EnviroSteel® Homes | Carolina Steel Solutions | The Benefits of Steel

The Initiative promotes energy efficient, environmentally sustainable building through its investments and several key building initiatives.

EnviroSteel® Homes

The Initiative commissioned plans for passive-solar EnviroSteel® homes that are available to community development organizations around the state.

This unique steel-frame housing product consists of six ready-to-build housing plans.

The Initiative developed two neighborhoods featuring EnviroSteel® homes: St James Place in Sanford and Brentwood Subdivision in Kinston.

The designs have been fully stamped and signed by a licensed engineer. They use passive solar design to reduce the energy needed for heating and cooling. Large south-facing windows and heat-absorbent flooring and wall materials store sunlight as heat in the winter and cooler night air for cooling in the summer, dramatically reducing energy costs. The designs also incorporate additional energy-efficient construction standards, as well as an optional solar water heating system. The average monthly heating and cooling bill for the homes is $38.

Carolina Steel Solutions

Carolina Steel Solutions is a socially conscious manufacturing company committed to preserving the natural resources of the planet by developing and offering high-quality, green, energy-efficient and affordable building products and techniques. It is a joint venture of the Initiative and UDI Community Development Corp. in Durham.

The company develops sustainable building products that use steel framing. Its newest product, Tavacore, is a versatile panel system made from recycled steel and either expanded polystyrene (EPS) or an agricultural-based foam.

The Benefits of Steel

Steel framing is a sustainable material because it is made from recycled and recyclable scrap steel, such as old appliances, automobiles and construction steel. It offers a range of other benefits over traditional building materials:

• Stronger – Light-gauge steel can withstand hurricane-force winds pf up to 180 mph.
• Safer – Inorganic, non-combustible materials are fire resistant, mold and mildew resistant and insect resistant.
• Greener – The steel required to build a 1,200-square-foot home can be captured from recycling about five junk cars. To build the same home using wood would require clear cutting 1.5 acres of forest.