Clemson Habitat for Humanity house to include energy-efficient materials

CLEMSON, SC — The Habitat for Humanity House that volunteers are building on Clemson University’s campus is made of new energy-efficient materials that will help the owner save money on heating and air conditioning bills while reducing its carbon footprint.

Students, faculty members and other volunteers are building the house on Bowman Field as part of Homecoming tradition dating to 1993. The partially completed home will be moved to its permanent location and finished after Homecoming on Saturday.

The donation was arranged by Kurt Koch, vice president for Huber Engineered Woods and a Clemson civil engineering alumnus. The donation includes Huber sheathing products for the floor, exterior walls and roof.What makes this year’s house unique is that it includes energy-efficient materials developed and manufactured by Charlotte-based Huber Engineered Woods.

“We’re proud to partner with Clemson University on this terrific project,” Koch said. “Working together, Huber and Clemson University are providing a home for a family that might not otherwise have one. Even better, we’re building it with products that make the home sustainable.”

AdvanTech, a high-performance specialty product, will be used for floor sheathing.

The R-value of the walls will be increased by the ZIP System R-Sheathing panels. They will also create a critical thermal break between the wall sheathing and the wall framing to reduce the direct transmission of heat through the wall.

The ZIP System Radiant Barrier panels on the roof will reflect ultraviolet rays.

“Both ZIP System products have a moisture/air barrier adhered to the outside surface of the panels so that a house wrap or underlayment is not needed,” said Scott Schiff, a professor of civil engineering. “Instead all sheathing joints are taped over with a special tape to seal the building envelope and flash all window and door openings.”

Huber is also sponsoring research at the Wind and Structural Engineering Research (WiSER) Facility through the newly formed Clemson University Wood Utilization + Design Institute.

Photo: Scott Schiff, a professor of civil engineering, took part in helping build the Habitat for Humanity house.

“I’d like to thank Kurt Koch for his help with the Habitat for Humanity project,” said James Martin, chair of the Glenn Department of Civil Engineering. “We’re extremely grateful to Huber for all its support to Clemson University.”Huber is also one of the industry partners of the Clemson University Solar Decathlon Team, which has been invited to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. The goal of the decathlon is to design and construct a market-acceptable home that can generate more energy than it consumes.

Patricia Layton, director of the Wood Utilization + Design Institute, said she appreciates Huber’s sponsorship of this year’s Habitat for Humanity project.

“Wood products are the most sustainable building products to use and Huber’s innovations makes them extremely energy efficient also,” she said. “This year’s Habitat House may be the best we have ever built in that respect. We look forward to more innovations in wood products to make ‘greener’, more sustainable homes in the future.”

For more on this year’s Habitat for Humanity House, go to:http://newsstand.clemson.edu/mediarelations/student-discovers-passion-through-habitat-for-humanity/