GREEN IS EASY WITH ICF TECHNOLOGY
Last November, the U.S. Green Building Council rolled out its rating system for sustainable residential construction, LEED for Homes. LEED is the acronym for the Council’s sustainable (green) rating brand, and stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
LEED for Homes standards intricately detail sustainable residential construction protocols, including site choice and preparation, energy and water use, building and finishing materials, indoor air quality, and occupant education.
Some construction professionals question the complexity of the system and chafe at what they consider LEED’s proscriptive requirements. But boiled down, LEED standards promote long-term building performance by stressing green-building basics: Safe, durable construction using good insulation practices … incorporating efficient heating/cooling/ventilation systems … being mindful of healthy indoor air quality … and integrating environmentally-smart building material selections.
ICF Technology is a Home Builder’s Green ‘Easy Button’
Insulating Concrete Form technology (ICF) is an easy way for construction professionals to build green.
ICFs are panels or hollow blocks made of expanded polystyrene (EPS), which construction crews set or stack as a component form system to create frost, foundation, and exterior walls for residential and light commercial construction. Workers then add reinforcing steel and fill the gap (typically 4-to-8 inches) in the forms or foam block with ready-mixed concrete. After the concrete has hardened, the form system is left in place and provides a sandwich of insulation for the walls and backing for drywall (on the interior side of the ICF walls) and lap siding, brick, or other exterior finish systems (on the exterior side of the ICF walls).
By sandwiching reinforced concrete between two layers of EPS insulation, ICF technology creates a wall with highly-desirable green properties – air tightness, strength, sound attenuation, insulation, and mass. The resulting ICF structures are strong, safe, durable, and exceptionally energy-efficient, and help promote healthy indoor air quality.
Builders and Buyers Benefit
The thermal performance value of ICF wall assemblies can be equal to or surpass R-40 to R-50 stud wall construction, providing superior energy efficiency and significant energy savings.
Extensive testing across North America shows the superior insulation, air tightness, and mass of ICF wall assemblies can cut the amount of energy needed for heating and cooling by as much as 30 to 40 percent.
The continuous layers of foam insulation provide a more uniform temperature profile over a 24-hour period than other construction methods, with no cold spots or convection currents, and sharply fewer draft points.
The rigid construction inherent in insulated concrete homes can survive storms and high-force winds better than homes built with other framing technologies. As a testament to this benefit, most insurance carriers now provide homeowner policy discounts for insulated concrete homes.
Rigid concrete construction also stops a significant amount of outside noise from entering the home. Tests show ICF wall assemblies block out 70 percent more noise than a typical wood-frame wall.
Because there are no wall cavities in ICF wall assemblies, there is no place for mold to grow. The concrete and foam used to build ICF walls also contribute to good indoor air quality (IAQ), because they do not have off-gassing characteristics associated often with other new construction materials.
Building with ICF technology is also healthier for the environment. Concrete is ordered and mixed for each individual project. This just-in-time manufacturing reduces on-site construction scrap inherent in sheeting, steel studs, and lumber, construction waste that often takes up valuable space in Wisconsin landfills. The strength and durability of an insulated concrete home, and its demonstrated ability to lower energy needs, is also good for the environment.
ICF technology helps residential construction professionals achieve green-building basics for their customers: Safe, durable construction … good insulation practices … efficient heating/cooling/ventilation systems … healthy indoor air quality … and environmentally-smart building material selections (like ready-mixed concrete).
Residential construction professionals serving the 53172 delivery area should leverage the construction downturn by mastering ICF technology. A good first resource is to contact your local ready-mixed concrete producer.
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