Foam home: Energy-efficient prototype rolls off assembly line
Copyright 2000, Environmental News Network
Thursday, June 22, 2000
By Lucy Chubb
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. But what about the people who live in homes made of foam?
The answer may soon materialize. Builders finished work last week on the first home constructed entirely out of foam core panels, a milestone in the production of energy-efficient manufactured homes in the United States.
The prototype was conceived and produced through a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of Energy and members of the building industry under the DOE's Building America program.
"Manufactured housing is about 20 to 30 percent of new U.S. home sales," said Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, "so there is a great potential for energy savings."
The demonstration house was assembled at Redmond Homes Inc. in Silverton, Oregon. Redmond Homes is a subsidiary of Champion Enterprises, an industry partner in the foam core-panels project.
The foam-core technology may save homeowners 30 percent to 50 percent on energy bills yet cost no more to build than conventional manufactured homes.
"Homes built with this technology will ... allow their owners to save $550 to $690 each year on their electric bills," said Richardson. "Homeowners who heat with natural gas are expected to save $146 to $181 annually."
Foam core panels, also called structural insulating panels, sandwich an insulating layer of foam between two structural panels, creating a highly insulated floor, wall or ceiling that replaces conventional wood framing.
Construction work using foam core panels was conducted at Redmond Homes Inc., in Silverton, Oregon.
Builders have used foam core panels in custom-built houses for some time. The Redmond Homes program is the first attempt to apply the technology to manufactured homes.
One reason for the prototype was to determine how long a foam-core manufactured home would take to build, said George James, a project manager for the Building America program.
Over the next few weeks, Champion Enterprises will evaluate the processes that went into building the foam-core house. The company is expected to announce the results of the review in July.
James feels that foam-core technology could speed up production of a manufactured home. Builders can put up an entire exterior wall, complete with insulation, in one procedure with foam core boards.
"If this works, it's a great advance," said James, who has worked on green home-building technology for more than 10 years.
To finish the foam-core structure, siding is attached to the exterior of the house. Wallboard or other textures can be applied to interior foam-core walls. The result, in James' opinion, is a house that is "very energy-efficient and very good looking," and one that is hardly distinguishable from custom-built homes.
"I think that this is going to be the future," he said.
James estimates foam-core homes will be available within a year.