Foam Home

A reader writes The Green Guide:

Because it is so energy conservent, I am considering buying a home made of the Styrofoam blocks that have the poured concrete in the center of the blocks. Have any studies been done on whether or not the foam blocks have any negative effects?

The Green Guide responds:

This type of construction is known as insulating concrete forms or ICFs. Building Green rates it as a green product because it both reduces energy loads due to its insulating qualities and its use of alternatives to ozone-depleting substances. Most ICFs are made with expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam, produced with a non-ozone-depleting pentane blowing agent. Polystyrene, however, is a nonrenewable petroleum-based plastic made from styrene, considered a possible human carcinogen. To avoid polystyerene, other ICFs made from a composite of wood waste and cement are available, according to Building Green. Structural insulation panels (SIPs) are a similar product also made from EPS, which in this case creates a foam core center that is encased by an interior and exterior sheathing that is often made from plywood. In both SIPS and ICFs, the polystyrene is encased, keeping it out of airways.

For energy efficient home construction, SIPs are durable, lightweight and affordable building panels used in floors, walls and roofs. Since 2002, new homes in the U.S. manufactured with SIPs continue to grow 15 percent annually. In addition, SIPs lower energy costs by almost 50 percent! As for ICFs, they can lower energy costs by 25 to 50 percent, compared to wood or steel-framed houses. And the less energy used, the less fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Resources

Building Green, www.buildinggreen.com

Insulating Concrete Form Association, www.forms.org

Structural Insulated Panels Association, www.sips.org