Fort Dodge Messenger
03-23-7
Students finish work on energy-efficient home
“Building America” partly funds Iowa Central project
By MICHAEL NEARY, Messenger staff writer
Iowa Central Community College students are finishing up work on a north-side
house that harbors some of the state’s latest energy-saving strategies and
devices.
Construction of the house, at 2238 N. 180th St., comes in part from a $100,000
grant from the U.S. Department of Energy under the ‘‘Building America’’ project.
The project uses federal funds, paired with private resources, to build and
renovate high energy-efficiency homes, according to a USDE Web site.
The house is designed to use 65 percent less energy than the average home,
according to Bill McAnally, the coordinator of Iowa Central’s carpentry program.
He said the house — the only ‘‘Building America’’ home in the state — may be
finished early next month.
Prospects for more ‘‘Building America’’ homes in the state are not bright,
according to Bill Blum, a program planner in the energy section of the Iowa
Department of Resources.
Blum said federal grant money for such projects is much more scarce than it was
few years ago. He said no other grants from Iowa were under consideration.
The design for the house came from RDG Planning & Design in Des Moines —
with Kevin Nordmeyer doing much of the planning. That team worked in
conjunction with Iowa State University associate professor Bruce Bassler
and six ISU students, according to Blum. He said the group has kept in close
contact with the Iowa Central students during the construction.
McAnally said construction of energy-efficient homes wasn’t unfamiliar to Iowa
Central carpentry students.
‘‘That’s the focus of the program,’’ he said. ‘‘We’ve (also) worked with the
Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State before.’’
The house’s features include a geothermal heating and cooling system, a
mechanical ventilation system and a plentiful — and strategically placed —
supply of windows.
But McAnally said a simple construction decision accounts for most of the
house’s energy-saving capacity.
‘‘The framing of the house saves 33 percent of the energy,’’ he said, noting that
builders cut down on wood in the frame in order to make room for more foam
insulation.
‘‘In the past we’ve always used too much wood in the framing, just because that’s
the way we’ve always done it,’’ said McAnally.
Windows and space
In a rural part of town, the two-story house exudes spaciousness, with skylights
and the view of a large patch of farm land opening up the vistas.
On Wednesday, Iowa Central carpentry instructor Sone Chounthirath and three
students worked on the house, pointing out the ample insulation and the
numerous windows in the design. Chounthirath said some of the windows,
positioned 5 feet above the ground, were just high enough for people inside to
use, but too high to let outsiders sneak a glimpse.
‘‘It’s kind of neat the way the house is designed,’’ he said. ‘‘You can see out but
people can’t see in, even without blinds.’’
Chounthirath also pointed to a large south wall, about 16 feet high and 43 feet
wide, with about half its area devoted to window space.
McAnally said the house uses passive solar heating — in addition to geothermal
power — with carefully positioned windows but no fans or other devices to
spread the solar heat. He said the windows were coated with argon, a chemical
that reacts with sunlight to create a surface so slick that dirt cannot gain a hold.
The construction has become a learning project for students, allowing them to
hone their craft without strict time constraints, according to Chounthirath.
‘‘We’re not racing against time,’’ he said. ‘‘We don’t really have a deadline.’’
The house has been under construction for about a year.
Chounthirath said he’s worked with students on other construction projects,
including construction of the Iowa Central residence halls.