New Jersey Home "LEED"s The Way  Patrick Murphy, president of American PolySteel, Concrete Home Building Council steering committee member, and PolySteel’s Regional Sales Manager, Jeffrey Childres, were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the BASF Near-Zero Energy Home in Paterson, New Jersey.
The demonstration home is 80 percent more energy efficient, more durable and is faster to construct than conventionally built homes.
The site will host a number of seminars and tours to architects, builders, government officials, homeowners, realtors, financial institutions and other interested parties throughout the summer of 2006. Once the demonstration phase is completed, the home will be donated to St. Michael’s Housing Corporation. This organization will then turn over the home to a local family with a quadriplegic boy to occupy. As such, the project is also designed to showcase elements of accessible design.
ICFs were used to construct the basement and first floor of this prairie-style home in an establish Paterson neighborhood. The home will dramatically out-perform its neighbors on the inside, with a high-performance thermal and structural envelope, solar panels for water heating and electric generation and high-efficiency mechanical systems and appliances to maximize the use of the energy provided from all sources.
Murphy said, “BASF has done a superb job of understanding and integrating the role of the building envelope in achieving a high-performance structure with sustainable building practices. ICFs make this happen in ways that are just not possible with wood-frame construction.”
The home is a cornerstone of BASF’s “Better Home, Better Planet” initiative. Over 120 supporters heard the comments of key representatives from HUD, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Mayor and City Council of Paterson and the Chairman and CEO of BASF Corporation, as they discussed the value of affordable, sustainable, energy-efficient homes for this urban renewal community.
 Klaus Peter Löbbe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BASF Corporation, said, “We have constructed this home in order to inspire homeowners, builders and architects locally, as well as nationally. We want them to know that sustainable, energy-efficient and disaster-resistant homes are not a concept of the future, but a reality today. Homes based on the technologies demonstrated here are accessible to real people at affordable prices.”
According to BASF Senior Corporate Architect, Gary DeSantis, “Presenting a model for sustainable and energy efficient building starts with the building envelope. The integration of insulating concrete forms in the home gives us great confidence that we will achieve Gold or possibly Platinum - the highest LEED ratings there are."
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