The average 2006 home heating bill is expected to be nearly 26 percent higher than 2005, with natural gas heating leading the industry with a projected 38 percent increase from last year.

• Homes built with insulating concrete forms (ICF) exterior walls require 44 less energy to heat and 32 percent less energy to cool than comparable frame home.
  
  
• This can save the typical owner of a 2000-square-foot concrete home in the central United States more than $250 in annual home energy costs.
  
  
• Because of its energy-efficient construction, a concrete home may require smaller heating and cooling units, reducing construction costs by as much as $2,000.
  
  
• Concrete was the key building material used in The New American Home 2006. The home has a home energy rating system score of 90, which exceeds the current ENERGY STAR® minimum rating requirement of 86.
  
  
• In order to earn ENERGY STAR certification, a home must reduce energy costs by at least 30%.
  
  
• Concrete homes are inherently more energy-efficient than traditional wood-frame homes. The mass of concrete slows down the passage of heat moving through the wall, meaning that with the same amount of insulation, a concrete home stays warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than a wood frame home.
  
  
• Concrete forms a solid, continuous and airtight wall that prevents airleckage, the main culprit of home energy loss.
  
  
• In 2004, 16.3% of the single-family homes built in the U.S. utilized exterior above-grade concrete wall systems, accounting for more than 226,000 homes in that year alone.
  
  
• The market share of concrete homes has steadily increased, from 3% in 1993 to more than 16% in 2004.
  
  
• The cost of building with concrete is generally estimated at 2% to 4% more than wood frame homes (based on a study of ICF homes), compared to 5% when last measured in 1997.
  
  
• Four different concrete wall systems are available. Masonry uses concrete blocks to form the basic structure of the home. Removable concrete forms are filled with concrete to create walls, and then removed once the concrete is hardened. Precast panels are cast off-site, then assembled in large sections at the job site. With insulating concrete form (ICF) construction, concrete is pumped between two layers of foam insulation to form walls.
  
  
• Homes built with exterior concrete walls can accept any type of exterior finish including brick, stone, siding or stucco. A finished concrete home is indistinguishable from any other home in the neighborhood.
  
  
  About the Portland Cement Association
  Based in Skokie, Ill., the Portland Cement Association represents cement companies in the United States and Canada. It conducts market development, engineering, research, education, and public affairs programs.