Concrete Homes Save
Energy
Building a concrete home with the All Wall System 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 you save?
Houses built with the All
Wall Systems exterior walls require an estimated 53% less energy to heat and
41% less energy to cool than comparable frame houses and 9% less energy than
ICF constructed homes. A typical 2000
square foot home in
The MONTHLY SAVINGS is greater than the monthly increase in
your mortgage.
From the Day You Move in, you will be living cheaper with the All Wall System and interior roof foam insulation.
The bigger the house the bigger the savings.
In colder areas of the
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.
Insulating values for the All Wall System walls which have polystyrene foam in the center and concrete shells (thermal mass) touching the interior, compared to wood frame’s are expected to cut the conduction losses through foundation and above-grade walls by about half. All Wall houses average about 1/2 as much infiltration (air leakage) as frame.
The All Wall System 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 12% 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.
What's the bottom line?
- In planning a new house you can estimate that building the walls of concrete using the All Wall System 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.