ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDINGS
SI PANELS Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) are an ideal component for most residential and low-rise light commercial green building projects. SI PANELS SIPs can contribute a significant number of points to LEED green building projects.
SIPs help to minimize environmental impact SIPs use their plastic foam core as structure as well as insulation. SI PANELS SIPs use one pound density expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam plastic as the core. EPS foam plastic provides top-performing structure and insulation for this building component.
The insulating core of a structural insulated panel provides continuous insulation. SIPs enable structures to be assembled with minimal in-field framing. The percentage of area in a wall assembly composed of sawn lumber is classified as a wall’s “framing factor.” The framing factor is a measure of thermal bridging. The more framing, the higher the framing factor and the more energy is lost due to thermal bridging. A typical stick-framed home averages a framing factor ranging from 15 to 25 percent, while a SIP home averages a framing factor of only 3 percent. When the whole-wall R-value is measured, SIP walls outperform stick-framed walls where studs placed 16 or 24 inches on center cause thermal bridging and result in energy loss. Additionally, fiberglass and other insulating materials used in stick-framing are subject to gaps, voids, or compression, causing further degradation in thermal performance and drafts.
Building with jumbo SIPs results in fewer joints and is an easy way to build a very air-tight structure. Studies at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have shown a SIP room to have 90 percent less air leakage than its stick-framed counterpart.
Air leakage in homes is measured by using a blower door test. Using a specially designed fan to negatively pressurize the structure, Home Energy Rating System (HERS) technicians can measure the amount of air leakage in the home and use this information to size HVAC equipment or apply for an ENERGY STAR qualification. SIP-research homes built by ORNL were measured to have infiltration rates as low as 0.03 natural air changes per hour (ACH). Stick-framed homes of similar size in the same subdivision averaged blower door test results ranging from 0.20 to 0.25. SIP homes have proven to reach these levels of air tightness consistently enough for the EPA to waive the required blower door test for homes with a complete SIP envelope to receive an ENERGY STAR rating.
When combined with other high-performance systems, SIP homes can reduce annual energy use by up to 50 percent or more. SIPs have been instrumental in the creation of many zero-energy buildings that produce as much energy as they consume through solar photovoltaic cells and a high performance SIP building envelope.
The importance of saving energy in building construction cannot be over stated: today’s efforts at reducing pollution, dependence on foreign oil, and global warming are almost completely dedicated to the generation side of the issue. It is a well documented that it is cheaper and easier to conserve energy than it is to generate new energy. Today in the U.S., residential structures use 21% and commercial structures use 17% of the total energy produced. Heating and cooling energy represent the biggest single factors. Reducing the demand for heating and cooling in residential and commercial buildings by approximately 50% is a simple process and the cost is far less than the cost of generating this amount of energy.
SIPs use materials that make minimal environmental impact.
By weight, SI PANELS SIPs use approximately 89% engineered wood (OSB), 10% EPS foam plastic and less than 1% water activated polyurethane adhesive.
OSB comes from small, fast-growing trees (typically aspen) that that are underutilized or are species grown in managed forests. Using the small, fast-growing trees helps to preserve our beautiful old forests. Also, typical exterior SIP walls use only approximately 12-20% of the dimensional lumber when compared to stick-built construction. OSB, which is an engineered wood-product, is a renewable, recyclable, biodegradable resource that is easily manufactured in large sheets. Engineered woods like OSB make the best use of forests and have been found to be better for the environment than fiberglass, steel or concrete in terms of energy, emissions and waste.
EPS foam plastic is an example of refining petroleum to make something more useful and permanent than fuel. Both EPS and gasoline are made of carbon and hydrogen that come from crude oil. It is known that burning petroleum as a fuel contributes to global warming. Using EPS as insulation reduces the demand for fuel – a much better use of this raw material. Also, the amount of petroleum used to make EPS is relatively small. For example, a SIP measuring 8’x 24’x 6 ½” thick will use about 90 pounds of plastic and this is equivalent to only about 14.5 gallons of gasoline.
The amount of energy required to produce EPS foam plastic is much less than that required for fiberglass batting. According to the EPS Molders Association, the energy required to produce EPS is 24 percent less than the energy used to produce equivalent R-value fiberglass insulation.
The adhesive used in bonding the OSB skins of the panel to the EPS core is water activated, contains no solvents and emits no VOCs during curing.
SI PANELS SIPs are formaldehyde-free
Formaldehyde and its possible adverse health effects are commonly in the news. The OSB used in SIPs does not contain the dangerous urea formaldehyde, but does contain a safe chemical called phenol formaldehyde. Also, the levels of formaldehyde released from OSB are extremely small, only about 0.1 parts per million. This level is actually about the same as the level normally found in nature. According to the research that has been done, formaldehyde at this level poses no health risks.
Designing with SIPs - SIPs are accelerating the speed of construction.
Panel sizes:
Best utilizing materials helps keeps the cost of SIP projects as low as possible.
The standard 8’ x 24’ SIP size is determined by availability of “jumbo” OSB. The speed of construction offered by jumbo panels has resulted in the 8’ x 24’ size OSB has becoming the SIP industry standard. The cost of a SIP project is partially dictated by the number of 8’ x 24’ sheets that are required. A job using numerous 8’ x 13’ panels will be much more expensive than one using 8’ x 12’ panels.
SIP walls:
Eight-foot-high wall panels can be up to 24’ long in a single piece and typically will utilize almost 100% of the available 8’ x 24’ material. When walls need to be taller than 8’, the direction of the panels will be turned 90° - in this scenario, there will be a spline joint at least every 8’, but the panels can be up to 24’ tall. In residential SIP construction today, 8’ x 9’ or 8’ x 10’ panels are very commonly used to achieve 9’-or 10’-tall walls. A designer should keep in mind that, in general, window openings that are less than 4’ wide can be achieved without using a header, again saving cost.
SIP walls can be engineered to meet most any loading including high wind loading. In general, SIPs are easier to use and engineer when high load capacities are required. For example, in South Florida, building with SIPs is significantly less expensive due to the number and size of hold-downs required for stick framed structures.
Roof panels and cathedral ceilings:
SIPs make cathedral ceilings easy to build and extremely energy efficient. Compared with rafter construction, they are more cost effective to install and much more energy efficient. Cathedral ceilings add instant height to a room and can negate the need for 9’ and 10’ tall wall panels. When planning to use SIPs in roof construction, it is important to note that a roof panel must span from one bearing support to another. Bearing support members can be ridge beams, bearing walls, rafters, purlins or trusses. If the design calls for hips or valleys, note that these edges usually need to be supported with valley beams or hip rafters. If the design of the building calls for horizontal ceilings, SIPs can be used as a ceiling panel, or SIPs can be installed at the roof line, and the horizontal ceiling can be constructed with ceiling joists. The best way to take advantage of SIPs' inherent benefits is to design a cathedral ceiling into a building with a pitched roof. Using a SIP roof system in conjunction with SIP walls will offer much more energy efficiency than using SIP wall alone, or a SIP roof alone.
SIP floor panels:
SIPs should not be used for interior floor systems because they are not as cost effective nor as accessible as conventional engineered wood truss or I joist systems. The easy access available in conventional engineered floor systems for plumbing, HVAC, and primary electrical is very important while thermal insulation between floors typically is not. SIP floors are best used whenever a floor needs to be insulated: over an unheated crawl-space, for a room that is elevated, or over any other unheated space. SIP floor systems frequently use engineered wood splines to increase the stiffness. Ask your local sales representative for more details.
Monoslope construction:
The least expensive way to build a well insulated enclosure is monoslope construction with SIPs. Buildings up to 20 feet wide with flat or shed roofs are ideal for this system. Buildings up to 40 feet wide can use a semi-monoslope construction with only columns and a ridge beam down the center.
CNC cut panels:
Producing special shapes and compound cut panels is easy and accurate when you specify PorterSIPs. With SIP specific, three-dimensional CAD software, and 5-axis-capable CNC machinery, panels now fit much more precisely than ever before. Complicated dormers with gables, hips, and valley cuts can now be supplied as easily as smaller rectangular panels used to be. Special shapes like round-top windows can be accomplished with accuracy. Relying on skilled framing carpenters is less reliable than it used to be. With CNC-cut SIPs, the complicated cutting is done reliably and correctly in the factory.
Avoiding Interior Load Bearing Walls:
Due to jumbo roof panels’ capacity for long spans, often times load bearing walls can be eliminated. Without load bearing walls, the interior space can be designed with an open concept and also can be more flexible as needs of the building change over time.
SIP building details:
SIP juncture details have evolved and have been refined greatly over the last 15 years. These details result in a highly sealed enclosure. Preventing moisture and vapor penetration at junctures is extremely important. The resulting building envelope will enable you to install downsized heating and cooling systems. This tight envelope may also require an air-to-air heat exchanger to reduce the humidity. Contact your Aquentium SIPs sales representative to explain further.
AIA/CES Learning units:
SI PANELS SIPs offers a 1 credit AIA/CES accredited presentation on SIPs. This course was produced by the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA). Please contact us for more information or to schedule a presentation.
Optional Services and Finishes “Ready to assemble” packages – panels are delivered with lumber and splines installed T&G installed on the inside of wall or roof panels
Various plywood products installed as the final interior or exterior finish (limited sizes available)
Moisture resistant gypsum board installed over OSB
Pre-finished aluminum laminated over OSB
Fiberglass reinforced plastic laminated over OSB
Custom lamination of various materials
Sto® Emerald Coat vapor permeable secondary weather barrier
Mold, mildew, and rot resistant coatings on the OSB
No-Burn Plus® intumescent 15 minute thermal barrier paint
The insulating core of a structural insulated panel provides continuous insulation. SIPs enable structures to be assembled with minimal in-field framing. The percentage of area in a wall assembly composed of sawn lumber is classified as a wall’s “framing factor.” The framing factor is a measure of thermal bridging. The more framing, the higher the framing factor and the more energy is lost due to thermal bridging. A typical stick-framed home averages a framing factor ranging from 15 to 25 percent, while a SIP home averages a framing factor of only 3 percent. When the whole-wall R-value is measured, SIP walls outperform stick-framed walls where studs placed 16 or 24 inches on center cause thermal bridging and result in energy loss. Additionally, fiberglass and other insulating materials used in stick-framing are subject to gaps, voids, or compression, causing further degradation in thermal performance and drafts.
Building with jumbo SIPs results in fewer joints and is an easy way to build a very air-tight structure. Studies at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have shown a SIP room to have 90 percent less air leakage than its stick-framed counterpart.
Air leakage in homes is measured by using a blower door test. Using a specially designed fan to negatively pressurize the structure, Home Energy Rating System (HERS) technicians can measure the amount of air leakage in the home and use this information to size HVAC equipment or apply for an ENERGY STAR qualification. SIP-research homes built by ORNL were measured to have infiltration rates as low as 0.03 natural air changes per hour (ACH). Stick-framed homes of similar size in the same subdivision averaged blower door test results ranging from 0.20 to 0.25. SIP homes have proven to reach these levels of air tightness consistently enough for the EPA to waive the required blower door test for homes with a complete SIP envelope to receive an ENERGY STAR rating.
When combined with other high-performance systems, SIP homes can reduce annual energy use by up to 50 percent or more. SIPs have been instrumental in the creation of many zero-energy buildings that produce as much energy as they consume through solar photovoltaic cells and a high performance SIP building envelope.
The importance of saving energy in building construction cannot be over stated: today’s efforts at reducing pollution, dependence on foreign oil, and global warming are almost completely dedicated to the generation side of the issue. It is a well documented that it is cheaper and easier to conserve energy than it is to generate new energy. Today in the U.S., residential structures use 21% and commercial structures use 17% of the total energy produced. Heating and cooling energy represent the biggest single factors. Reducing the demand for heating and cooling in residential and commercial buildings by approximately 50% is a simple process and the cost is far less than the cost of generating this amount of energy.
SIPs use materials that make minimal environmental impact.
By weight, SI PANELS SIPs use approximately 89% engineered wood (OSB), 10% EPS foam plastic and less than 1% water activated polyurethane adhesive.
OSB comes from small, fast-growing trees (typically aspen) that that are underutilized or are species grown in managed forests. Using the small, fast-growing trees helps to preserve our beautiful old forests. Also, typical exterior SIP walls use only approximately 12-20% of the dimensional lumber when compared to stick-built construction. OSB, which is an engineered wood-product, is a renewable, recyclable, biodegradable resource that is easily manufactured in large sheets. Engineered woods like OSB make the best use of forests and have been found to be better for the environment than fiberglass, steel or concrete in terms of energy, emissions and waste.
EPS foam plastic is an example of refining petroleum to make something more useful and permanent than fuel. Both EPS and gasoline are made of carbon and hydrogen that come from crude oil. It is known that burning petroleum as a fuel contributes to global warming. Using EPS as insulation reduces the demand for fuel – a much better use of this raw material. Also, the amount of petroleum used to make EPS is relatively small. For example, a SIP measuring 8’x 24’x 6 ½” thick will use about 90 pounds of plastic and this is equivalent to only about 14.5 gallons of gasoline.
The amount of energy required to produce EPS foam plastic is much less than that required for fiberglass batting. According to the EPS Molders Association, the energy required to produce EPS is 24 percent less than the energy used to produce equivalent R-value fiberglass insulation.
The adhesive used in bonding the OSB skins of the panel to the EPS core is water activated, contains no solvents and emits no VOCs during curing.
SI PANELS SIPs are formaldehyde-free
Formaldehyde and its possible adverse health effects are commonly in the news. The OSB used in SIPs does not contain the dangerous urea formaldehyde, but does contain a safe chemical called phenol formaldehyde. Also, the levels of formaldehyde released from OSB are extremely small, only about 0.1 parts per million. This level is actually about the same as the level normally found in nature. According to the research that has been done, formaldehyde at this level poses no health risks.
Designing with SIPs - SIPs are accelerating the speed of construction.
Panel sizes:
Best utilizing materials helps keeps the cost of SIP projects as low as possible.
The standard 8’ x 24’ SIP size is determined by availability of “jumbo” OSB. The speed of construction offered by jumbo panels has resulted in the 8’ x 24’ size OSB has becoming the SIP industry standard. The cost of a SIP project is partially dictated by the number of 8’ x 24’ sheets that are required. A job using numerous 8’ x 13’ panels will be much more expensive than one using 8’ x 12’ panels.
SIP walls:
Eight-foot-high wall panels can be up to 24’ long in a single piece and typically will utilize almost 100% of the available 8’ x 24’ material. When walls need to be taller than 8’, the direction of the panels will be turned 90° - in this scenario, there will be a spline joint at least every 8’, but the panels can be up to 24’ tall. In residential SIP construction today, 8’ x 9’ or 8’ x 10’ panels are very commonly used to achieve 9’-or 10’-tall walls. A designer should keep in mind that, in general, window openings that are less than 4’ wide can be achieved without using a header, again saving cost.
SIP walls can be engineered to meet most any loading including high wind loading. In general, SIPs are easier to use and engineer when high load capacities are required. For example, in South Florida, building with SIPs is significantly less expensive due to the number and size of hold-downs required for stick framed structures.
Roof panels and cathedral ceilings:
SIPs make cathedral ceilings easy to build and extremely energy efficient. Compared with rafter construction, they are more cost effective to install and much more energy efficient. Cathedral ceilings add instant height to a room and can negate the need for 9’ and 10’ tall wall panels. When planning to use SIPs in roof construction, it is important to note that a roof panel must span from one bearing support to another. Bearing support members can be ridge beams, bearing walls, rafters, purlins or trusses. If the design calls for hips or valleys, note that these edges usually need to be supported with valley beams or hip rafters. If the design of the building calls for horizontal ceilings, SIPs can be used as a ceiling panel, or SIPs can be installed at the roof line, and the horizontal ceiling can be constructed with ceiling joists. The best way to take advantage of SIPs' inherent benefits is to design a cathedral ceiling into a building with a pitched roof. Using a SIP roof system in conjunction with SIP walls will offer much more energy efficiency than using SIP wall alone, or a SIP roof alone.
SIP floor panels:
SIPs should not be used for interior floor systems because they are not as cost effective nor as accessible as conventional engineered wood truss or I joist systems. The easy access available in conventional engineered floor systems for plumbing, HVAC, and primary electrical is very important while thermal insulation between floors typically is not. SIP floors are best used whenever a floor needs to be insulated: over an unheated crawl-space, for a room that is elevated, or over any other unheated space. SIP floor systems frequently use engineered wood splines to increase the stiffness. Ask your local sales representative for more details.
Monoslope construction:
The least expensive way to build a well insulated enclosure is monoslope construction with SIPs. Buildings up to 20 feet wide with flat or shed roofs are ideal for this system. Buildings up to 40 feet wide can use a semi-monoslope construction with only columns and a ridge beam down the center.
CNC cut panels:
Producing special shapes and compound cut panels is easy and accurate when you specify PorterSIPs. With SIP specific, three-dimensional CAD software, and 5-axis-capable CNC machinery, panels now fit much more precisely than ever before. Complicated dormers with gables, hips, and valley cuts can now be supplied as easily as smaller rectangular panels used to be. Special shapes like round-top windows can be accomplished with accuracy. Relying on skilled framing carpenters is less reliable than it used to be. With CNC-cut SIPs, the complicated cutting is done reliably and correctly in the factory.
Avoiding Interior Load Bearing Walls:
Due to jumbo roof panels’ capacity for long spans, often times load bearing walls can be eliminated. Without load bearing walls, the interior space can be designed with an open concept and also can be more flexible as needs of the building change over time.
SIP building details:
SIP juncture details have evolved and have been refined greatly over the last 15 years. These details result in a highly sealed enclosure. Preventing moisture and vapor penetration at junctures is extremely important. The resulting building envelope will enable you to install downsized heating and cooling systems. This tight envelope may also require an air-to-air heat exchanger to reduce the humidity. Contact your Aquentium SIPs sales representative to explain further.
AIA/CES Learning units:
SI PANELS SIPs offers a 1 credit AIA/CES accredited presentation on SIPs. This course was produced by the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA). Please contact us for more information or to schedule a presentation.
Optional Services and Finishes “Ready to assemble” packages – panels are delivered with lumber and splines installed T&G installed on the inside of wall or roof panels
Various plywood products installed as the final interior or exterior finish (limited sizes available)
Moisture resistant gypsum board installed over OSB
Pre-finished aluminum laminated over OSB
Fiberglass reinforced plastic laminated over OSB
Custom lamination of various materials
Sto® Emerald Coat vapor permeable secondary weather barrier
Mold, mildew, and rot resistant coatings on the OSB
No-Burn Plus® intumescent 15 minute thermal barrier paint
PROTECT INDOOR AIR QUALITY
SI PANELS structural insulated panels (SIPs) are designed to maintain a structure's indoor air quality. Aquentium foam cores do not contain formaldehyde, CFC's, or HCFC's. Murus SIPs create a tight building envelope that enables the building occupant to maintain control over the indoor environment through the use of mechanical ventilation and filtration. Because a structure that was built with SIPs can be very airtight, many manufacturers, including SI PANELS, require that the structure have a heating and cooling system that includes a mechanical ventilation system.
