Since we’ve been in the house for several months now, we just wanted to add a comment about our energy bills. We went with ICF construction and splurged on a white metal roof, all in hopes of keeping our energy bills down. And were we ever right!
Our highest bill was the one for our first month, when our builder was using it for part of the month and running the air conditioner a good deal lower than we actually run it (we keep it around 78 degrees when it’s hot out). So the highest bill was $63, with the air conditioner running pretty constantly. Our bills since then have run around $48/month, which is pretty amazing for a 2100 sq. foot house. We spent more than this every single month in our tiny 760 sq. foot apartment in Kissimmee, so we are thrilled with the savings!
We also pay a good deal less than expected for our homeowner’s insurance because of a few wise design decisions that added up. Our roof is hipped, with no gables, so we got a discount for that. We also got a discount for having a metal roof, instead of a shingled roof. Finally, we got a partial discount for the ICF construction. I say partial, because if we’d gone with the ICF roof, that would have shaved another $220/year off our insurance costs. Because our roof is wood frame, we don’t get the ICF discount for that. Our homeowner’s insurance is still far less than we’d expected, so those decisions made in the design process definitely add up.
We have a propane-powered whole-house generator now, which I will post about at a later date. And now I must get back to relaxing in my hammock outside. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and it’s a balmy 78 degrees outside today: December 29. Lovely…
Building a house in Central Florida 
December 29, 2007 at 11:04 pm |
What was your cost difference between building the ICF roof and the wood roof? Or did you choose wood for another reason?
Nice electric bill!
December 30, 2007 at 3:43 pm |
We actually didn’t consider an ICF roof at all, because we thought it would just be overkill to have the concrete roof trusses. We’re not right on the coast, and with the white metal roof and icynene insulation, we figured (correctly, we hope!) that we would be energy efficient and wouldn’t have to worry about the roof coming off in a storm. Unfortunately, we didn’t consider that we wouldn’t get the full ICF insurance discount, which may have made a difference to our plans, depending on how much the cost would have been.
Cheers!
Heather W
December 30, 2007 at 11:03 pm |
Thanks, Heather. As I plan my own ICF home, it never occurred to me you could have an ICF roof. Indeed, it seems overkill, especially in North Alabama. Of course, if a tornado comes by, you might wish otherwise!
February 14, 2008 at 10:57 pm |
I am in the planning phase of building a home. My wife and I continue to get different estimates on the cost of an ICF home. I know there are a lot of variables, such as with a very tight home, it is necessary to have an air exchanger, etc. However, can one of the ICF homeowners give me an estimate $/Sq Ft.
I do like the idea of the metal roof. Did not think aabout an ICF roof
Thanks
Terry
April 7, 2009 at 9:51 pm |
I just found your site while googling for “foyer chandeliers.” I really appreciate all the photos!
We are in the process of our third home build. Fun and frustrating all at once. I, too, am creating a blog of the events. Oh, to be where you are today–living in the home!
Anyway, now that I found out you built an ICF home (we are building one similar to that) I’ll have to read further to find out all you learned.
Hope you really enjoy your place!
June 1, 2009 at 5:23 am |
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