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Cut your Energy Bills in Half: Here's
How!
March 2000
Rural Builder Magazine. Reprinted with permission. 
How would you like to cut your heating bill
to about $25 a month? That is what Ted and Sharon Smith did when
they build their 2,000 square foot home out of Insulspan Structural
Insulated Panels. “I knew this would be our retirement home,”
said Smith, “so we wanted to build a highly energy efficient
home that we could afford on a fixed income.” Smith has been
in the heating and air conditioning business for over 30 years.
When he and his wife Sharon were thinking about building a new home
in southeast Michigan, they did their research.
“We looked into other foam structure applications for their
energy efficiency, but some of them were too complicated for us
to do ourselves. Insulspan is extremely energy efficient and also
easy to put together. It was almost as simple as putting building
blocks together,” says Sharon Smith. It cost them about $300
to heat their home for one year which averages about $25 per month.
Insulspan panels are made of a continuous core
of rigid foam that is laminated between two layers of engineered
wood. This system creates an extremely strong and super-insulated
wall that can be constructed in a few simple steps. It takes a builder
only a fraction of the time to put together the shell of a building
with Insulspan panels.
Smith installed a 35,000 BTU furnace and one
and a half ton air conditioner to cool it down. With Insulspan super-insulated
walls, Smith was able to buy a furnace half the size recommended
for a home of this size. “A furnace will be at its peak efficiency
if it runs continuously. This smaller furnace is more than enough
to keep our home comfortable and keeps our utility bills low too.”
According to Smith, other homes this size usually
need a three to four ton air conditioner to cool the entire space.
They also saved money by installing a smaller air conditioner that
keeps their home at a comfortable 70 degrees during the hot and
muggy summer months.
Josh Seiser, Insulspan Sales Manager says, “It is almost shocking
the amount of energy the home owner saves. Typically, home owners
can save between 35 to 65 percent on their energy bills. That may
sound outrageous, but we see it all of the time.” Seiser says
the amount of energy savings depends on how much of the Insulspan
system is used on the home. Home owners installing an Insulspan
wall and roof system will save even more energy than a home built
with Insulspan walls only.
Recent government studies on R-values found
that structural insulated panels are highly efficient. They have
much higher insulation value compared to stud framing methods, making
them a better choice for building, if you are after energy efficiency.
“You might pay more for your panels, but it is worth it.”
Smith says,”You will save money by buying a smaller furnace
and air conditioner and then each month you will be able to keep
more money in your own pocket by lowering your monthly utility bill.
We also saved money on labor by doing some of the work ourselves.”
Seiser was also Smith’s site advisor.
He helped Smith and his crew of friends erect the exterior walls
after the deck was completed by the builder. Seiser says, “This
crew was very excited about putting together our super insulated
wall system. In a day and a half, we had all of the walls up and
the roof was ready to go on.”
Builder Ron Crist and his crew had the home
closed to the elements two weeks after the deck was finished. “At
first I was skeptical about this system. We had a few bumps in the
road, but they were solved. I look forward to working with Insulspan
again,” says Crist.
“Some people may think running the electrical through the
thick foam would be tough,” says Smith. “I ran the electrical
wires for my home and I can tell you that it was a piece of cake.
Almost all of the electrical chases are already cut into the foam
according to our plans. If we changed our minds and the openings
weren’t pre-cut, it was very easy to change.”
This house is also very strong. Smith says,
“After we put the first corner panels together I jumped on
top of them. I couldn’t move it. It wouldn’t even jiggle.
I can’t imagine doing that with a stud wall system.”
Not only are these structural insulated panels strong - they are
straight. Sharon says, “Our carpenter was measuring one wall
to place our counter top on our kitchen cabinets. As he continued
to measure from the wall to the end of the cabinets his eyes got
bigger and bigger. When he got to the end I asked him what was wrong
and he said, 'I’ve never seen a wall that is so straight.
This wall is perfect!'”
Because this home is so tight, he also installed
a high-quality energy recovery ventilation system. It replaces the
air in his home every two and a half hours. Sharon says, “I
have a lot of allergies, so opening the windows in the summer to
let the fresh air in only makes my eyes swell and nose run. We keep
our home closed all year long and it is comfortable in every room.”
Not only is this home air tight, it is also very sound proof. Smith
says most storms silently pass over their home. The only evidence
they have that a storm blew through is from the debris on the ground.
One early morning Smith noticed the frozen
dew sparkling on the siding of his neighbor’s house. He could
also see where the frost was melted on the siding every sixteen
inches. He could easily see where each stud was located in that
exterior wall. All the warm heat from inside his neighbor’s
home is leaving through each stud within the outside walls and melting
the frost on the outside. “That doesn’t happen on my
home. We feel cozy in our Insulspan blanket.”
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