Popular Mechanics to feature Kimberling City company

While the house looks a lot like any other four-bedroom home, it is unusual because heating it this winter will likely cost about $53 a month, and its owner is going to collect and analyze energy-use data from the home.

The energy savings will come from a combination of air-tight insulation and a geothermal heating system, says Gemma McKee-Bartholomew, the designer – and future resident – of the home.

McKee-Bartholomew is the owner of High Tech Homes: Construction, Consulting and Seminars LLC, which opened earlier this year to launch the geothermal home project. High Tech Homes is a sister company to Air Brokers HVAC, a heating and cooling company McKee-Bartholomew founded in 2001. She has 25 years of experience in the heating and cooling industry.

McKee-Bartholomew’s new home uses direct-exchange heating and cooling, which uses copper loops to tap into the Earth’s ground heat just a few feet below the surface. The home is built with insulated concrete forms for maximum heat retention.

Data collection

McKee-Bartholomew will live in the home for at least three years, collecting data on energy use. Separate meters have been installed for electricity and water, and for heating and cooling expenditures. Data will be analyzed to determine the long-term benefits of the systems in the home.

“The idea is to get consumers comfortable with utilizing this new technology,” she said.

“And unless we inform them and give them the full picture on what to expect in the process, we’re not going to have their confidence and our educational efforts are going to (go) to waste.”

McKee-Bartholomew’s data-collecting plans are what drew the interest of Popular Mechanics.

“The idea of testing everything on a daily basis and adding up the various columns of information … I don’t think that’s done a lot,” said Senior Editor Merle Henkenius.

The house will be featured in Popular Mechanics in early 2007.

McKee-Bartholomew hopes that in addition to the data, her project will help consumers understand that an energy efficient home doesn’t have to look unattractive or unusual.

“We wanted to stress to consumers that you don’t have to sacrifice aesthetics in order to get a low-fuel-cost, energy-efficient home,” she said.

McKee-Bartholomew is not the only builder advocating more energy-efficient homes. Scott Kisling of Up-Tyte Construction, a Springfield company, has been using insulated concrete forms for years. His own residence, built using ICFs, uses an electric furnace for heat, and the air-tight construction keeps his winter heating bill down to about $35 a month.

Kisling said using ICFs “super-insulates your house.”

Another option is the use of structural insulated panels. SIPs are high-performance building panels made with expanded polystyrene sandwiched between two structural surfaces.

In the next couple of years, McKee-Bartholomew said she plans to launch a second project using SIPs, so she can track the differences between the two systems.

She and Kisling both hope that the use of energy-efficient products and practices will continue to increase in home building.

And given interest among consumers, they just might see that happen.

“The current energy crisis is driving almost everything right now,” said Popular Mechanics’ Henkenius.