Page 49 - Green Builder Sept-Oct 2019 Issue

ERRO AND THE VISION HOUSE TEAM wanted to address fire resistance, not just by
®
RESILIENT using noncombustible materials in the house construction, but also by using a fire
sprinkler system. Turns out, it was required anyway because the remote location
and siting of the house makes fire department service difficult.
The house is not on public water, so the team put in a cistern that is filled by
WATER H rainwater and water pulled from the air by an atmospheric generator. The generator
runs off a three-panel photovoltaic (PV) system and can pump out up to 80 gallons of water a day.
“With climate changes we are going to see more-robust sprinklers become standard in homes,”
predicts McGee. “In addition to the interior sprinkler system, we are exploring installing sprinklers on
Climate change, extreme the eaves of the house. If there is a fire and Herro isn’t there, the sprinklers will turn on automatically

weather and an off-grid or he can turn the sprinklers on with his smart phone. Herro can watch the level of water in the cistern
to make sure it is used appropriately.”
site prompts the VISION “The AquaSAFE combined plumbing and fire sprinkler system is a smart choice for this house,”
For the home’s interior fire sprinklers, plumbing and radiant floor heating, Herro selected Uponor.
House® Seattle Cascades notes Ingrid Mattsson, director of sustainable brand development, Uponor North America. “Having a
team to address water combined system incorporates the fire sprinklers into the home’s cold-water plumbing. This ensures
fresh water is always available if it is ever needed in the event of a fire.”
from many angles. Mattsson notes that a combined plumbing and fire sprinkler system makes a lot of sense for
builders. “With more jurisdictions across the country requiring fire sprinklers in homes, the AquaSAFE
multipurpose system is a smart solution for builders. It can save on installation and materials costs
compared to a separate plumbing and fire sprinkler system, and oftentimes the fire sprinklers can
be installed by the builder’s trusted plumber already on the job.”
Mattsson says that it isn’t just the changing climate and wildfires that are prompting people to
use fire sprinklers. It is also important to have them because of the synthetics in today’s home
decor. Synthetics burn faster and hotter than natural materials. “Smoke detectors are important,
but fires happen so quickly in homes,” she notes. “Fires used to take about 15 minutes to flash over
and now it’s three minutes. Fire sprinklers save structures, yes, but more important, they give you
time to exit the house.”
When it comes to cost versus value, the fire sprinkler conversation often comes up, Mattsson
says. “The reality is, fire sprinklers are like insurance: You don’t know its value until you use it. You
pay for it and hope to never have to use it.” However, she notes, builders have an opportunity to
differentiate their houses, particularly with the recent heavy press given to natural disasters: “They
can say, ‘My houses are beautiful, well built and safe.’”

Dynamics, Inc. “We also added mass mate-
rials in the home so it can hold internal tem-
peratures as outside temperatures swing up
or down—radiating heat or absorbing heat
to maintain comfortable temperatures.”
Even smaller details add to the perfor-
mance of the building. The team will use
a steel coating designed for thermal pro-
tection of steam pipes for the steel beams.
“This coating goes on like paint but is lay-
ered in six coats and builds up 10 mils of
thickness, making it R-5,” explains VISION
House builder Ted Clifton of Clifton View
®
Homes. “So by coating the steel penetrat- COURTESY OF NUDURA INSULATED CONCRETE FORMS
ing enclosure from the inside and outside,
with R-5 on each side, the steel beams go
through an R-10 opening, which is better
insulated than windows. These are the
kinds of things that provide durability, pro- Staying power. NUDURA’s advanced insulating concrete form (ICF) design combines two panels of
tection against fire, and energy efficiency. Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam with the structural strength and thermal mass of concrete, for a house
So it may be $120 a gallon compared to $40 hurricane wind resistance up to 250 miles per hour and an energy-efficiency rating as high as R-50.

www.greenbuildermedia.com September/October 2019 GREEN BUILDER 47

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