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Energy Efficient SIPs for High Performance Green Buildings
THE PROBLEM: Stick build houses carry with them numerous cracks, openings, settling insulation and gaps. Caulking, specialized insulation, taping and continual replacement of insulation are par for the course in traditionally build houses. And so are frustrating, expensive call-backs. THE GREEN BUILDING SOLUTION: Solid "sandwich" walls with inside wallboard, insulation and outside skin all fabricated into one piece that is customized to fulfill the house plan. That's a "Structural Insulated Panel." Locate SIP manufacturers and builders in our Solutions For Green directory of green suppliers. SIPs are prefabricated, multi-layer highly energy-efficient building panels that are cut to size with customized cutouts for windows and doors. Custom SIPs are customized and assembled in the SIP factory, shipped to the construction site by truck, and assembled on-site using heavy lifting equipment for the roof and large panels, some specialized tools and knowledge. Indoor Air Quality with High Performance SIPsAir infiltration is nature's way of ventilating a house -- but these air leaks also are the bane of a utility bill. Mom was right, "Close the door, you're letting all the heat out!" is very appropriate advice. But as houses age, they settle. Not only time and weather, but owner remodeling also reshapes windows and doors and ceilings and roofs. The conventional house becomes leaky over time, and every leak lets the heat out in winter and the cool air out in the summer.The best construction solution is to tighten the house and prevent those leaks. But a tight house also holds all the carbon dioxide we breathe out and all the gas fumes from our stove and all the offgasing from carpet and plastics accumulate in the house. And moisture. The resulting air quality -- or lack thereof -- can be much worse than polluted urban air. The solution for healthful indoor air quality in the modern home is to tighten the air flow from heating, air conditioning and ventilation equipment. This puts control of the air quality back into our hands and out of nature's fluctuations in temperature and wind speed. SIPs Tested for Energy Efficient and High Performance Green BuildingThe US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Laboratory (ORNL) has researched the energy efficiency and structural strength of SIPs. ORNL has conducted whole wall analysis to measure thermal shorts, thermal mass, air tightness, and moisture control. They have tested energy efficiency using a "SIP Test Room" in which wall, ceiling and floor were constructed with SIP panels.THE SIPs RESEARCH RESULTS: "SIP Test Room 95% More Air Tight than Stick". (Source: ORNL's Building Material Presentation.pdf) New Zero Energy Efficient House This same Structural Insulated Panel System was used to build the first near "Net Zero" house. The floor, walls and roof of the first Net Zero Energy house were installed in 3 days! ORNL has also tested structural insulated panels on Habitat for Humanity prototype high-performance homes to measure effectiveness. Reduce Construction Time with Insulated PanelsBuilding with SIP panels saves on a wide variety of traditional construction costs. When you can put up a house in a week, you save significantly on ancillary construction costs. While you must weigh the cost of the more expensive building materials of a SIP-built building when compared to 2x4s, insulation, exterior wallboard and interior wallboard -- what needs to be compared is apples to apples -- compare this materials list along with labor costs, waste, carrying costs, insurance and lifespan costs. SIPs come out ahead on total construction costs, on environmental impact and on lifetime cost of energy use for the homeowner. And that makes for a happier customer. "Total cost of ownership" accounting is where savings really mount up with energy-efficient SIP construction -- year after year. Tap the Benefits of High Performance SIPs Building StrategyConventional construction still operates in much the same way it did in my Daddy's time -- and he would be 100 years old this year! His carpentry skills depended on stick built, custom construction that was hand crafted using a mix of power tools and hand tools -- with tips passed from person to person. No testing. No research data to compare. No lifetime energy cost analysis. No maintenance costs or energy costs figured into the carpentry job.But times are changing, and so are high performance building materials and methods. Energy costs are going up steadily. More people are living in urban areas with no space to waste. And buildings need to last longer to keep C&D out of the landfills. Quality construction has a new definition. It has added "total" to ALL of the key metrics used to define cost effectiveness, energy efficiency and high performance. SIPs are one of the new materials designed to meet multiple needs: energy efficiency, high performance, low waste, affordable costs and long lasting performance. SIP Test Results for Energy EfficiencyOak Ridge National Labs (www.ornl.gov) researches energy efficiency strategies, and has found that effective energy savings are made possible by a combination of affordable technologies.
Net Zero Energy Building SolutionsThe energy efficiency goal in homes is an affordable zero-energy home--a right-sized house that in the course of a year generates as much electricity as it consumes. And, researchers emphasize, consumers want a house with technologies that the average American can manage easily.Research continues, and in 2009, ORNL hopes to build five new prototype Net Zero Energy houses near ORNL. These houses would have energy efficient and renewable energy features: solar panels on the rooftop, a solar water heater, a geothermal heat pump 5 ft deep, and structural insulated panels (SIPs) as insulation for the walls. Green Jobs in SIP NichesGreen jobs in construction are growing as construction focuses on new compliance guidelines of building codes that focus on building more energy efficient, water conservative, high-performance buildings. SIPs manufacturing and installation provide green job options both in the SIP factory and fabrication businesses, and in construction installation.Technical training in SIP installation is available at the "SIP School". The SIP trade association that provides industry services and entrepreneurial information as well as industry support is SIPA -- the Structural Insulated Panel Association. High-performance, no-waste and energy efficiency are hallmarks of both SIP construction and "green building" careers and business opportunity. Technical knowledge and construction experience combine with specialized SIP education to enhance a construction career that is growing in demand as state after state adopts green building guidelines, building codes and energy efficiency standards. RESOURCES: Locate SIP manufacturers and builders in our Solutions For Green directory of green suppliers. Content Optimized by Ecordia
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