Project: Private Residence
Location: Bush, LA (North
of New Orleans)
Project Description: 12,000 sq. ft. Italian
influenced above-grade concrete house. Two story home plus a Terrace Level (walkout basement). Two 2-car garages. One of the
2-car garages was over a structural concrete slab to allow more space in the Terrace level. The rear porch was an elevated
structural concrete slab.
Above-grade Concrete Wall Type: The
Thermomass insulated concrete sandwich wall product. The wall makeup was 4” concrete/2” rigid insulation/4”
concrete.
Fun Facts: We created
85 window and door openings in the exterior concrete walls. We installed over 200 electrical boxes for light switches and
outlets in the concrete walls.
Award Winner: Our project
was selected among outstanding entries from across North America. The entries were reviewed and voted on by industry experts
as well as many of the 50,000 attendees at the World of Concrete show/convention in Las Vegas. The award is given each year
by the Concrete Foundations Association of North America for the best above-grade concrete home.
The owners and architect chose a concrete home for its:
- Energy efficiency
- Indoor air quality
- Immunity to termites
- Resistance to hurricane-related winds
- Overall security
Joint
Venture: This project was a joint venture between Herbert Construction Co. and Basement Contractors of Edmund,
Oklahoma. Energy Savings of 60% to 80%: The US Department of Energy's Building America
Program recently conducted two studys which confirmed the energy savings of Thermomass compared to conventionally built frame
homes. Below are some of the findings.
Las Vegas Study
- The
Thermomass home requires only 35% of the natural gas for space heating per year as the conventionally built home (109 Therms
versus 308 Therms).
- The Thermomass home requires only 16% of the annual electric power for cooling
as the conventionally built home (1,508 kilowatt hours versus 9,490 kilowatt hours).
- Based upon
local utility rates, it would cost $184.01 per year to heat and cool the Thermomass home, compared to a cost of $937.98 to
heat and cool the wood-fram home.
Borrego Springs, CA Study
- The Thermomass homes used 44% to 66% less energy and 66% to 68% less energy for cooling than teh Building America
benchmarks.
- The annual heating and cooling costs for Thermomass homes totaled $675.75 and $709.99,
compared to $1,965.01 and $2,062.81 for the benchmark homes.
