They look like big Styrofoam blocks stacked like Legos — not what you would normally see at a construction site of a new home. That’s because this is not going to be an ordinary home. The blocks are ARXX brand insulated concrete forms, one of the relatively new innovations to date in sustainable and energy-saving housing materials. And if all goes according to plan, this home will save the owners more than half of what they would normally spend on energy costs.

“The integrity of our company is based on the fact that when this house is built, its utility bills will be 50 to 75 percent lower than a normal home,” says Shauna Zahner with Stitt Energy Systems, the company that designed the home.

Stitt Energy Systems, based in Kansas City, designs and builds energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable green homes, overseeing the project from the design phase to the end. Depending on the location, Ms. Zahner says, they use local builders experienced in using “green” materials and techniques or bring in their own. Then when the home is complete, it’s literally put to the test. Results are independently verified by a third-party home energy rater to make sure the homes perform they way the are supposed to.

“We are interested mainly in energy efficiency and saving,” says Susanne Eichenmueller, who, with her husband, Bernd, are having the home built. “But after we started looking into all the ways you can do that, it’s quite overwhelming.”

Which is why the couple went to Stitt Energy Systems to design a home based on the floor plan they want, using technologies that would be the most effective for what they want to do and for what they could afford.

SES selected Randy Cluck of Cluck Construction in St. Joseph to install the ARXX brand insulated concrete forms. Although he has installed them all over Missouri, this will be the first home where he has used the forms in the city limits of St. Joseph, he says. They take the place of the traditional metal forms used in construction. After the walls are stacked, concrete is poured down the middle of them. The concrete cures more slowly because it’s insulated. Then the insulation stays in place to help insulate the house. You also don’t take them off like regular forms.

Mr. Cluck and Ms. Zahner agree that the insulated forms have gotten a bad rap in past years from problems stemming from builders who used them without knowing what they were doing. They also are not widely used yet because they are more expensive, initially, than the traditional forms.

However, environmentally they make good use of recycled Styrofoam, which lasts indefinitely underground. Also, in a normal basement, if you are going to finish it, you would normally have to “furr-out” the walls, insulate and put in vapor barriers to keep the basement wall warm and dry. With the insulated forms, the drywall attaches directly to the Styrofoam, so you don’t have to do all of that.

“It will be a very efficient home,” Mr. Cluck says. “It’s the way to go.”

Watch for future stories on the Eichenmueller home as the News-Press follows the progress through the final test-out. You also can learn more about building a sustainable home or saving energy on your existing home at an upcoming home tour and energy fair sponsored by the Heartland Renewable Society on Saturday, Oct. 3. See below for more information.

Lifestyle reporter Sylvia Anderson may be reached at sylviaanderson@npgco.com

Sustainable Homes Tour and Energy Fair

Want to know more about how to save energy in your new or existing home? Visit the Sustainable Homes Tour and Energy Fair sponsored by Heartland Renewable Energy Society from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 3. The home tour will include visiting a straw-bale home with passive and active solar, recycled materials construction and solar hot water. The fair will include presentations on zero-energy homes, solar systems, making your home efficient, green jobs, bicycle commuting and electric car exhibitors. The event will be held at Lakeview Middle School, 6720 N.W. 64th St., off Interstate 29 in North Kansas City. For advance registration, event details and a map to the Energy Fair and bus tour, go to www.heartlandrenew able.org.