Cost and Savings Using Insulated Concrete Forms

There were many upgrades given to these homes to perform better than a Building America Benchmark home. We can take a look at one of them to show you the energy savings as well as the increases in costs and how it all shakes out for the buyer of the homes, compared to the 2006 Washington state energy code and the benchmark home. All of the energy calculations were done by WSU Extension Energy.

The Devoted Builders Home saves better than 25% on energy compared to the Washington Energy Code and has a savings of over 43% compared to the benchmark home.

The home would save over $1,300 a year in energy costs alone, and the owner would will net $500 a year after the 30 years of a mortgage, when costs of upgrades were taken into account.

It goes to show even with the added expense of insulated concrete forms and other energy savings features, the performance outweighs the costs. Homeowners and building owners across the country are coming out ahead.

Project Summary on All Energy Efficient Features

• HERS Scores 54-68
• R-22 Insulated Concrete Form Wall
• R-49 blown in cellulose in attic
• 0.29 U-value windows
• Whole house air leakage below 2.0 ACH
• Duct leakage less than 6 cfm 50 Pa
• 8.5- HSPF, 14-SEER heat pump with backup gas furnace
• Energy reovery ventilator, 75% efficiency
• 3-Star Built Green Certified
• Energy Star Certified

Cost Vs Savings of Energy Efficient Measures

Mortgage payment is an estimate calculated by CARB and is based on a 30 year mortgage with a 7% fixed APR

The ICF Building Envelope

Each home is built with insulating concrete forms, built up to the roof line. Also, the ICF foundation goes down 30 inches to serve as the perfect frost wall. Stucco was used as the exterior finish of choice. (NO additional vapor or air barrier was used because insulating concrete form walls serve as a ARE a vapor retarder and air barrier! (See our ICF Moisture Research- login required)

Ducts in the attic are mastic sealed and the ceiling deck is insulated with over an inch of spray foam and then topped with a foot of blown cellulose to reach and R-49 value for the attic. The spray foam insulation in the attic coupled with the energy efficient ICF walls, Giacci has been able to achieve very low air leakages rates. He has all of the home blower door tested with some coming in as low as 0.8 ACH at 50 Pascals.

The tight envelope is a must to control the indoor environment and ultimately- the energy use. Tight enclosure gives the control back to the occupant for temperature, controlling outside air, and moisture. An energy-recovery ventilator is installed in the homes to redistribute tempered air though out the home

Commitment to Quality Sustainable Homes

All of Devoted Builders homes are 3^rd party tested and inspected, and since 2007 every single one of his homes built, exceeded savings of over 50% of the 2004 IECC code, and performs better than the Building America Benchmark by over 43%.

They are continuing to improve the technologies in the house and are looking forward to implementing photovoltaic’s, solar hot water, ductless heat pumps and many more green strategies- with the ultimate goal of achieving net zero energy homes utilizing Reward insulating concrete forms.

Check back in another week as we wrap up this Devoted Builders project highlight and discuss the costs and energy use of the townhouses.

Devoted Builders’ Fred Giacci, has been a long time customer of Reward Wall Systems and is a very experienced builder when it comes to building sustainable homes. He was the first builder in his area to start using insulating concrete forms in 2002, and since 2006 he made the commitment to build all of his homes to qualify for the Northwest Energy Star, using Reward ICFs.

Washington Insulated Concrete Form Community

Giacci is in the process of a 230 unit Mediterranean Villa community in Washington, with 206 already built. Each one of his homes has a HERS score of under 60 and achieves a minimum of 50% energy savings over the model energy code. He partnered with the Department of Energy’s Building America Program too for some demonstration projects as Devoted Builders was one of the few in the area taking advantage of an federal energy savings tax credit program.

Throughout the course of a year or so the DOE did a case study on the homes and all of their green features so they can measure the energy savings, air tightness, as well as costs of building and net cash flow for the home owners.

The next few blog posts will highlight the energy efficient features of his homes and we will walk you through the energy use and energy savings of a specific house.

ICF Concrete Villas Project Scope

Size of Development: 230 homes
Square Footage: 1, 1.5, 2 story, du/triplexes ranging in size of 1140 to 2100 ft2
Price Range: $145,000- $300,000
Sustainability resume:

• All homes have been Energy Star since 2006
• Started local Green Built program and has received 3 stars (highest level) on all of his homes since 2007
• Northwest ENERGY STAR builder of the year in 08-09

See more in depth analysis on the features and performance of the Mediterranean Villas.

Are you clamoring for ICF building project profiles? Looking for examples of how insulated concrete forms have been used before? Or are you looking for Reward Wall Systems resume of building projects? Thousands of ICF construction projects and millions of square feet of our product have been installed across all of North America.We have many more profiles online!

Check out our online gallery as the following sections have been updated with new, notable projects: Custom Homes, Multi-Family, Government, Worship and Education.

Be sure to keep checking back as more ICF Construction projects are added and the  ICF building information is expanded.

Back in April we reported on an insulated concrete form apartment complex and compared it to neighboring identical buildings that were built with standard materials. Today I would like to share with you a major hotel chain that has been using our product over the years. We are now receiving energy data from this group of hotels and we are able to compare it to the similar hotels that used traditional construction methods. This continue to tell the “Why Reward ICF” for your next project.

ICF Performance Data

2 of the 3 hotels were built with Reward Insulating Concrete Forms, and as you can see by the chart below there was a major reduction in kBtus a year, as well as cost per square foot, by using insulated concrete forms. Those numbers are all inclusive  for total electric and gas energy use on each hotel.

Too be clear….

Next energy comparison will be of a national retail chain (Aaron’s rental) that is using Reward ICFs after years of building with traditional building methods. After all of these project highlights hopefully our points are well taken. All of these buildings use ICFs (at a minimum) and the building envelope was enhanced by doing so.

ICFs = Enhancing the Building Envelope = High Performance Buildings

As a followup to a previous post from last year on the new insulated concrete form HUD developments in Waveland, MS, I personally had the opportunity to visit the neighborhoods while we were down in New Orleans for the AIA Expo May 112th – 14th. Thad, our commercial markets manager, and I drove around some of the highly devastated areas in New Orleans and then took an evening trip to Waveland, MS and Bay St. Louis.

Below are some pictures of the Oak Haven homes right after Hurricane Katrina. As you can tell with the amount of wood used in the original homes, everything was molded out and all homes had to be completely demolished – notice the waterline on the second picture.

We chatted with some of the residents in Oak Haven and they were very friendly and it felt good to know they were all aware of the type of wall technology they are lucky enough to have. They noticed right away you can’t hear anything the adjoining neighbors do, since the partition walls are ICF, and all of them recounted their energy bills to be half as much as the old houses- roughly about $90 a month for a 1,200 sq ft unit.

Classic Country Superstar

The video below is a quick overview of the pictures and video shots of the Oak Haven area, with a soundtrack supplied by classic country artist Norman Wade, who was one of the residents of the the homes. He was definitely a spirited man, and even belted a couple tunes for us. I can tell you one thing, sadly they don’t sing country like that anymore. Enjoy!

A few weeks ago we gave a quick profile of some high rise ICF apartment buildings being built in New York (Queens). Since then we have done some digging of The Andrew, one of first high rises in the group that was occupied and has energy use data available. The great thing about this project is that The Andrew has an ideal comparison set of numbers, since the developer has older non-ICF buildings, built to similar sizes and specs down the street. The results so far have been amazing.

ICF Apartments Profile

The Andrew is a 45,000 sq. ft., 4-story multi-family apartment building with 50 apartment units. Reward 11″ ICFs were used to construct all exterior walls. The owner of the building is responsible for paying heating from the central unit, and each tenant has window A/C units that they are responsible for.

The Andrew is heated by natural gas that heats a boiler system that delivers hot water to a 85% efficient hydronic baseboard units in each apartment.  Each room is zoned separately and the boilers are shut off during the seasonably warmer months.

According to the owner, the construction costs of this building was the same as if they would have built using conventional construction methods and products. ICFs have proven to pay off with the amount of energy savings as well as the added benefits that sell themselves to prospective tenants.

Insulated Concrete Form Energy Data

Construction finished up in March of 2010 and the building has been occupied since then with the following energy operating costs:

• $0.23/sf/year to heat only (no cooling)
• Over 50% better than conventional non-energy star buildings
• 18.66 kBtu/sf/year to heat (no cooling)

$200 per apartment per year to heat
versus $400 to $600 for conventional construction

Apartment Comparison- Comparing numbers of the similar buildings down the street that were built with CMU and steel stud batt, they performed at $0.44 sf/yr to heat using 44.4 kBtus/sf/year.

ICFs helped to reduce energy use by 58%!

With green rating systems now required energy monitoring and reporting on new buildings Reward has been able to identify actually energy use of Reward ICF buildings, and all of the results have been great. Be on the lookout in the future for more comparisons like this for hotels, schools, public buildings, retail stores and more! The proof is in the numbers, and its apparent Reward ICFs serve as the best wall envelope material- incorporating energy efficiency AND countless other benefits all in one wall system.

The annual ICF Builder awards were announced January 18th at the World of Concrete. I, personally, have only been in this industry for a little over two years, with this year being the 3rd for the ICF Builder awards, and each year the projects set the bar for ANY type of construction, not just ICF. This year Reward Wall Systems were represented in a total of 5 finalists, including 3 that won an award for their respective category.

The ICF Builder Award Winners Are…

Reward Wall Systems was represented in 3 award winning projects in the Multi-Family, Custom Home, and Large Commercial divisions, all receiving the first runner up award.

Multi-Family Housing- Oak Haven Development

This is a hurricane Katrina rebuild of 80 low income housing units. With the size, scope and long term impact this project would have in the region, this could (should) have easily have been the top award winner. Read the past blog post on this game changing ICF project.

Residential Housing- Park-Raines Residence

Photography by Robert Harris

This unique modern designed home was built in the middle of urban Chicago in a revitalization of a old/historic neighborhood. Featured geothermal heating ad recycled paper as an exterior facade, this project earned local accolades and is arguably the GREENEST home in Chicago. View past blog post on this sustainable Chicago home for further information.

Large Commercial- Alamosa School District K-5

Two schools were built on the same campus, one for K-2 and the other 3-5. Total square feet totaled over 140,000 for both schools, with were identical in design. With large spanning windows and P/V units on roofs this project was well deserving of the award it received. Read previous post on  high-performance schools.

Congratulations to all building team members involved on the winning projects and to the project teams for the Passive House in the Woods and the Bellaire, TX Residence as well for being finalists.

Throughout 2010, we have been working closely with Fred DeMartino, owner of Dig N Pour Construction Services, on multiple buildings in New York City. Dig N Pour offers a variety of services in construction, including site work, foundation/poured walls and waste/water line construction. Fred was contacted by the developer of these buildings after his work on an ICF project in Brooklyn caught the eye of one of the owners.

“We were asked to finish a 5-story building that was 2 stories up because the original subcontractor was in over his head,” says DeMartino. That was his first attempt at ICF work and it was apparently quite a challenge. However, in a trial-by-fire, Fred and his guys jumped in and completed the building. His work got noticed by the developer of multiple mid-rise apartment buildings in Harlem, and because of its ability to offer multiple trades such as site work, foundation work and ICF construction, Dig N Pour was awarded a contract to start construction on 5 new buildings.

Challenges of Building in New York

There are some unique circumstances working in a city like New York. There is very little in the way of storage, so inventory and delivery has to be set up almost on a “just in time” schedule. Zero-lot-lines are another challenge. These buildings can often be directly next to an adjacent structure so access to the exterior walls on those sides is non-existent. Also, pumping these walls can be a challenge because it usually requires blocking off part of or all of a public street. Add in the fact that public access to the sidewalks for pedestrians cannot be interrupted, and you can see how these challenges can impact construction efficiency.

However, DeMartino and his crew are constructing a floor every 10 days or so, and they are at times working on multiple buildings at once. Dig N Pour now has the distinguished honor of building the single tallest ICF structure in New York City at 7 stories and DeMartino believes this is just the beginning. When you combine ICF’s and the 5-in-1 wall assemblies, speed of construction and the corresponding tax credits for energy efficiency and LEED certification, it’s easy to see why more building owners will look to ICF’s in constructing their new buildings.

See a similar Reward ICF Apartment Building and its amazing energy use data!

More passive house plans across the country are in the works and they all seem to be including ICFs as their wall structure. The benefits are apparent, especially when you are trying to achieve such stringent standards to meet the requirements for a passive house. Recently we showed a few photos and info on the Passive House in the Woods project. So i wanted to elaborate more on their project and share more photos. You can read official blog for them at www.passivehouseinthewoods.com

Overall Complexity and Innovative Solutions

Though the overall design of the home is simple, there were a number of challenges to overcome. There are stacked corner windows in the southwest corner that takes advantage of the view of the St. Croix River Valley. These lintels are supported by a simple steel post on the main level as well as the upper level.

Another unique area is the foundation between the house and the garage. Here two independent but parallel wall are separated by 11″ of solid EPS foam. They share a common footing but are otherwise the foundations for two completely independent structures. – No interior door from garage to home to avoid air contamination

The addition of the 11″ of EPS to the exterior of the ICF structure created challenging details for window and door openings as well as fastening of lighting, electrical boxes, and other accessories to the house. This was accomplished through the use of various EIFS related products.

Passive House Certified Windows and Doors

Windows and doors are Passive House certified, come with high solar heat gain (64%), triple pane low-E coated glazings, as well as insulated frames for installed R-values of 8. The slab sits on 12” of extruded polystyrene insulation with an R-value of 60. The flat roof utilizes an average of 14” of polyisocyanurate insulation with an R-value of 95.

Special Systems

The heat-recovery ventilation system in the Passive House in the Woods consists of a high efficiency heat-recovery ventilator, combined with a 600 foot PEX-tubing loop field—buried on the property—to pre-heat and pre-cool the incoming air stream. This also dehumidifies moist summer air.

Electric in-floor heating mats with local room-air thermostats are used to provide about 3kW or 10.5kBtu*. That compares to the energy draw of two hair-dryers! No boiler or furnace are needed to provide these small heating loads.

A 4.7 kW photovoltaic system generates a surplus over the energy consumed on site, avoiding 2.78 tons of CO2 annually, and therefore providing carbon neutral operation for a household of two people*.

The domestic hot water system utilizes a 40 square foot hot water solar collector on the roof to pre-warm water in a 50 gallon storage tank. It is capable of providing over 85% of the hot water used in the home*. Backup heating is provided by a small electric on-demand water heater.

Glamour Photos – All Courtesy of Chad Holder Photography