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Greater Comfort & Lower Energy Bills

Energy savings and comfort are built into every ICF system. ICFs start with a high it-Value. Four inches of ASTM C 578 polystyrene foam insulation, combined with a five inch concrete wall a typical ICF system - are rated above R-17 at 75* mean test temperature. Other insulating form configurations and materials also exhibit high it-Values. But that's not all! Air infiltration in an ICF Home is minimal due to the continuous air barriers provided by the foam insulation and the concrete. Likewise, there are no convection currents within wall cavities. The concrete walls of an ICF home have high thermal mass, which buffers the interior of a home from the extremes of outdoor temperature during every 24-hour cycle. This reduces both peak and total heating and cooling loads.  This combination of high R-values, low air infiltration, and high thermal mass is believed to account for the amazing 25% to 50% energy savings of ICF versus wood or steel-framed homes.

Green building, or sustainability, is a method of designing and building the most high performance building or home inside and out by maximizing the benefits of building materials and resources. Energy, being one of the world’s most valuable resources ,is a leading criteria of green building. Given that ICFs are extremely energy efficient, ICFs can easily be incorporated into green building designs to maximize its performance.

Concrete Homes Save Energy

Building a concrete home with insulating concrete forms (ICFs) saves energy and money. The greater insulation, tighter construction, and temperature-smoothing mass of the walls conserve heating and cooling energy much better than conventional wood-frame walls. This reduces monthly fuel bills. It also allows use of smaller heating and cooling equipment, saving money in construction.

How much will I save?

Houses built with ICF exterior walls require an estimated 44% less energy to heat and 32% less energy to cool than comparable frame houses. A typical 2000 square foot home in the center of the U.S. will save approximately $200 in heating costs each year and $65 in air conditioning each year. The bigger the house the bigger the savings. In colder areas of the U.S. and Canada, heating savings will be more and cooling savings less. In hotter areas, heating savings will be less and cooling savings more.  The smaller heating and cooling equipment needed for such an energy-efficient house can cut construction costs by an estimated $500 to $2000. The biggest equipment savings come with the houses that have the most energy savings.  The energy savings estimates come from a study of single-family houses spread across the U.S. and Canada. Researchers gathered data on 58 houses in all. Half had exterior walls constructed with concrete using ICFs made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) or extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam. The other half were neighboring houses with walls constructed of wood frame. All houses were relatively new (less than 6 years old) and built with modern methods. The researchers compared the energy bill of each concrete house to its frame counterpart, carefully correcting for important differences to get an “apples-to-apples” comparison.  Estimates of equipment savings are actual numbers reported by contractors that build ICF houses.

Where do the savings come from?

Insulating values for ICF walls using polystyrene foam are R-17 to R-26, compared to wood frame’s R-9 to R-15. So ICF walls are expected to cut the conduction losses through foundation and above-grade walls by about half. And ICF walls are tighter. In tests, ICF houses averaged about 1/2 as much infiltration (air leakage) as frame.  ICF walls do more than cut down on the biggest types of energy loss. The concrete gives them the heat-absorbing property, “thermal mass”. This is the ability to smooth out large swings in temperature. It keeps the walls of the house a little warmer when the outdoor temperature hits its coldest extreme, and keeps the house a little cooler when the outdoor temperature is hottest. The walls themselves “add back” heat or cooling to the house when it needs them most. This contributes about 6% of the needed energy to the house for free. Reduced equipment costs result from the energy savings. Since the energy needed is less, the furnaces and compressors that heat and cool can be smaller. And the more the energy savings, the greater the possible reduction in equipment size and the equipment cost.

In planning a new house you can estimate that building the walls of concrete using ICFs will save you hundreds of dollars per year in energy costs. The savings are greater the bigger the house. Heating savings are highest in cold climates, and cooling savings highest in warm climates. You may also save hundreds or thousands of dollars in construction costs for heating and cooling equipment. Talk with an ICF homebuilder for estimates.

Peace & Quiet

New ICF homeowners almost always remark on how unbelievably quiet their new house is, compared with their old stick-built home. They expect the new-found comfort and energy efficiency, but the peace and quiet -the protection from outside noise - never fails to surprise and delight them.  In sound transmission tests, ICF walls allowed less than one-third as much sound to pass through as do ordinary frame walls filled with fiberglass. With double-glazed windows in ICF walls and beefed-up roof insulation, you will rarely hear street noises or airport traffic.

Concrete walls built with insulating concrete forms effectively buffer a home’s interior from the outdoors. The thick ICF sandwich of a massive material (concrete) with a light one (foam) sharply cuts fluctuations in temperature, air infiltration, and noise. They keep the inside of a house more comfortable and quiet than ordinary wood frame walls.

Where does the greater comfort come from? ICF walls increase comfort in three ways:

 Consistency of Insulation - The continuous layer of foam insulation along the ICF wall helps keep the temperature the same everywhere. It  virtually eliminates the “cold spots” that can occur in frame walls along the studs or at gaps in the insulation.

 Thermal Mass -The heavy concrete of the ICF wall gives it the heat-absorbing property of “thermal mass”. This smoothes out swings in temperature over time. So the house does not tend to overheat or get suddenly chilly as the furnace or air conditioner cycles on and off.

 Air Infiltration - The interlocking foam faces, sealed with continuous concrete in the center, make ICF walls exceptionally airtight. So drafts are cut sharply. In tests, homes built of ICFs had only about one-third to one-half  as much air infiltration as the typical frame house.

What about noise?

Massive materials like concrete tend to reflect noise:

 Sound Reduction - Compared to a typical wood frame wall, only about one-quarter to one-eighth as much sound penetrates through an ICF wall. Scientists would describe loud speech on the opposite side of a frame wall as  "audible, but not intelligible." On the opposite side of an ICF wall, a listener would "strain to hear" loud speech. It would be virtually "inaudible."

When planning a new house, consider the greater well-being that could come from living with a more even temperature, sharply reduced drafts, and noticeably greater quiet. These things are available with concrete walls built with ICFs. They effectively shelter the interior environment from the harshness of the outdoors. ICFs will provide a quiet, comfortable home year round.

Solid & Lasting Security

The high-mass walls of an ICF home not only give it a remarkably solid feel, but they also make it safer for the family. And make it a remarkably solid and secure investment, too. Concrete homes have a proven track record of withstanding the ravages of hurricanes, tornadoes and fires, when all the stick-built houses around them are in ruins. In fire wall tests, ICFs stood exposure to intense flame without structural failure longer than did common frame walls. The polystyrene foam used in most ICF forms is treated so it will not support combustion. Also, tests show that its tendency to transmit an outside flame source is less than that of most wood products. [Many insurance carriers are now offering a discount on a home owner's policy for an ICF home.]  The strength and durability of concrete walls formed with ICFs offer unmatched resistance to the devastation of major storms. Concrete homes are less likely to suffer major damage from debris than conventionally framed houses. This greater measure of built-in safety makes ICF construction the quality choice for your new home.

Fire Resistance of Concrete Homes

Of all construction materials, concrete is one of the most resistant to heat and fire. Such fire resistance gives houses built with insulating concrete forms (ICFs) certain safety advantages. Those advantages give builders and buyers yet another reason to consider using ICFs for their next project. How well do ICF walls hold up in a fire? Experience shows that concrete structures are more likely to remain standing through fire than are structures of other materials. Unlike wood, concrete does not burn. Unlike steel, it does not soften and bend. Concrete does not break down until it is exposed to thousands of degrees Fahrenheit—far more than is present in the typical house fire.

Do they stop fire from spreading?

Concrete walls have also proven more resistant to allowing fire to pass from one side of the wall to the other. This is especially of interest in areas with brush fires that could spread indoors.  The fire wall test confirms this rule for ICFs once again. Part of the test measured how well the wall slows the passage of heat and fire from the side with the flame to the other side. The ICF walls tested did not allow flames to pass directly through. They also did not allow enough heat through to start a fire on the cool side for 2-4 hours. In contrast, wood frame walls typically allow both flame and fire-starting heat through in an hour or less.

Will the foam add fuel to the fire?

The foams in ICFs are manufactured with flame-retardant additives. These prevent the foams from burning by themselves. If you hold a match to the material, it will melt away.  Of course, in a house fire, the foam may be subjected to constant flame from other materials burning nearby (wooden floors, fabrics, etc.). The “Steiner Tunnel Test” measures how much a material carries fire from an outside source. In the test, technicians line a tunnel with the material, run a fire at one end, then measure how far the flame spreads. The flames travel about one-fifth as far down a tunnel lined with ICF foams as they spread down a tunnel lined with wood.

Evidence suggests that ICF walls may be safer in many ways than wood frame in a fire. Using ICF walls in your next home would provide an important and effective measure of fire safety.

Less Repair & Maintenance

With ICF homes, the equation is simple. No Rot = Less Repair and Maintenance. Neither polystyrene nor concrete will ever rot or rust. Concrete can even be exposed to the elements for centuries with few ill effects. Reinforcing steel, buried deep inside and protected by concrete's alkalinity, does not corrode. 

Structural Load Resistance: ICFs vs. Steel & Wood-Frame

Tests suggest that when subjected to lateral in-plane loading from sources such as wind or earthquake, the ICF wall panels are not only considerably stronger but also much stiffer than the framed wall panels. The higher strength of ICF walls enable concrete homes to resist winds and earthquakes of much higher magnitudes. The higher stiffness demonstrated by the ICF wall panels at the loading limits of the frame wall systems, would result in smaller lateral deformation and prevention of potential damage to non-structural elements of a home such as finishes and trim. In the case of moderate earthquakes, the repair cost of the damaged non-structural components is usually the major, and sometimes the only part of the restoration costs. ICFs offer great potential for reduced property loss from strong wind and earthquakes.

A Healthier Home & Environment

Building with ICFs is healthier for environment in a number of way minimizing the number of different building products involved in co tion, by reducing the amount of waste generated on the construction site by lowering energy requirements heating and cooling. ICF homes provide a healthy indoor environment, too. Nothing held within or ordinarily emitted by an ICF wall is toxic. The measurement of the air contents of actual ICF houses shows an almost complete absence of any emissions.

Mold and Moisture

Mold growth in homes is the hot topic in the home building industry today. Headlines tout the danger of exposure to mold in our homes and at work. A member of the fungi family, mold comes in thousands of varieties and exists in every indoor and outdoor environment. It is a natural and necessary part of the ecosystem in which we live. While many types of mold have positive benefits, there are several strains that can lead to health problems if allowed to flourish.

Who is at risk?

Exposure to certain types of mold can cause health problems. The sensitivity of individuals and the exposure amount varies so widely that there has been no “safe” threshold defined by authorities. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), most people experience no reaction to “normal” mold exposure. Some individuals are very sensitive to mold exposure, much like some people are affected by hay fever. Children, senior citizens and people with weakened immune systems may be more vulnerable to mold exposure. Although “toxic mold” is the phrase most often seen in headlines, the Environmental Protection Agency and the CDC state there is very little current scientific evidence connecting mold exposure and extreme illness, considering the low levels of exposure in most homes.

Are Concrete Homes affected by mold?

The concrete, foam and steel in a concrete wall system are not a food source for mold growth unlike wood studs, joists and wall sheathing. However, organic materials such as floor decking, paper faced drywall and carpet are used inside concrete homes. These products can support mold growth and should be treated accordingly. Regardless of the building system, there is no substitute for good construction practices, regular inspections and preventative maintenance to prevent mold from getting a foothold in your home.

Construction Made Simple ICF Advantages For The Builder. Versatile System - Flexible Designs

ICF homes can be designed in any style, and will accept any traditional exterior finish including vinyl or wood siding, stucco and brick. Because custom angles and curves are easily created, it's simple to build in bows, bays and radiuses. And ICF systems accommodate any of today's most popular design features, such as tall walls, large openings, long floor spans, and cathedral ceilings.

What are insulating concrete forms?

ICFs are hollow “blocks” or “panels” made of plastic foam that construction crews stack into the shape of the walls of a building. The workers then fill the center with reinforced concrete to create the structure. There are over 20 brands of ICFs in North America, each with some variations in design and materials.  ICF construction sandwiches a heavy, high-strength material (reinforced concrete) between two layers of a light, high-insulation one (foam). This combination creates a wall with an unusually good combination of desirable properties: air tightness, strength, sound attenuation, insulation, and mass.

How does the home owner benefit?

Comfort. Houses built with ICF walls have a much more even temperature throughout the day and night. They have virtually no “cold spots”, and sharply fewer drafts.

Solidity. The rigidity of concrete construction reduces the flex in floors and cuts shifting and vibration from the force of the wind or the slamming of a door. Concrete houses survive high-force winds like hurricanes far better than wood homes. And when properly reinforced, they should also withstand earthquakes well.

Quietness. About one-sixth as much sound gets through an ICF wall compared with an ordinary frame wall. This sharply cuts the intrusion of noise from outside.

Energy efficiency. The superior insulation, air tightness, and mass of the walls cut the amount of energy needed for heating and cooling by 30-40%. This can save $200-300 per year in a typical home. In addition, it allows the installation of smaller heating and cooling equipment. That can reduce the initial cost of a house by over a thousand dollars.
 

Design flexibility. ICF houses can be completed with almost any interior and exterior finishes and can take any shape as easily as wood frame. In fact, some interesting effects, such as curved walls and frequent corners, can be less expensive to build into an ICF home.

How much do ICF walls cost?

Because of low labor requirements, total construction cost is only slightly above the cost of wood frame despite the use of high-quality materials. When built by crews experienced with ICF construction, completed ICF homes cost about 0.5-4% more than they would if they had been built of frame. 

Internationally Proven & Code-Accepted

Originally developed in Canada (where concrete home building is standard) ICF systems have been used successfully around the world for more than 40 years. Tens of thousands of ICF homes have been built in recent years throughout the United States and Canada. They have proven successful in every region and climate, from Orlando to Calgary. ICF systems are accepted by all the major model codes in the U.S. and by the National Building Codes in Canada.

Cost Competitive.

Over the last ten years, concrete prices have been remarkably stable. Recent price increases in other materials have generated interest in concrete building systems as never before. Labor savings and readily available materials make ICFs, feature for feature, one of the most cost competitive wall systems in U.S. and Canadian housing markets.