Is Your Home Sucking Cash Right Out of Your Pocket?

What happened to being able to be comfortable in your own home? Unfortunately, high energy costs this winter resulted in many people having to turn down their thermostats, and instead bundle up in extra sweaters and socks. And rest assured it will only get worse. If the energy costs keep rising at the present rate, you could be dishing out over ,000 per month just to heat your home by 2011. Add this to the cost of fuel to fill up your car, and suddenly you can see your pay cheque disappearing, as if by magic.

It is a fact that today's well-informed homeowners are looking for newer, more efficient ways to build homes. They want strength, comfort and lower energy bills, while also allowing for flexibility of design and lower future maintenance costs.

Building technology has advanced greatly. Quality builders are using ICF's (Insulated Concrete Forms) to create homes that are safer, stronger and healthier than ever before. This type of building is based on simple, interlocking, stacking “blocks” made from flame-retardant expanded polystyrene (EPS) panels connected by molded-in high density polyethylene structural foam bridging.

Filled with concrete, these blocks create a monolithic wall with a minimum insulation value of R25; which then because of the heat retaining properties of concrete increase their performance to R50.

They also have a fire rating which is just under four hours. In addition to all this, there is an added bonus of efficiency because building the walls of a home with ICF's can take one half of the time (or less) of conventional construction.

The really good news is that now everyone can afford to live in one of these homes; everyone who is concerned about future energy costs and their environment. The initial investment is only about 10% more than the old way of building (wood-frame); but considerably less when you think of the long term costs of energy and maintenance.

Adding other energy efficient features, such as High Efficiency Tank-Less Water Heaters that can heat your whole house while giving you an endless stream of hot water; High Efficiency Low-E Argon Windows, Heat Recovery Ventilators connected to an “Earth Energy” system that pre-conditions incoming air, and Radiant Floor Heating which gives you the ultimate in comfort with body temperature heated floors, can slash 50% off of a homeowner's monthly heating and cooling bills.

Gone are the days of buying a home for appearance sake only. A little bit of effort and common sense can go a long way in making your home more energy efficient. New homebuyers are consciously choosing to make informed decisions concerning their future and that of their family's future. They are turning to homes which are more energy-efficient, and environmentally-friendly in addition to paying them dividends for years to come.

About the Author: Harvey Juric, ICF Consultant and CEO of ICFhome.ca is a custom home builder in southern Ontario. He runs several websites promoting energy efficient home. If you are interested in modern home building, his thoughts may be found on the following web sites: Insulated Concrete, Repairing/Building Contractor, Ontario Building Code, Luxury Home Home Design and Ontario-Home-Builder.com

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