IBS ENERGY STAR HOME AGAIN FEATURES CONCRETE WALLS
The 6,725 square-foot “New American Home” on display at the International Builders’ Show in February was the first home to be certified by the National Home Builders Association’s National Green Building Program.For five years the IBS has featured a “New American Home” certified through the ENERGY STAR(R) program as a showplace for state-of-the art technology and practice in the construction industry.
According to the Portland Cement Association, each of these homes has featured concrete wall systems. The home’s exterior walls this year were built with a combination of lightweight autoclaved aerated concrete blocks (AAC) and traditional poured-in-place concrete.
“These concrete wall systems helped reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling by about 62 percent compared to a house of comparable size in the same climate. That level far exceeds the ENERGY STAR requirement of being at least 15 percent more energy efficient than a typical home,” said Jim Niehoff, PCA’s residential promotion director.
ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy designed to save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.
Concrete systems and products provide the home other environmental and comfort benefits, Niehoff said. The more than 500 cubic yards of poured concrete throughout the home create a house that is resistant to termites, fires, wind, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters.
Especially important for this home are the soundproofing qualities of concrete because it is located along the banks of Lake Nona, which is close to the Orlando International Airport. The home is topped with concrete roof tiles and finished with a cement-based stucco system.
