Spearheaded by Salt River Materials Group (SRMG), Phoenix-area contractors and suppliers partnered to demonstrate “green” building technologies in the first concrete Habitat for Humanity® home in Arizona. 

Completed in November 2009, the home is constructed with above-grade concrete walls, conditioned attic space, and energy-efficient windows and HVAC equipment.  These elements combine to allow the home to reach the coveted “Net Zero” energy designation. Exceeding Energy Star® certification, the project’s additional “green” products will contribute to an overall LEED® for Homes Platinum designation, meeting the highest U.S. standards.

The homes walls are constructed with a HercuWall™ system of EPS foam and reinforced concrete.  This insulated concrete form wall system provides the homeowners with a strong, safe, quiet, comfortable environment that is also mold and termite free.  The wall system, when partnered with Icynene® attic insulation and Pella® windows and doors, creates an energy-efficient, thermal building envelope that reduces utilities’ costs by 40 to 60 percent.  This in turn reduces emissions associated with the heating and cooling of the home.

Buildings with exterior concrete walls, also called mass walls, utilize less energy to heat and cool than similarly insulated buildings with wood or steel frame walls. Concrete’s thermal mass has the capacity to store warmth or cold.  This results in moderate indoor temperature fluctuations, slower transfer of heat through the building envelope, and the ability of a building to store energy and shift peak energy requirements.

Also contributing to the home’s Net-Zero classification is a specially designed roof system.  Eagle Roofing Products concrete roofing tiles with a solar reflectance index of 99 combined with a building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solar roof system allowed the roof to meet Eagle's Energy Saving Roof™ criteria.

Additional concrete elements include a pervious concrete driveway, concrete countertops, and integral color concrete floors.  Extensive use of fly ash and recycled aggregate were used throughout the project.

“This home provided an opportunity to demonstrate and showcase cement-based products in ‘green building’ applications to production homebuilders and to Habitat for Humanity at the corporate level,” shares Scott Palmer, chair of the PCA residential committee.  “Innovative ‘green’ concrete wall building systems, which could transform homebuilding across the globe, install quickly and are affordable even for entry-level housing.” 

Among 200 entries, the Habitat home was selected to be in the “Contemporary Desert Living Tour” sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council and featured at the Greenbuild® International Conference and Expo in November in Phoenix.