Concrete Shines in ENERGY STAR Home

For the past five years, The New American Home® (TNAH) has been certified through the ENERGY STAR® program. Each of these homes has featured concrete wall systems, one of the most energy-efficient building envelopes available.

This year’s home, which debuted at last week’s International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla., is no exception. It utilizes a relatively new concrete system and some of the most trusted concrete technology. The exterior structural walls were built with a combination of lightweight autoclaved aerated concrete blocks (AAC), and traditional poured-in-place concrete. 

These concrete wall systems helped reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling by about 62 percent compared to a house of comparable size in the same climate. That level far exceeds the ENERGY STAR requirement of being at least 15 percent more energy efficient than a typical home. ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy designed to save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

Concrete systems and products provide the home other environmental and comfort benefits. The more than 500 cubic yards of poured concrete throughout the 6,725 square-foot home create a house that is resistant to termites, fires, wind, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters. Together these and other “green” building products make the 2008 New American Home the first home to be certified by the National Home Builders Association’s National Green Building Program.

Especially important for this home are the excellent soundproofing qualities of concrete. It's located near the Orlando International Airport.;

In addition to providing a comfortable home, concrete products contributed to the home’s beauty. The family room fireplace is built from concrete veneer bricks. The home is topped with concrete roof tiles and finished with a cement-based system.

Concrete Pavilion Cements
Presence at Builders' Show

For the twentieth year, PCA organized and coordinated a pavilion of concrete products for residential construction at the National Association of Home Builders' International Builders' Show (IBS), held last week at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla. Attendance was 92,000 according to NAHB, down from last year's 103,000 people.

This year, 32 organizations joined PCA in exhibiting at the pavilion, which grew to a record 13,000 square feet. By combining cement- and concrete-related exhibits in one area, the pavilion helps raise concrete's profile at a show where it's easy to get lost among the high-end, flash-and-dash of consumer-oriented home product suppliers.

PCA's booth serves as a gateway to the pavilion. This year, the exhibit featured a touch-screen demonstrating energy savings from concrete homes in any part of the country and a pervious concrete display demonstrating its benefits for stormwater management.

Among other show highlights:

Darlene F. Williams, Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary (pictured with PCA's Mike Collignon at right), toured the concrete pavilion on Thursday, February 14. Her office is responsible for PATH, the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing.

PCA sponsored a reception for the National Association of Real Estate Editors, a group that includes most of the media covering the show.

PCA's Michelle Wilson and Donn Thompson presented technical seminars covering residential concrete.

NAHB's Concrete Home Building Council sponsored its first luncheon, which was attended by 180 builders.

Next year's IBS is scheduled for January 20-23, 2009, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Contact Mike Collignon

Sullivan Presents Residential Outlook Forecast at IBS Show

Ed Sullivan, PCA chief economist, presented his long-range residential cement outlook at a press conference at the 2008 International Builders’ Show on February 13 in Orlando, Fla.

According to his report, the current slump in residential construction is not expected to recover completely until 2010, but that it is a cyclical situation. Sullivan expects population growth and the importance of “green” building to increase consumption steadily through 2030.

Media in attendance at the press conference included representatives from the Wall Street Journal, Orlando Sentinel, Engineering-News Record, and Builder magazine. In addition, Sullivan appeared on WKMG-TV (CBS, Orlando) discussing the unique challenges to the Florida market,
Contact Ed Sullivan

Department of Energy Launches
Builders Challenge at IBS

At the International Builders' Show (IBS) in Orlando, Fla, last week, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman (pictured left) announced a program urging U.S. homebuilders to build 220,000 high-performance, energy-efficient homes by the year 2012.

Called the Builders Challenge, the program defines a high-performance home as using at least 30 percent less energy than a typical new home built to meet the criteria of the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code.

Ultimately, the DOE hopes to see 1.3 million homes meeting this standard built by 2030, saving $1.7 billion in energy costs or the carbon equivalent of taking 606,000 cars off the road each year.

To meet Builders Challenge requirements, a home must score 70 or lower on DOE's EnergySmart Home Scale (E-Scale), which rates energy performance. An E-Scale label would be placed on a home's electrical panel to identify it as a DOE Builders Challenge Home. A typical home scores 100 on this scale.
Visit www.buildingamerica.gov for more info

Online Registration Open for Technical Conference

Registration is now open for the 50th IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference scheduled for May 18-22, 2008, at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa near Miami, Fla.

The conference is a mix of technical papers, exhibits, educational sessions, and a plant tour. This year's program features a tour of Titan America's Pennsuco plant.

PCA will also present its 2008 safety awards at a lunch on May 21.
More information or to register

Deadline Looms for E&E Entries

The deadline for entries in the 2008 Cement Industry Energy and Environment Awards is March 1, 2008.

The awards program is open to any cement manufacturing plant in North America and recognizes projects and activities from January 2007 through December 2007.

A panel of independent judges awards plants for achievements in six categories: environmental performance, land stewardship, outreach, innovation, energy efficiency, and overall environmental excellence.

Awards will be presented at the PCA 2008 Spring Meeting and featured in Cement Americas magazine.
Contact Donna Wortman

Kleinhans Heads Structural Group

Danielle D. Kleinhans, Ph.D., P.E., was recently promoted to senior engineer and group manager for the structural engineering and mechanics department of CTLGroup.

She has eight years of structural engineering experience, focusing on the design and construction of bridges and the use of fiber-reinforced materials for structural applications.

Before joining CTLGroup in 2006, she served as a structural design engineer with Modjeski and Masters, Inc., in Harrisburg, Pa.

Poll Results: ICFs Have Greatest Potential

"The 2008 New American Home, on display at the International Builders Show in Orlando this month, features several types of concrete wall systems. Which one do you think has the greatest potential?"

> Autoclaved cellular concrete: 15.93%
> Concrete masonry (block): 7.96%
> Insulating concrete forms: 56.64%
> Precast panels: 11.50%
> Removable forms: 7.96%

Take the current PCA Poll