odours as unpleasant. They can benefit from SWISS KRONO OSB/3 sensitiv EN 300 made from Populus wood, which contains almost no resin and therefore emits extremely low amounts of VOCs. For the same reason, boards made from them have almost no discernible resin or wood odour.