Building Envelope
Green Homes start with Green Building Envelopes
Obviously, one of the most important features of an energy efficient home is what’s called the building envelope. This includes the ceiling, walls, and foundation that act as an envelope to seal in warm or cool air. The less air that leaks out, the less energy is required to continually heat or cool the air or water to maintain the desired temperature.
Luckily, there are many innovative and cost effective solutions that increase the heat retention of the building envelope.
Insulated Concrete Forms in the Basement
New Ground homes are built on a foundation made from insulated concrete forms or ICFs. Much of a home’s heat is lost through the basement walls because they are rarely insulated on both the interior and exterior. With ICF’s, the wall’s R-Value reaches R-22 which achieves significantly better climate retention than conventional fiberglass insulation in 2×6 exterior walls.
ICFs are constructed of interconnected foam boards that snap together much like Legos®. The ICFs form the interior and exterior of the foundation. After snapping together the forms, re-bar is put in between for increased strength and then cement is poured in. Voila – your foundation is insulated. Once covered with siding on the exterior and drywall on the interior, no one will know the difference, except you when you pay your energy bills.