6/7/07

Family builds innovative, energy-efficient home
By Konstantin Vengerowsky

KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY/Manning Times

Contractor Daryl Boyd (left) congratulates home owner Dave Turcotte on choosing “closed cell foam” as an energy-efficient way of insulating his new home. The method creates a total air barrier, increasing a home’s heating and cooling efficiency.

With their last place of residence being in Washington, D.C., Dave and Melissa Turcotte moved into the Summerton area about a year ago, hoping to find a friendly community and a peaceful lifestyle.

“We just wanted to live on the water in a wonderful small town environment,” said Melissa Turcotte. “We we’re able to find a good place on Lake Marion to start building our new home,” added her husband, Dave Turcotte.

But when designing their new home, the Turcotte’s decided to do something a little different. From closed cell foam insulation, to argon gas-filled windows and an on demand hot water system, the Turcotte’s decided to build an energy-efficient house.

To be considered energy-efficient, a newly constructed house has to have some ENERGY STAR qualifications. ENERGY STAR is a combined program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that is focused on protecting the environment, while saving home owners money through energy efficient products and practices.

“I think that energy costs are going to go up in the next couple of years,” Dave said. “We just want to be prepared – and save some money.”

According to the ENERGY STAR website, a potential house has to have some of the following standards: effective insulation, high-performance windows, tight construction and ducts, efficient heating and cooling equipment, as well as energy-efficient lighting and appliances. With the type of installments that are already at the Turcotte’s house, they currently meet at least two of these standards.

One of the energy-efficient aspects of their house is the type of insulation that they are installing. Its official name is Sprayed Polyurethane Foam (SPF), although it is often referred to simply as “closed-cell foam.” It is a relatively new product, existing on the market for barely twenty years. The foam is in a liquid type state when it is first applied. It is sprayed directly onto roof sheathing, attics, walls, basements, crawlspaces, and any other standard insulating places.

Within time the liquid turns into a solid foam that prevents air from coming in or out of the applied area.

“A house with closed-cell foam insulation has zero air infiltration,” stated Daryl Boyd, owner of AirTight Spray Foam of the Carolinas, who is also overseeing the process at the Turcotte’s home.

Boyd also added that due to the fact that closed-cell foam insulation does not allow air to go in or out, heat and air conditioning units do not have to work as hard, therefore saving homeowners money on energy and utility bills.

“Although the cost of the product is more than other types of insulation, it saves you money in the long run,” he stated.

When deciding what insulation to use, the Turcotte’s were thinking what it would bring in the future.
“Our primary concern was energy costs,” said Dave. “But there were other important ones as well, including structural integrity, bug resistance and cleanliness.”

According to Boyd, closed cell foam insulation reduces dust particles that build up inside a house.
“The majority of dust that builds up in a house comes from the attic,” he stated. “When installing foam you are dust free because nothing on the outside can come in.”

Along with this type of insulation, the Turcotte’s were hoping to cut their energy and utility usage. They decided to install a SEER air conditioning unit. SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, which is a measure of the energy efficiency of an appliance that is recorded over the period of the cooling season.

“With the type of insulation we have, we will be able to cut the size of our units in half,” Melissa noted.
Another aspect of the Turcotte’s energy-efficient home is the argon gas-filled windows that were installed inside their house. These are double pane windows with low energy argon gas trapped in between the panes.

“Argon gas in a window reduces energy loss by better trapping the air on the inside,” said Dave. “It also reduces the ultraviolet rays from the outside.”

The final area of their energy efficient house is an on-demand hot water system.

“It is a propane gas-powered system that provides hot water only when you need it,” said Dave. “It heats water on the spot, therefore not wasting unnecessary energy that is used to heat water by traditional means.”

Although they have had lots of success, the road to installing energy-efficient products in their new home was not an easy one for the Turcotte’s.

“We talked to nearly ten different builders in this area but none of them were willing to give it a try,” said Melissa. “We finally were able to find one builder who was willing to go along with our design plans.”

The Turcotte’s said that they would like to see more government involvement in energy-efficient building practices.

“We wanted to install more energy-efficient things such as solar shingles, but unfortunately the state government currently does not have any incentives that support this type of construction,” said Melissa.

The Turcotte’s hope to have their new home completed by the first of August.