|
|
|
|
|
|
A new type of home that leaves your wallet fatter and your life easier to manage...
A home for the 21st Century is not about the latest in gadgets
and wireless alarms, internet connections or top of the line
intercom system. It is about strength, comfort and energy
efficiency.
Baby Boomers are buying their last home and they know what they
want.
Enter a new type of home. A home that stands up to fire, noise,
sun, wind, rain, snow, bugs, mould and inevitable acts of God
like, earthquakes and hurricanes; a home that gives you
unprecedented comfort and a breath of fresh air 24 hours a day;
a home that can resist hurricanes in Florida as well as sub
artic temperatures in the Canadian North.
Imagine an airtight, steel reinforced concrete cube with about
3 inches of styrofoam insulation on both sides of the wall and
body temperature heated floors.
Fresh air from the outside enters the house through a series of
pipes buried 5 feet below the ground where there is always a
constant temperature - 8 Degrees Celsius.
If you really wanted you could open high efficiency Low-E Argon
filled windows, but why would you want to?
During the summer the incoming air is pre-cooled; during the
winter it is pre-warmed. The flow is strictly controlled,
pre-conditioned and filtered for a breath of fresh air - 24
hours a day.
Computer modeling of this type of air pre-conditioning shows
that just this one idea saves 11% on heating and cooling costs
comparable to conventional venting system.
This new type of luxury home is built as a combination of some
of the newest technologies in modern home building: Insulated
Concrete Form (ICFs), radiant floor heating, a tank-less water
heater and a low energy consumption air conditioning system
(that that you may need to use but very rarely). The outside
walls, which are built out of steel reinforced concrete make
this home wind and fire resistant, bug and mould resistant and
provide excellent protection from hurricanes,
tornadoes and
earthquakes.
Outside voices, traffic noises and police sirens are muffled by
the walls thickness which allows you to sleep soundly every
night. Gone are floor squeaks, drafts and the rattling of glass
in your china cabinet.
Because of the exceptional insulation of insulated concrete
forms, there is significant ongoing savings in energy costs and
greatly increased comfort levels for the homeowner. The savings
are anywhere from 35% to 60% depending mostly on the style of
home and the size and type of windows.
Features, such as a high (92%) efficiency tank-less water heater
heats the whole home, while providing an endless supply of
potable hot water. It turns itself on when you turn your hot
water tap, therefore there are no standby losses as with a
conventional hot water heater. This equals approximately 25% of
energy savings just to heat your hot water.
It is also easy to incorporate a full solar heating, so you can
achieve a complete independence from the grid.
This type of home costs only about 10% more than a comparable
wood framed home and considering a long term savings, comfort
and security why would anyone build homes differently is a
merited question.
If you are thinking of building, or simply want to see for
yourself what all the fuss is about, the model home can be
viewed on Jan 15, and every Saturday after that until the month
of April. It is located on 252 Pearson St. by the golf course in
Meaford, Ontario.
About the author:
Harvey Juric CEO of ICFhome.ca has been building Insulated
Concrete Form custom homes in Ontario since 1995. For more
information about the model home, Insulated Concrete Forms or
Radiant Floor Heating contact ICFhome.ca by telephone 519
843-7612, e-mail info@icfhome.ca, or visit their web site at Ontario Home
Builder or Luxury
Home
|
|
|
| |
5 useful tips to care for your plants while you are on holidays
Christmas and holidays are coming and it is frequent to travel
away to meet with family and friends. What happens to your
plants when you are on holidays?
You may have asked your neighbours if they can take care of your
plants at that time,...
Beware of Toxic Mulch
You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be active
links. You are welcome to use this article with an affiliate link, ...
Gardening Fun With Children
Do you recall your very first plant? Your first garden? Perhaps it was the geranium seeds you planted in a milk carton or Styrofoam cup as part of a class project. Perhaps, if you were lucky, it was your own corner of your parent’s garden, staked...
|
|