Insulated concrete form manufacturers and marketers claim their lightweight, simply constructed product offers energy savings, durability and "green building" advantages.

Energy savings on buildings using the ICFs average between 38 percent and 47 percent a year, according to Scott Crawford, Fini Crawford and Ash Randall of Nu-Tech Systems in Colorado Springs, local distributors for more than one brand of ICF.

They attribute the cost savings, in part, to the use of thermal insulation provided by several inches of Styrofoam on each side of a poured concrete core.

Unlike traditional take-away forms used in construction, the ICF form remains in place. Once the concrete hardens, the wall system creates thermal insulation that's resistant to fire, pests, sound and wind, Crawford said.