Press Release
University of Northern Iowa
December 16, 2004
Contact: Pat Higby
310-273-6012
patricia.higby@uni.edu
UNI helps Habitat for Humanity learn about new building method
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- A new Habitat for Humanity home in Waterloo, dedicated
this month, is warm, cozy and energy efficient, thanks to a workshop at the
University of Northern Iowa. The house was built using Insulating Concrete
Forms (ICF), a new method of construction that produces exceptionally strong and
well-insulated walls. UNI's Center for Energy and Environmental Education (CEEE)
held a series of workshops on ICF construction last February to introduce local
builders to the method.
When CEEE energy educator Pat Higby learned that a Habitat for Humanity group in
Omaha had built an ICF house, she invited a representative from Iowa Heartland
Habitat for Humanity, Doug Eltze, to attend the workshop, which was taught by
personnel from retailer Reward Wall Systems and the Iowa Concrete Association.
Higby was very glad to bring the groups together. "It's our mission to help
people lower their energy costs, especially lower-income families, who pay as
much as 14 percent of their income for energy, compared with 3.5 percent for the
average American," she said.
Several students from Waterloo's Expo Alternative High School helped build
the house. One of their instructors, Rose Hornick, who is in charge of the
Iowa's Jobs for America's Grads program at Expo, attended the ICF workshop and
after learning that Heartland was going to use the ICF method, decided that
helping to build the house would be great on-the-job experience for them. ICFs
are made of two Styrofoam sheets, held together with plastic spacers, Higby
explained. When stacked like Lego blocks, they create an insulating, permanent
form into which concrete is poured. Compared with traditional wood frame walls
above ground, ICFs have fewer air leaks because they are poured as one unit, not
constructed from individual pieces. The mass of the walls helps to maintain a
constant temperature. "We expect better than 9 percent savings on our Waterloo
Habitat home," Higby said. "Lowering a family's utility bills leaves more money
for other basic expenses. This ICF home is ideal for a family with six
children, who have a lot of other bills to pay." ### |
