In today’s increasingly sustainable and energy efficient society, there are countless ways to add eco-friendly elements to your home. But one innovative home construction material that’s increasing in popularity is ICF or Insulated Concrete Forms.
Before you invest in an ICF such as Eco Block for your home, it’s important to understand how exactly they’ll work to improve efficiency.
Here are just a few ways ICF’s work to improve your home’s efficiency:
- Requires less energy to heat and cool.
- Absorbs temperature swings.
- Less structural leaks.
- Allows for smaller and more cost-effective heaters and air-conditioners.
- Longevity of the material.
In this article, we’ll take a look at each of these factors that make ICF homes significantly more energy efficient than homes built with ‘traditional’ materials such as timber, steel and bricks.
5 Ways Eco Block Is More Energy Efficient Than a Timber Framed House
1. ICFs Require Less Energy for Heating and Cooling
Homes built with ICF walls, will save up to 60% to cool than homes built with timber, steel and bricks.
Depending on where you live in Australia, you may find that you save more on your heating or cooling.
For colder areas of Australia, you can expect to save more on heating (and be less reliant on reverse cycle heating or gas heating); whereas for hotter areas, the savings on cooling will be more, cutting down the need for power hungry air conditioning.
The size of your HVAC (Air conditioner) will be reduced in size by at least 60 percent. This means the cost for your overall build will be reduced as well.
2. ICFs Absorbs Temperate Swings
ICFs do more than just cut down on energy loss. Because they’re made of heat-absorbing concrete, ICFs are able to retain and smooth out large temperature swings.
A great way to think about this is desert climates that can experience significant ‘swings’ in temperature such as being hot during the day and near-freezing at night.
In an Eco Block home, interior temperatures are more regulated thanks to the ICF walls absorb heat (or excess heat) to create a more stable indoor temperature round the clock.
3. ICFs Have Minimal Structural Leaks
Many people don’t realise how much air ‘leaks’ into (and out of) homes built out of timber and steel.
Infiltration is the leaking of outside air into the building, and it is a bigger source of energy loss than most people think.
On the contrast, Eco-Block ICF offers a tight-fitting structure with less air leakage.
As the diagram below shows, it’s 8 in 1 construction means that there’s no ‘gaps’ for air to escape through the walls.
4. Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Efficiency
Another significant factor of ICF-built homes is that their energy-efficient design allows for smaller and more cost-effective heaters and air-conditioners – if you choose to install them in your property (some Eco-Block homeowners have found they didn’t need them at all).
5. Longevity
Considering that ICF homes have concrete exterior walls from the footings to the roof, there is a significant reduction in rot and decay around doors, windows and internal walls that can go undetected.
Did you know… You can secure any wall finish to your Eco-Block ICF walls? You can choose to plaster, tile or paint directly onto your ICF wall.
Why Build with Eco Block?
Eco Block ICF’s provide an extremely energy-efficient building envelope offering superior strength, sound, air quality and well-insulated walls.
As an industry leader, we advocate the proven ability of Eco Block ICF to reduce construction time while improving quality, reducing energy costs and enhancing resilience against extreme weather events, creating occupant comfort (clean indoor air quality) and long-term safety.
Want to know more about how we can help with your next home or residential project? Give us a call on 1800 669 696 or send us an enquiry here.
Eco Block Pty Ltd is the number one provider of Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) in Australia Working closer with homeowners, builders and architects we aspire to deliver the best living environment for you and your family, or employees.
Whether you are building a home, designing architecture or constructing a commercial building, our knowledgeable Eco Block team will be there to help and guide you throughout the process. Plus, we have product specs and design and building manuals available because we want to ensure you use the ICF building blocks correctly and get the best out of them.
Ready to discuss your next construction project with Eco Block? Call 1800 669 696 or send us an enquiry here.
