Harmony House is the winning entry in the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CHMC) EQuilibrium™ Sustainable Housing Demonstration Initiative. This project is designed to be built to the next generation green building standard and will ultimately be a Net Zero Energy home.
Harmony House will include features such as:
The basement has been poured using Quad-Lock R-45 Insulated Concrete Forms. Quad-Lock is proud to be part of this ground breaking, Net Zero Energy project, one of the first in the Vancouver area.
See Also:
- CMHC Harmony House Project Overview
- Project Profile: A Journey to Net Zero
- Project Profile: Off the Grid
Quad-Lock panels are made of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) with a non-HBCD fire retardant. EPS is considered to be world class insulation with qualities that makes it impervious to time and moisture. EPS is inert and chemically stable and will not emit any gases into living areas under normal use. The R-Values below were calculated per ASTM standards at 75˚F, one of the few methods allowed by advertising laws. Note that the ASHRAE Handbook allows using higher and more accurate R-Values for EPS, especially under colder conditions, in contrast to some other insulation materials that perform worse than advertised when heating or cooling is actually required. EPS is quite different from XPS (eXtruded polystyrene) and other insulation products due to its use of air as insulator and inherent long-term (50 years+) stability.
Product selection and take-offs are easiest with the Online Estimator or Excel® Estimating program.
Disclaimer: Thickness of EPS foam on the building's interior should not exceed 4¼" unless approved by a licensed engineer and building officials. Some configurations / insulation thicknesses may not be allowed by local building codes without specific approvals - see Guide to ICF Code Compliance. Notes: TMO = Thermal Mass Optimized; All stated R-Values contain R-2.66 for: inside air, ½" gypsum wallboard, 6" concrete, 5/8 T1-11 Finish and outside air.