Resilient Joplin Propane Home
With dependable propane appliances throughout, and complete with a tornado safe room and propane standby generator, this Joplin home is the epitome of resilience. Propane can safely and efficiently meet nearly all of a home’s energy requirements. Walk through this beautiful, resilient home and discover the comfort, freedom and security propane provides.
The Resilient Joplin Home Story
T.R. Smith Construction, a southwest Missouri homebuilder, is proud of the company’s tradition of building modern, stylish and efficient homes. Built to please and built to last, these beautiful homes incorporate the latest design trends and custom features with the security of using propane as a primary energy source.
This 7 bedroom, 4 1/2 bath home, includes 4,015 square feet of high-end living space in the quiet Heritage Acres neighborhood. It also holds the distinction of being the first Propane HomePro project, a partnership between T.R. Smith and the Missouri Propane Education and Research Council (MOPERC).
Propane HomePro selects Missouri’s top builders who incorporate propane throughout their projects. T.R. Smith has earned a reputation for building high-quality homes through the Joplin market, and incorporating propane has been an important part of that success. It was only natural, then, that the company’s latest project kicked off the HomePro program since it features efficient, comfortable and durable appliances throughout. The versatility of propane brings out the best in the home’s great living spaces.
“As the house was being built, I learned more about how propane really was a benefit for the home. It was what I learned that was able to help with selling this house,” said Judy Lowe, a Joplin realtor with Kanakis & Lowe Real Estate Group who represents the Smith’s homes. “It was more than a high-efficiency feature,” Lowe continued, “It was more cost-effective for a buyer and a future homeowner. It does the same, or more, for a buyer, but at a better price.”
“This house is very resilient,” said Steve Ahrens, President of MOPERC. “It has a tornado safe room downstairs. It also has the propane generator so homeowners have standby power in case of a natural disaster or an outage of some kind. They can keep living the propane lifestyle even when other people may be dark.”
T.R. Smith Construction has earned a reputation for building high quality, efficient homes. The company has been successful building and selling homes all across the southwest region of Missouri. Propane has been an important ingredient to their success.
Featured Propane Appliances
High-efficiency Furnaces
This home is heated by two Trane high-efficiency propane furnaces. Propane furnaces provide a warmer, more comfortable heat than electric furnaces, with a steady heating temperature of 115 to 125 degrees, regardless of outdoor temperature. Electric furnaces supply a heat below your average body temperature of 98 degrees, 60 percent of the time during heating seasons.
Tankless Water Heaters
Propane tankless water heaters supply an endless amount of hot water on demand. With two high-efficiency Noritz propane tankless water heaters, homeowners and guests of this 7 bedroom, 4 ½ bath home will never have to worry about running out of hot water. They’ll also enjoy hundreds of dollars in yearly savings on energy costs compared to typical electric storage water heaters.
Kitchen Range
This home’s high-efficiency LG propane kitchen range is the icing on the cake in this beautiful, modern and functional kitchen. Propane burners offer nearly unlimited settings between a low simmer and a high boil, for precise temperature control and optimal cooking. Because of their performance and efficiency, gas cooking ranges are at the top of many homebuyers’ wish lists.
Fireplace
This Astria Gemini 40DMP propane fireplace provides additional heat on cold winter days, along with the ambiance and flicker of a real flame. Propane fireplaces produce 5 to 6 times the heating capacity of electric fireplaces and operate much more efficiently than wood burning fireplaces. Plus, with propane, there is no wood to cut and no mess to clean up. Simply turn it on and enjoy.
Standby Generator
Backup generators are a great selling feature for homes in the Midwest. Inclement weather can cause power service disruptions. With this home’s Generac 22KW standby propane generator, the homeowners will never be left in the dark, even if their neighbors are. In the event of a power outage, propane standby generators will kick on automatically, within a matter of seconds.
Outdoor Grill
A Blaze BBQ Island with 32-inch 4-Burner Propane Gas Grill & Power Burner brings the convenience of cooking with propane out onto the patio and outdoor living area. Professional chefs prefer cooking with propane because of its instant heat and precise temperature control.
Floor Plans
Home Rendering
Floor Plan
Note: These plans were modified in the design/build process to create the propane home.
Home Photo Gallery
Project Details
The Propane HomePro program brings the complete home benefits of propane appliances to life in new, modern and luxurious home construction projects across the state of Missouri. It also highlights all the advantages of building homes powered by propane and the opportunity to live the propane lifestyle, with benefits including superior home performance, efficiency and comfort.
“One of the goals of the Propane HomePro program is to provide opportunities to talk to homebuilders and their customers about all the amenities that propane can provide,” said Steve Ahrens, President of the Missouri Propane Education & Research Council. “In Missouri, about 9 percent of homes are heated with propane,” Ahrens went on to say. “That’s higher than the national average, but we still find that a lot of people aren’t familiar with propane. They may know about natural gas, or just default to electricity. But the fact is that propane really brings them so much more in terms of liveability, economics and efficiencies and we’re finding a very receptive audience when we talk about propane homes.”
From high-efficiency propane furnaces and water heaters to high-performance propane kitchen ranges, propane can safely and effectively power many appliances in a home, and it doesn’t stop there. The benefits of propane can be experienced all the way into the outdoors with an outdoor living area complete with an outdoor kitchen and standby power with a propane backup generator. Propane used as the primary energy source in homes creates an ideal way of life--the propane lifestyle.
“The propane lifestyle is the fact that you can enjoy one fuel primarily throughout your home. There are so many amenities and benefits that propane brings,” Ahrens continued. “Another thing we’re finding is that people are very concerned about the environmental impact of the fuels they use, and propane is very clean. It’s determined by the EPA as a clean fuel, so your carbon footprint in a propane home is much less than in an electric home.”
High-efficiency propane appliances make the finest home amenities possible, taking its comfort up to the next level. High-efficiency propane furnaces provide heat from the registers at temperatures between 115 and 125 degrees, which is well-over normal body temperatures. With a propane furnace, you can feel the warmth in heat compared to an electric furnace.
“We really like the propane heat versus an all-electric heat,” said Judi Smith, of homebuilder T.R. Smith Construction. “You get a warmer heat. As far as utility bills down the road, propane is going to be the less expensive way to go,” Smith went on to say. “We talk about how warm propane heat is, especially in my personal home. I like warm heat and that’s probably the easiest way to sell it, just talk about my own home.”
Through the Propane HomePro program, builder T.R. Smith Construction and MOPERC partnered to deliver this beautiful, efficient and resilient Joplin home. You can partner with MOPERC too, as a Propane HomePro and experience similar success building with propane.
Builder Information
Name: Tony Smith | T.R. Smith Homes
Address: Joplin, MO
Phone Number: (417) 310-6191
Website: www.trsmithinc.com
