What are Insulated Concrete Form or ICF Homes?

Insulated concrete form homes are one of the hottest new trends in green building. They are built by setting up pre-made wall forms made from polystyrene into which concrete is poured.

The forms come in all kinds of shapes, even rounded shapes for a circular wall.

Windows openings are created in the ICF system by allowing spaces where no concrete is poured. An ICF home can have a wall R value of 40 or more, resulting in very low cooling and heating costs. Many ICF homes are zero energy homes. For more about what zero energy homes are, see Austin Zero Energy Home

When combined with green building practices such as passive solar, (in which the home is oriented for maximum solar heat gain or avoidance), and items such as rooftop photovoltaics, solar hot water heaters, and ground source heat pumps an ICF home can have very low bills.

A 2000 square foot ICF home may have an electricity bill as low as $45 per month or even zero if rooftop solar panels are used.

In addition to energy savings ICF homes are very storm resistant. When steel beams are utilized for roof trusses and ICF home can withstand hurricane force winds of up to 200 mph or more with proper engineering.

The extra cost for an insulated concrete form home can be from 5% on upwards however the homeowner will get this back and more in the form of lower utility bills and a highly reduced insurance premium. In some states there are insurance discounts of up to fifty percent for ICF homes. Below is a video of how an insulated concrete form home is constructed.