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Enviro Custom Homes
Contact Information:
2718 Wagonwheel Drive
Carrollton, TX 75006
972-418-7772
fax: 972-418-7773
email: Richard Harwood
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The
Homan House
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SILVER
AWARD |
| Winner
of the 2002 Energy Value in Housing Award, this
4307 sq. ft. home built of structural insulated
panels is featured in the January, 2002, issue
of Builder Magazine, pages 194 to 200. The article,
entitled "Green Streaming," begins with
a two-page color picture of the east-facing, complex
French country Homan House set on a heavily wooded
lot. Among its most serious challenges was convincing
the owners that their dual desires for both solar
electric and solar water heating would not conflict
with the French country style. |
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finished house included an indoor Endless swimming
pool, two KW of photovoltaics (Solar electric),
a solar thermal system, 5.5. Tons of geothermal
heat pump, Low-E, argon-filled vinyl windows, and
an air-to-air heat exchanger. Roofing was composition
except for galvalume (metal) on the south and part
of the west side to allow "stick-on" Unisolar
panels to be used and rainwater to be collected.
This page will focus only on the structural insulated
panel construction process and the finished exterior. |
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^ The
structural insulated panels arrive at the heavily
wooded lot by truck. Wall panels are 4 1/2"
thick. (Studies at the Oak Ridge National Lab showed
that these panels performed better than a
standard "stick-built" 6" wall filled
with insulation. Ceiling panels are 8 1/4"
thick. The pieces are cut exactly to fit the architect's
drawing and delivered to the site in pieces with
panel assembly with numbers and a layout plan showing
how to put them together.
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| Panels
are manufactured with 1/2" oriented strand
board (OSB) forming the exterior sides of a "Sandwich"
of expanded polystyrene. All panel joints are
foamed and glued as they are attached to each
other and to the foundation. |
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Caulking
is also used on the adjoining panel to be inserted
into the first panel.
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| Panels
then are carefully slid together, insuring a complete
insertion and very tight fit. |
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< A
panel pull start is used to pull panels tightly
together. A structural insulated panel house, properly
built, is a virtual "ice chest," very
air-tight construction. This prevents the leaks
in homes built with frame construction and because
the home is tightly sealed, it requires introduction
of artificial ventilation through an air-to-air
heat exchanger that retains the heating of cooling
while exhausting stale air and bringing in fresh
air at exactly .3 air changes per hour. |
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This
view, taken from the hillside above, shows construction
half-way through the first floor. The house is on
an inner city lot with the back half a heavily wooded
50" incline.
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Panels for the second story arrive after completion
of the first floor.
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Normally,
structural insulated panels are craned into place;
however, because of the tree-cover, and the desire
to save every tree that was not within the actual
construction site, a crane could not be used.
Workmen hoisted them up with hand-built ramps. |
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To form the exterior finish, 30 lb. felt paper was
attached to the structural insulated panels, then
a wire mesh was nailed to that. Two coats of hard-coat
(cement) stucco were added. A third coat allowed
imprinting of the artistic "stone pattern"
on the front.
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south-facing galvalume roof is home for 2 KW of
Unisolar photovoltaics and a solar thermal (hot
water) system.
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