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Energy Efficient Rural Homes for Cold Climates

Posted on | May 4, 2010 | 2 Comments

In Alaska, two prototype homes are being tested that are supposed to reduce energy bills as well as cost less to construct, reports Kyle Hopkins of the Anchorage Daily News.

One prototype is octagonal.  With no hallways, this home is easier to heat, using as little as 150 gallons of oil a year.  Existing homes can use up to five times that, according to the Cold Climate Housing Research Center.  The shape of this home also exposes less of the exterior walls to wind and inclement weather.  The home’s construction also allows foam insulation to be sprayed from the inside for easier construction in wet weather.

The other prototype home is rectangular in shape and includes an 18-inch buffer of foam insulation that is supposed to allow the home to sit directly on the ground without melting permafrost.  Two walls are also sloped at 60-degree angles, mimicking the form of traditional sod homes and reducing snowdrifts against the home.

Due to rotting and rain-soaked walls, many rural Alaskan homes built in the 1970s have been declared unfit for human occupancy.

The Cold Climate Housing Research Center’s goal is to create affordable, energy-efficient home designs that village residents can build themselves, Hopkins reports.

Read the entire article here.

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2 Responses to “Energy Efficient Rural Homes for Cold Climates”

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