The Next Great American Home is the wave of the future.
The following are some of the more specialized products used in the construction techniques of a Next Great American Home:
Roof water underground retention
Roof water rain barrels watering planting beds
Helical foundations
Grade beam in lieu of foundation walls
ICF exterior walls
Lite Deck slab and first floor
Triple pane high efficiency windows
Interior metal stud walls factory fabricated
Structural insulated panel and / or truss roof system
Solar panels and battery storage
High efficiency heat pump heating system
EVR (energy ventilation recovery) system for fresh air
High efficiency lighting
Automated shades reacting to the sun
Synthetic, no maintenance siding
KEMPER lifetime warranty roof with integrated gutters
Smart home technology
Voice activated controls
High efficiency building shape
ICF exterior walls
Integrated Concrete Forms, also known as ICF, this building technique is no more expensive than a wood-built home, but it provides much greater energy savings, sound proofing and safety. ICF consists of foam forms filled with concrete to create the outside walls of a building. The forms can take any exterior and interior application, so they look like traditionally built homes. And ICF is not new. Builders began developing it in the 1940s and 1950s, and now there are several form manufacturers and plenty of contractors who are certified to build an ICF home. For more information, visit the Insulating Concrete Forms Manufacturers Association and the Portland Cement Association.
Helical anchors
Not every building can stand on a traditional foundation. Where soil stability is an issue, helical coils are literally screwed into the ground, continuing until they hit enough pressure to carry the weight of the building. In the case of the Ash Creek house, that is about 30 feet.
Grade beam in lieu of foundation walls
Instead of concrete walls sitting on top of the ground, the anchors are attached to a grade beam, on which the house is built.
Lite Deck slab and first floor
A deck of ICF forms filled with concrete become the bottom floor of the garage and is as strong as a traditional concrete slab.
Triple pane high efficiency windows
All windows in the Ash Creek house will be triple-paned, providing an R-value of 1.7 – as efficient as the insulated walls of homes built in the 1990s.
Interior metal stud walls factory fabricated
The interior of an ICF house can be designed in any way you can imagine, with interior metal-stud walls fabricated at a factory and able to take any finish, from sheetrock, to stone, to durable manufactured covering.
Structural insulated panel/KEMPER lifetime warranty roof
The roof is composed of structural insulated panels, a strong sandwich of foam insulation that eliminates rafters and provides excellent insulation. We will then cover it with a long-lasting applied coating and integrated rain gutters that will never detract from the look of the design.
Solar panels and battery storage
Solar panels and battery storage will provide most of the electricity for the home, augmented by a whole-house generator and connection to the traditional grid.
High efficiency heat pump heating system
A heat pump that operates down to minus-20 degrees will provide heating and air conditioning. A system of energy recovery ventilation will precondition the air being exhausted from the home to capture most energy and reuse it to heat or cool incoming air.
EVR (energy ventilation recovery) system for fresh air
With ICF construction, a building can be sealed to nearly 100% and the air purified as it is brought in, cleaned of natural allergens and human pollutants.
High efficiency lighting
LED lights will supply all of the supplemental lighting in the house. LEDs are much more efficient, with an LED bulb rated at eight watts providing the equivalent of 60 watts from traditional incandescent or fluorescent blubs. LED bulbs have come down in price since they were first introduced and also offer a variety of warmth and colors.
Automated shades reacting to the sun
One element of efficient heating and cooling is taking advantage of the suns energy – or blocking it. Exterior window overhangs block the sun when it is high in the summer sky and allow it to shine in when it is lower in the winter. Sometimes, however, an additional exterior shade is necessary to keep rooms as cool as possible in the summer. That is when programmable shades automatically close or open in reaction to temperature.
Synthetic, no maintenance siding
The exterior of an ICF house can be the same as any traditional house, from wood clapboard, to vinyl, stone, brick, stucco, etc. To lower long-term maintenance costs, the siding on the Ash Creek House will be a synthetic material that is waterproof, stainproof and will last for years and years.
Smart home technology
The home will be wired for smart applications, with voice-activated controls, automatic window shades, and a security system that covers the entire house and property.
Roof water underground retention
To control rain runoff, gutters on the roof will deliver water to concrete galleys buried in the ground that will retain large amounts of water and let it slowly percolate into the soil. Most town zoning regulations now require this type of system for new construction.
Rain barrels
My plans call for the placement of 80-gallon barrels at each corner of the house that, when full, will overflow into the underground retention system. Water remaining in each barrel will then serve a drip delivery system for the garden.
High efficiency building shape
Other than a circle, a square building is the most efficient design, with the least amount of perimeter wall exposed to the elements. The Ash Creek House is more interesting to look at because the design includes a screened-porch on one end, along with window overhangs that add variety and a decorative element.