Franklin Homes - The Vistas at Kensington Park: Dallas, TX

Tankless Water Heater

• Standby losses were reduced from 1.2 kWh/day to 0.2 kWh/day with the tankless water heater.
• There was an average delay for activation of the tankless water heater of 8.8 seconds. (The manufacturer has reduced this delay by 2 to 3 seconds through faster controls.) The tankless water heater had 11.8 percent less energy use than the tank water heater due to this delay.
• Total energy savings for the tankless water heater was 23.6 percent—including the 11.8 percent due to the delay.
• Efficiency of the tankless water heater was 95.1 percent compared to 83.8 percent for the tank water heater.
• The residents were pleased with the tankless water heater. In terms of performance, they could not tell which water heater was functioning during the study, and chose to keep the tankless system at the end of the study due to its energy efficiency.

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Prefinished Drywall Corners:

• Most corners required only one coat of drywall compound. No more than two coats of drywall compound were required at any corner.
• Installers had to spend extra time carefully measuring and cutting the strips for window returns.
• The crew initially caused some scuffing and tearing of the paper while sanding, but quickly adjusted their technique to avoid further problems.
• The crew leaders felt that the corners made it simple to create straight, even edges on inside and outside corners.
• The crew noted a significant reduction in drying time and the amount of drywall compound used.
• See Resources. Final Report - Table 4: Results from Impact Testing of Drywall Corners

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Stained Concrete Floors:

• The floor finish was installed early in the construction phase in order for it to be visible during an open house event.
• During house tours, the building and decorating community liked the stained concrete finish.
• However, the floor surface endured scratching and marring during electrical, plumbing, and drywall installation.
• The builder did not continue to offer the flooring due to the system cost and lack of customer enthusiasm.

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Air Admittance Valves:

• Code officials did not allow AAVs for this project.

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Additional Information

View evaluation method of these technologies

Water Heating Equipment Costs:

• Tankless water heater: $585; Tank water heater $188

Prefinished Drywall Corners:

• Total cost for an 8-foot inside corner using prefinished corners, including materials and labor, are calculated to be $3.97. Calculated cost for a taped inside corner was $3.84.

Stained Concrete Floors:

• Stain and protective coating: With a cost of $0.25 per s.f. plus labor of about $250, the total cost was $3.25 per s.f., which was higher than the cost for carpet or vinyl flooring.