The New Millennium Benefit home, which will be built in early 2000, also will feature PATH-evaluated technologies. The Benefit Home will be sold, with profits going to the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas. GHPs, also called ground-source heat pumps or Geoexchange , use the natural constant heat storage capacity of the earth or ground water several feet beneath the surface to provide energy efficient heating and cooling. A GHP system consists of indoor heat pump equipment, a ground loop and a flow center to connect the indoor and outdoor equipment. Despite a high initial cost, savings are recouped through high efficiency and low operating costs.
SIPs consist of two exterior structural panels or skins, adhered to a rigid foam core.
These components combine to form structural members without the use of framing members. SIPs have excellent thermal performance due to uninterrupted insulation and high insulating values per inch of foam. They provide airtight construction and excellent soundproofing because there are few penetrations in the wall. This product is composed of cement, sand and cellulose fiber that has been cured with pressurized steam to increase its strength and dimensional stability. The heaters, compact in size, have an electric heating device that is activated by the flow of water.