Resident Bill Reilly's dream house is not atypical when given a casual glance from the road.
A two-story building of modest but ample size, it shows a stone façade framed by French arched windows and fronted by a pristine green lawn. Situated on a plot off River Road, the residence claims unparalleled views of the Hudson River as it wends its way through the valley.
However, a little scratching beneath the surface reveals that the Reilly home is anything but average. In fact, it represents the cutting edge of an energy-efficient lifestyle.
The house is powered with solar panels, heated through geothermal techniques, and insulated with Styrofoam.
The doorways are lined with compression-type weather stripping, the walls are a foot thick.
The air is continually kept fresh by a complex ventilation system that can be altered to purify the air more quickly if noxious smells or pollutants emerge within the household.
The house utilizes natural light to such a degree that Reilly said he rarely needs to turn on a lamp during the day to read or do work.
Skylights are installed and spaced precisely as to allow light to filter throughout the house in a smooth, mellow fashion.
All this represents the lifestyle of tomorrow being lived today, or at least that's how Reilly sees it.
Reilly is a life-long resident of the area. Growing up south of Poughkeepsie, he started out working with his father, a contractor.
Back then, the valley was still predominantly rural. Reilly and his coworkers spent most of their time building barns, silos and chicken coops.
However, with the emergence of commuter communities and an influx of individuals wanting to live in the Hudson Valley, Reilly soon started building residential houses.
Through his knowledge and first-hand expertise, Reilly began to become interested in energy efficiency about five years ago, just before green issues became a nationwide preoccupation.
"I have always been just slightly ahead of the curve," said Reilly as he gave a tour of his home. "When aluminum siding came out, I was one of the first contractors to go in that direction. Now, I managed to build an energy-efficient house, which looks like a good move now, especially with the escalating energy costs."
Reilly began planning his dream home in the early months of 2005, and by November of that same year, the house was ready to be occupied.
"When we first moved in here it was so cold that there were great chunks of ice flowing back and forth in the river," said Reilly. "So, I knew right away our energy efficiency would be tested."
Reilly said that the key to the entire system is the insulation.
"Without proper insulation you are losing most of the energy you create," he said.
Through his profession, Reilly made contact with a contractor selling Insulated Concrete Forms, or IFCs.
IFCs are literally the building blocks of his house.
Thus, instead of building a traditional wooden frame, the house was actually erected using Styrofoam blocks. The blocks have a panel of Styrofoam on either side, connected by a polystyrene latch. Once the blocks are set up, concrete is poured in the one-foot-wide gap that exists between the two panels.
Once the concrete is dry, the house is far sturdier than traditional wooden frame houses. The process also saves trees.
"It would take one heck of a hurricane to knock this house down," said Reilly, who added his home could withstand winds well in excess of 200 miles per hour.
The only wood that was used during the construction process is that which is used to secure the window and door frames prior to the pouring of the concrete.
This also keeps the house safe from fire damage.
"It's safer, it's cheaper, it's better for the environment. It's amazing that more people aren't investing in this type of technology," said Reilly.
So why aren't more people rushing to construct their homes out of ICFs?
According to Reilly, contractors are simply stuck in their ways and don't have the know-how to build a home using IFCs.
"You will not be able to find a contractor willing to do something like this in the area," said Reilly. "They'll have to learn soon enough, but this movement is still in its infancy."
Reilly further saves money by using solar energy. One can see the large panels that adorn his rooftop as they reflect glints of the sun.
Reilly estimates that a perfectly sunny day brings him 35 kilowatts of energy. He further estimates that the house only needs about 15 kilowatts of energy per day.
Reilly sells the excess energy back to Central Hudson as a credit, which is used on rainy or cloudy days that persist during the winter and autumn months.
"I spend about $600 on utilities per year," said Reilly. "That's the whole year. I know friends that spend that on gas for one month. But $600 covers my heat, electricity, water, and everything else for an entire year."
The state has initiated tax incentives for those that use green energy, so Reilly manages to save money there as well.
"It feels great to help the environment, but really the financial incentive to live energy efficient is so large," he said. "That, in my view, will be the principal motivator in getting people to look at how they build their homes."
via HydeParkTownsman.com