The company claims that Terraso Solution makes homes 70% more efficient, and lowers air leakage to 1%. Leathers says the concept home is returning energy to the grid. Testing has also shown only a one-degree variance in room-to-room temperatures inside the house. (The company use a local testing firm, Energy Inspectors, to verify its claims. Plus, the construction meets or exceeds specifications of PowerWise, the Energy Star program administered by the local electrical and water utility Salt River Project.)
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Cooling Down. A 3-1/4-inch to 5-inch gap separates the roof from its tiles, leaving space for an extra layer of insulation. Interior rooms therefore require less energy to cool, and the lifespan of the roof itself is extended.
The biggest challenge facing the marketing of Terraso Solution will be getting price-conscious buyers and cost-conscious builders to see the bigger picture. Applying Terraso’s technology adds an estimated $16,763 to the construction of a 3,900-square-foot house, or $33,020 if solar roof panels and water tanks are included. But that same house’s annual heating and cooling expenses would go down by more than 70%. An owner’s average monthly electric bill would fall to $130.60 from $343.80 for a home built without this technology. The Terraso house also produces a smaller carbon footprint, and its value potentially rises, especially if the buyer can negotiate a mortgage that takes into account the house’s energy-efficient construction.
The company has done similar calculations for a 1,700-square-foot house, which would cost between $10,373 and $20,310 more to build—depending on if solar is included—but reduce an owner’s energy bills by $132.70 a month, according to testing results Leathers sent to BUILDER. “We can show them the energy bills” from the concept house, says Prieb.
Builders subscribing to this technology would pay $5,000 to be authorized and registered on the Terraso Web site. The company also is charging builders a licensing fee that Leathers says would be equal to $1 per square foot of house. The dwelling itself would be authenticated with its own serial number and plaque that indicates it was built to Terraso’s construction regimen.
While it is concentrates on single-family home construction, Leathers suggests that Terraso Solution’s technology could be applicable to renovation and multifamily construction projects. He's also spoken with representatives from Native American tribes that are interested in building energy-efficient homes on their reservations.
John Caulfield is senior editor for BUILDER magazine.