#TechTuesday: ISOMAX

Posted by Tyler Penna on

Happy #TechTuesday! Today we are covering a very complex system that you probably never heard of before. The reason being is that it is not available on the US market.

Patented in Europe, ®ISOMAX is a fully integrated building system that collects solar heat energy and stores the heat in the earth just under the building.

“Nowadays, about 46 % of all energy raw materials such as crude oil, natural gas and coal are being used for air-conditioning purposes, i.e. for heating and cooling of buildings – an unjustifiable luxury considering the fact that both ecologically friendly and economically useful alternatives are available. Despite a great variety of activities regarding the utilization of renewable energies the expenditure of primary energy for the manufacture of such systems and facilities as well as the initial costs for photo-voltaic installations, solar collectors or heat pumps are definitely still too high as compared with the energy savings achievable.” – Edmond Krecké, Inventor & Scientist from Luxembourg, Europe

HOW IT WORKS

The system uses circulating fluid to transfer heat between the earth storage and the building envelope. The process allows the entire envelope of the building to take advantage of the collected energy by running the fluid, warmed or cooled, to move heat into or out of the insulated concrete wall and the roof.

WHY USE IT

The ®ISOMAX Building Technology as a whole furthers the notion of living building standards by integrating the building shell and conditioning components into an active system that can store or collect energy in response to the exterior weather conditions and the internal comfort levels of the occupants. In the European market, this type of building construction has delivered an average heating load of approximately 24 kWh / (m2 /a) which is just above those of a passive house standards that have set the most restrictive benchmarks for the heating and cooling load of a structure not to exceed 15 kWh/(m2 /a).

The ®ISOMAX building system relies on two ideas that are different than those currently being used in a high performance buildings or passive house standards. The first concept is the transformation of the exterior wall from a passive thermal resistance to one that can actively participate in the temperature control of the interior. This is accomplished by the heat transfer fluid which moves heat into and out of the walls and roof. The roof captures the naturally occurring solar heat energy for storage in the earth. The second concept is to utilize the earth as a thermal medium to provide cooling, heating, and storage to allow for temperature regulation of the building. The structure interacts with the earth-stored energy, allowing it to be stored and recalled as needed over time.

WHO INVENTED IT

The ISOMAX® building system is the brain child of Graduated Engineer, Physicist Edmond D. KRECKÉ, Inventor & Scientist from Luxembourg, Europe. He has been involved in the development and adoption of the building system in more than 50 countries in the world. He is the advisor to numerous national governments on the building system after having an amazing record of expertise in construction of sustainable and efficient passive housing. Mr. Krecke is the President of the Presidential Council – Berlin / Monaco / Zurich / Washington and has also been nominated by the Executive Board of the Association of German Engineers for the Nobel Prize for Physics.

FLEXIBILITY

The ISOMAX® system combines the components of building construction and building services equipment to provide a future-oriented, resource-saving and therefore sustainable, environmentally friendly system design. Noteworthy is its versatility and related applicability both in the design of new buildings, as well as in the general modernization of old buildings. The ISOMAX® system promotes and allows each individual building design, both architectural and constructive planning approach, under their respective state of the art.

The ISOMAX® construction technology provides self-sufficient building technology. The residents will have a cost-neutral building with a health-promoting and physiologically reasonable comfort level.

Special characteristics ISOMAX® system:
  • Optimal insulation both sound & temperature barriers
  • Speed of construction using both precast and partially pre-cast systems.
  • Cost comparable to convention system with added advantage of thermal comfort
  • Solar absorber lines between roof and roof insulation possible
  • Extension of building system technology with photovoltaic technology
  • Pleasing and better aesthetic appearance

 

ASK US HOW WE CAN HELP YOU CHANGE THE WAY YOU BUILD!
LEARN MORE

http://www.isomax-terrasol.eu/fileadmin/_migrated/content_uploads/ISOMAX-TERRA-SOL-engl_01.pdf

http://www.isomax-terrasol.eu/home.html

http://www.phrc.psu.edu/assets/docs/Publications/2013RBDCCPapers/Sebright-2013-RBDCC.pdf

http://www.isomax-terrasol.eu/fileadmin/_migrated/content_uploads/ISOMAX-building_for_KASHMIR.pdf

#TechTuesday: HELIX STEEL

Posted by Tyler Penna on

One of the reasons that makes Evolve Build stand out from other design-build firms in Philadelphia is the most innovative and sustainable technologies that we implement in our projects. We are committed to use the most advanced products available on the market today to help us achieve our design intentions in socially, financially and environmentally sustainable manner. Our goal as designers, builders, artists and innovators is to educate people about the better building practices. Hence we are introducing #TechTuesday – a bi weekly post featuring one of the products we believe in!

This week we are kicking it off with Helix Steel (Twisted Steel Micro Rebar (TSMR), a 3 dimensional concrete reinforcement technology that quantifiably increases shear strength, durability and ductility while providing industry leading pre-crack capabilities.

At 4 times the tensile strength of rebar and one-third the weight, TSMR enables a tremendous reduction in overall carbon footprint and provides valuable LEED credits.

TSMR is used in applications ranging from structural foundations, walls, and slabs to suspended structural concrete, paving and tunnels.

Helix Steel uses a combination of high tensile steel and superior anchorage provided by its patented twisted geometry increases concrete’s tensile strength, modulus of rupture and splitting tensile strength. Unlike rebar, mesh and fibers, Helix Steel works before the concrete fails. Helix Steel is the only reinforcement approved to replace structural reinforcement in concrete with a simple design method.

Helix Steel’s TSMR increases concrete’s strength and resilience and eliminates or reduces traditional reinforcement (rebar and mesh) required by building codes.  Helix is added at the ready-mix plant or on site directly to the concrete mix –reducing costs and valuable time.

Michael Sebright, president of Evolve Build:

“I was introduced to the Helix product by Paul Camozzi at Amvic INC. after the World of Concrete (WOC) 2015 in Las Vegas. The first time we used to product was at 1309 North Howard Street foundations and footings only weeks after it was formally approved by ASTM (American Standards for Testing Materials) for market use”.

Advantages of using the Helix Steel are countless. When paired with the ICF, the product reduces the install / set-up cost of a project by nearly a third of the time. Joey Penna from Forming Solutions ICF says,

“As a distribution of Insulated Concrete Forms, Helix micro rebar is a great asset to homeowners & developers in minimizing production time by eliminating structural steel which sometimes is a great hurtle especially with California’s seismic zones. It offers innovation in strength and safety which we believe everyone deserves.”

Evolve Build has utilized the Helix Steel on nearly 6 projects to date and have another 10 significant projects lined up to be built this year.  

One of the primary reasons concrete fails is due to the rebar rusting out from eventual moisture penetration into the concrete. Unlike traditional rebar, Helix Steel is electroplated with zinc which is important for long term structural concrete eliminating the rusting process. Landon Boucher, Innovative Structural Engineering, says:

“Helix Steel is an incredibly innovative concrete reinforcement product. The difficultly that traditional rebar presents on site is something we witness on a regular basis. Whether that be spacing limitations in the footing, storage limitations with site conditions, safety concerns with loading and so on, our industry is absolutely in need of something better. We believe Helix Steel can be that catalyst for change. We look forward to more concrete mixing companies, architects and contractors becoming more familiar with the product and seeing its acceptance grow to the point that they become the new standard”.

This product’s application is endless from a newly commissioned art installation (coming soon) to completely reconsider ICF installations in New York City.

Ask us how we can help you change the way you build!

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