Images: Icon

Over the last few years, several new startups have promised to build better homes using less labor, time, money, and materials — all with the help of a piece of technology: a 3D printer.

But amid this quest to alleviate the US housing crisis, the nascent 3D printing construction industry has continued to face major roadblocks.

A construction-tech startup in Austin now says it has the solutions.

On Tuesday, Icon announced four products that could help solve for 3D printing construction companies’ biggest pain points: a multi-story printer, a “low-carbon” concrete mix, a digital catalog of designs, and an AI printed-home designer.

In the last few years, startups — and even colleges — have unveiled 3D printed dwellings around the US.

In Virginia, Alquist, a 3D printing construction company, has built three Habitat for Humanity houses using a 3D printer.

In Texas, Icon is now working with construction giant Lennar to build the world’s largest printed neighborhood.

And in Maine, a state university is now scaling up its manufacturing space to increase its production of fully recyclable printed dwellings.

But their lofty goal of mass-producing affordable homes still faces some big problems, including an underdeveloped workforce, the tech’s inefficiencies and limitations, and the sky-high cost of materials and printers.

On the latter note, most construction printers extrude a cement mix. However, concrete is far from being environmentally friendly.

Think of it as a 3D printing home starter kit — starting with Icon’s new printer, Phoenix.

Many 3D printed family homes — including Icon’s previous builds — are single-story, with the only printed components being its walls.

The rest of the house has to be built traditionally.

The “six-degree robotic arm” can create a multi-story building’s foundation, walls, floors, and roof structures without stopping, Melodie Yashar, Icon’s vice president of building design and building performance, told Business Insider.

Jason Ballard, cofounder and CEO of Icon, stated that a Phoenix-built wall systems and foundations are estimated to be about 30% less expensive than conventional homebuilding methods.

Regarding speed, he said the timeline for completing a home’s printed elements could be “twice as fast as traditional construction.”

Despite its widespread use, concrete isn’t great for the environment: The global production of cement, which is an ingredient of concrete, makes up 8% of the world’s carbon emissions, triple the aviation sector’s global output, The Washington Post reported.

Like other cement mixes made for 3D printers, CarbonX would still be fireproof, mould-proof, and insect-proof.

The formula would be available to other homebuilders in April, with more environmentally friendly mixes already in Icon’s pipeline.

“Many times, developers, builders, and city planners come to us and don’t know where to start,” Yashar said. “They don’t know what’s possible in terms of designs or the best product for them.”

To help with this, Icon created Codex, a digital catalog of printed home designs.

Avant-garde, as in some buildings are U-shaped, Yashar said. Others were designed to be “very affordable” — some of the units could be built for $99,000 or less.

To compare, the startup’s first six builds in its upcoming 100-home neighborhood were listed between $476,000 and $566,000.

Developers can then browse this catalog, select their preferred designs, and tap Icon to build these properties.

They can then either send Icon a deposit on the model (if there’s already one ready to purchase) or join a waiting list that would alert them if their ideal design has hit their market.

Some of Icon’s projects, including those at its development in Marfa, Texas — where homes “start in the upper $900,000s,” according to Icon’s website — will be available through Codex.

Yashar said Vitruvius, an AI-based system, was created to “democratize” Icon’s design process. However, the company didn’t say how much it would cost to use the tech, which is still in beta.

When it’s complete, people can use Vitruvius to create floor plans and renderings — while considering requirements like budgets and permits — of their ideal printed residence.

“In the future, I believe nearly all construction will be done by robots, and nearly all construction-related information will be processed and managed by AI systems,” Icon’s CEO said in a release.

Architects could use Vitruvius to “accelerate” the home design process.

“I want to build a better world faster and cheaper,” Icon cofounder in 2022.

Two years later, with the release of this new suite of products, it seems Ballard could still be on track with his goal.

Source: Business Insider

RINNAI’S COST EFFECTIVE AND LOWER CARBON

HOT WATER HEATING SOLUTION FOR SURREY CARE HOME

A large 72 room care home in Surrey with a 123-person occupancy needed to reduce its operational carbon emissions by 20% but maintain a generous hot water supply during peak periods. The owner-operators also needed to re-structure both the operational costs and energy usage.

The Rinnai Design Team sized this commercial care home site by taking into account the peak periods of hot water usage in the morning and early evening. The Rinnai Design Team provided the customer with three options based on the carbon production, energy usage and operational costs. The new options were also compared  to the existing, traditional storage system.

The options included a Rinnai H1 gas-powered system of three N1600 Continuous Flow Water Heaters. Secondly, a Rinnai H2 hybrid system, made up of two 21kW heat pumps and three continuous flow N1300s. Thirdly a Rinnai H3 all-electric solution that utilizes two 50kW heat pumps and two 48kW E-cylinders.

Over five years the costs of each hot water system were clearly shown:

• the Rinnai H1 natural gas system is the most cost effective at £52,806.30.
• the Rinnai H2 hybrid system is at £56,745.84.
• the Rinnai H3 all electric system amounted to £149,666.32 – The huge gap here is explained by electricity costing around 300% more than gas.

Rinnai’s decarbonising hot water solutions are represented in the colours grey (H3 all electric), orange (H2 hybrid) and blue (H1 natural gas), whilst the currently installed gas system is highlighted in yellow. The first graph demonstrates the operational costs associated with each system.

As reducing 20% of emissions was a key part of the customers ‘must-do’ objectives, all suggested systems are proven to perform to a cleaner standard than the existing traditional system. The Rinnai H1 natural gas, Rinnai H2 hybrid and Rinnai H3 all electric systems offer carbon reductions of 14.9%, 30% and 67.5% respectively.

The following graph depicts the energy savings to be made:

• the Rinnai H1 natural gas system offers a 14.9% reduction.
• the Rinnai H2 hybrid system sees a 27.1% reduction.
• the Rinnai H3 all electrical system yields a 39.7% reduction.

The care home decided that the preferred solution for this particular property would be the H2 hybrid hot water system. The H2 system would offer a reduction in emissions by at least 20%, as well as reducing the initial investment and forecasted operational expenditure by 21.7% and 62.1% respectively, when compared to the H3 all electric system.

Rinnai’s design team offers all UK customers a report and calculations on carbon and cost comparisons to other systems and fuels. For more information on FREE customer services visit Rinnai’s website at: www.rinnai-uk.co.uk.

Rinnai continues to provide UK customers with a variety of low carbon and cost-effective technologies that encourage commercial and domestic decarbonisation. No matter the specific requirements of any site, Rinnai can offer the ideal customer solution.

RINNAI’S H3 DECARBONISATION OFFERS PATHWAYS & CUSTOMER COST REDUCTIONS

FOR COMMERCIAL, DOMESTIC AND OFF-GRID HEATING & HOT WATER DELIVERY

www.rinnai-uk.co.uk/about us/H3 

Rinnai’s H3 range of decarbonising products include hydrogen / BioLPG ready technology, hybrid systems, and a wide range of LOW GWP heat pumps and solar thermal. Also, within Rinnai’s H3 range is Infinity hydrogen blend ready and BioLPG ready continuous flow water heaters which are stacked with a multitude of features that ensure long life, robust & durable use, customer satisfaction and product efficiency.

Rinnai’s range of decarbonising products – H1/H2/H3 – consists of heat pump, solar, hydrogen in any configuration, hybrid formats for either residential or commercial applications. Rinnai’s H3 range of products offer contractors, consultants and end users a range of efficient, robust and affordable decarbonising appliances which create practical, economic and technically feasible solutions. The range covers all forms of fuels and appliances currently available – electric, gas, hydrogen, BioLPG, DME solar thermal, low GWP heat pumps and electric water heaters.

Rinnai H1 continuous water heaters and boilers offer practical and economic decarbonization delivered through technological innovation in hydrogen and renewable liquid gas ready technology.

Rinnai’s H1 option is centred on hydrogen, as it is anticipated that clean hydrogen fuels will become internationally energy market-relevant in the future; Rinnai water heaters are hydrogen 20% blends ready and include the world’s first 100% hydrogen-ready hot water heating technology.

Rinnai H2 – Decarbonization simplified with renewable gas-ready units, Solar Thermal and Heat Pump Hybrids. Rinnai H2 is designed to introduce a practical and low-cost option which may suit specific sites and enable multiple decarbonisation pathways with the addition of high performance.

Rinnai H3 – Low-GWP heat pump technology made easy – Rinnai heat pumps are available for domestic and commercial usage with an extensive range of 4 – 115kW appliances.

Rinnai’s H3 heat pumps utilise R32 refrigerant and have favourable COP and SCOP.

Rinnai is a world leading manufacturer of hot water heaters and produces over two million units a year, operating on each of the five continents. The brand has gained an established reputation for producing products that offer high performance, cost efficiency and extended working lives.

Rinnai’s commercial and domestic continuous flow water heaters offer a limitless supply of instantaneous temperature controlled hot water and all units are designed to align with present and future energy sources. Rinnai condensing water heaters accept either existing fuel or hydrogen gas blends. Rinnai units are also suited for off-grid customers who require LPG and BioLPG or DME.

Rinnai products are UKCA certified, A-rated water efficiency, accessed through multiple fuel options and are available for purchase 24/7, 365 days a year. Any unit can be delivered to any UK site within 24 hours. Rinnai offer carbon and cost comparison services that will calculate financial and carbon savings made when investing in a Rinnai system. Rinnai also provide a system design service that will suggest an appropriate system for the property in question. Rinnai offer comprehensive training courses and technical support in all aspects of the water heating industry including detailed CPD’s. More information can be found on Rinnai’s website and its “Help Me Choose” webpage.

Visit www.rinnai-uk.co.uk  

Or email engineer@rinaiuk.com  

CLICK HERE For more information on the RINNAI product range visit

The complexities and sometime confusions to sustainability in construction put specifiers in a daunting position, with even apparently responsible choices of material – including picking recycled aluminium – leaving a host of questions still to be answered.

In an effort to help, SFS has published a series of well researched White Papers on the subject, including ‘Sustainability in aluminium rainscreen subframe solutions,’ with subject areas ranging from the verification of scrap metal streams, through the design of rainscreen system brackets to reuse and end-of-life strategies, explored in detail.

There are some irrefutable facts about aluminium in that it is one of the world’s most recycled materials, but while its reuse consumes only 10%of the energy required for smelting the virgin metal, the widespread use of coal-fired electricity (Far East / China) compared to hydro and other renewable resources, means the aluminium industry still accounts for 2^% of global greenhouse gases.  It is also worth noting the recent CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) introduction which places a price on the carbon emitted during the production of carbon intensive products in an effort to limit supplies of intensive carbon products.

Manufacturing products from recycled aluminium is therefore a huge potential win from an environmental viewpoint, but the situation is complicated by the very varied performance characteristics of the different alloys available; with the 6000 series being most relevant here.

Magnesium and silicon impart additional strength to the alloy, with 6063 being commonly used in rainscreen systems.  However, the four types of support bracket in the SFS range are produced from the superior 6005 alloy.  Crucially, though in 6005, 100^% of the raw material is recycled, which has required the company to create a closed loop supply chain involving certified brokers, to ensure the physical characteristics of the alloy are not threatened by mixing with other scrap.  SFS is also working towards becoming part of the Council for Aluminium in Building’s wider scheme, which brings together the value chain and supports enhanced recycling processes across the industry.

The superior strength characteristics of the 6005 alloy compared to the 6063 version. Not only is the 6005 variant’s tensile strength higher, providing it with greater resistance to bending, twisting, or breaking under stress, but it also offers improved yield strength. That means it can withstand higher levels of force without permanently deforming a crucial factor in handling environmental stressors in building applications. The 6005 alloy also excels in terms of fatigue strength, enabling it to endure repeated load cycles over time without failure. These enhanced properties make 6005 aluminium brackets a more durable, reliable, and long-lasting solution for rainscreen systems compared to their 6063 counterparts.

The material composition of rainscreen brackets plays a vital role in their thermal performance compared to steel counterparts. Equally significant are their design and engineering; therefore, it is crucial for specifiers to collaborate with a trusted manufacturer in a project’s early stages. This collaboration helps to avert the potential issues of selecting a product that, despite its seemingly lower unit price, may demand a higher number of brackets to support the loads. Consequently, this could adversely affect the installation costs and the overall thermal performance of the system.

David Fraser Business Unit Manager of SFS, explains: “We work with our customers to ensure the brackets provide the required loads to match the project demands, and in avoiding over-specifying, we keep down installation costs and reduce the environmental impact by using less material, which is of course itself recycled.

“Our Nvelope^® Project Builder design tool offers specifiers project specific thermal calculations, together with bracket and rail spacings, plus budget cost per square metre.  Consultants and contractors should avoid concentrating unit cost, as employing more brackets increases thermal bridging and heat loss, leading to thicker insulation being required and the overall installation thickness rising.”

In addition to SFS’s support for CAB’s supply chain initiative on sorting and certifying scrap aluminium in the supply chain, the company is fully committed to cutting carbon in construction through improvements in product durability and waste reduction, which will eventually help to achieve a circular economy.  And through the adoption of digitisation, this will not only lead to an extended working life for buildings, but also to the potential reuse for its rainscreen support systems.

For further information please CLICK HERE

OR CALL 0330 0555888