Going green...the concrete way!

by Sonya Artero

One local man built one of the most energy efficient homes on Guam using a green technology derived from insulated concrete forms.  Believe it or not, one two-story state-of-the-art home is the equivalent of a "green home."

Building a green home leads to saving energy which equates to fuel savings.  Fuel savings means less pollution, less ozone depletion, less global warming, and fewer resources diverted to the construction of energy-producing facilities.  All of which sealed the deal when Mel Santos decided to build his home using the green technology of PolySteel.

"Its 4 feet wide by 2 feet high, you stack them up and lay them side by side until you form the wall height you desire, once everything is stacked to your design height, you put your braces in place and vertical and horizontal rebars for the structural strength of the walls," said Santos.

Once your design is laid out, you simply pump in concrete and voila, you can have a think green home like Mel's!

And although it was a sizeable investment, Mel says it will pay off in the long-run, adding, "I see that the insulated home gets cooler a lot faster, whereas the house we came from, it was all concrete it would take about three to four hours to cool."

Most PolySteel homes run about 60% more than the average concrete home, but Mel says he did it for the benefit of protecting Guam's environment, which he clearly loves from the vantage point of his Barrigada Heights view.

He said, "At least I can say that I helped the environment by not using too much of the energy."