SIPs are suitable for a variety of architectural styles and cladding options.Rapid construction is a principle advantage for SIPs builders.Structural insulated panels (SIPs), enclosure systems typically made of two engineered wood panels that enclose a rigid insulating foam core, may not seem like an obvious choice for environmentally conscious builders, but theyre widely praised for offering energy and resource efficiency, construction speed, and design flexibility.The first homes using SIPs were built in the early 1950s and are still occupied today.
The industry has grown most rapidly in the last decade, however, and Bill Wachtler, executive director of the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA), estimates that there are now more than 10,000 SIPs homes in the United States, and more than 30 manufacturers. International demand, particularly in Japan and Europe, is also driving the expansion. Builders use SIPs for many different architectural styles; they work well for open floor plans because their strength and efficiency eliminates the need for excess interior walls. Openings for windows and doors can be cut into the panel on site or pre-cut at the factory. Panel connection methods vary from engineered wood splines to steel joints, but all types are designed for rapid assembly, and panels are made with prerouted chases for electrical wires. If a builder works from plans designed specifically for panel efficiency and uses cutoffs from one part of the house elsewhere in the construction, costs will be much lower than dropping SIPs into plans for a traditional stick frame house. Some companies will convert plans to accommodate panels, which they then fabricate.) For builders, the big advantage of SIPs is rapid, one-step construction of the shell, which provides savings that can trickle down to the homeowner. Id like to see SIPs used more in production building, especially when windows and doors can be pre-cut at manufacture, says Mike Barcik, director of technical services for Southface. This is the most practical, efficient use of this technology. Although manufacturers claim their products are builder-friendly, Barcik says, you might have to educate and train a crew. But, says Wachtler of SIPA, Every year its getting easier to find architects and builders familiar with SIPs. Interested builders and consumers can use membership in our association as a screening mechanism to find reputable manufacturers who are rigorous with testing and exceed building code specifications. Financing can be jeopardized if all components of the final product arent compliant. In testing performed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a four-inch SIPs wall showed better thermal performance than both two-by-four-inch stick and batt construction and two-by-six-inch construction. The same study showed that SIPs perform at approximately 97 percent of their stated R-value overall, losing only 3 percent to nail holes, seams, and splines. And when the Florida Solar Energy Project did a side-by-side comparison with stick frame construction in the early 1990s, the SIPs home outperformed the stick home by 30 percent, even though great care was taken to ensure tightness and energy efficiency in the stick home. ![]() The key word is continuousthe lack of wood studs means no thermal bridging breaks up the materials insulating effect. In a demonstration conducted by the University of Oregons Center for Housing Innovation, the panel house used 55 percent less framing lumber than the reference house, but factoring in the OSB use meant the demo house actually used only 5 to10 percent less wood. All foam comes from nonrenewable fossil fuels, and their manufacture involves the use of toxic chemicals.
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