Page 17 - Green Builder Magazine Sept-Oct 2021

DOE Annual Building Science Roundup
SILVER LININGS
Wind Breaker

To protect this large home’s residents from
constant, cold winds, builders installed 11-inch
insulating concrete forms and achieved HERS 34
performance.

L OCATED ON A HIGH OPEN BLUFF insulated concrete form (ICF) blocks. notoriously leaky top plates over all of the
These provide solid 6-inch concrete walls
corn fields, this
surrounded by
exterior walls and covers the 15.25-inch
Afton, Minnesota, home gets buf-
raised heel energy trusses.
covered inside and out with 2.5-inch lay-
feted by winds nearly every day. But the ers of rigid foam. A 2-inch R-10 layer of The spray foam is topped with R-46 of
strong prairie winds are no match for the rigid foam blankets the ground under the blown fiberglass for an R-60 total. Out-
concrete form walls wrapping this day- floor slab as well. side, the roof is covered with half-inch ori-
light basement farm house. The above-grade walls of the basic ented strand board (OSB) sheathing that
The home was constructed by custom ranch-plus-daylight basement are cov- is protected with an ice and water shield
builder and co-owner Ray Pruban of Ama- ered with house wrap and clad with engi- 36 inches past the wall line, then topped
ris Homes. The energy performance and neered wood lap siding. The interior walls with 15# roofing felt, and covered with
other features of the 3,357-square-foot are framed with laminated-strand lumber architectural asphalt shingles. Two-foot
home helped earn a Grand Award in the (LSL) 2-by-4s, an engineered stud that is overhangs at the eaves and 1-foot over-
custom home category of the U.S. Depart- straight and smooth for level walls, and hangs at the gable ends provide shade,
ment of Energy (DOE)’s Housing Innova- fewer future nail pops and drywall cracks. rain and snow protection.
tion Awards competition for 2020. The attic is vented. The attic floor is Fiberglass-framed windows were
To protect the home and its occupants covered with two inches of R-14 closed- selected in part due to their rigid frame
from the heat-robbing effects of the cell spray foam that effectively air seals construction, which allowed for larger
strong winds, Amaris Homes constructed around every wire and pipe that pokes fixed glass in the great room and enter-
the structure’s walls from 11-inch-thick through the ceiling. It also seals the tainment rooms. The double-pane

Average Monthly Energy Bill
$0 Climate IECC,6A, cold

Calculated
Dry (B) Moist (A)
Marine (C)
7
6
Annual Savings 4 6
$4,700 5 5

Calculated versus typical new homes 4

3
2 3
2 2
Saved in the first 30 Years
$218,900 1

Includes fuel escalation rates,
2019 EIA Energy Outlook

www.greenbuildermedia.com September/October 2021 GREEN BUILDER 15