High Performance Green Building
The move is on to Green
Building, and rightly so. By using energy saving building components
and recyclable products, overall energy usage goes down. Using
materials that save more energy than the cost to produce them also
produces a net gain for the environment. Steel SIPs qualify in all of
these categories and easily satisfy the Energy Star rating requirements.
Energy efficiency
Structural
insulated panels are one of the most environmentally responsible
building systems available. A SIP building envelope provides high
levels of insulation and is extremely airtight, meaning the amount of
energy used to heat and cool a home can be cut by up to 60 percent. The
energy that powers homes and commercial buildings is responsible for a
large portion of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. By
reducing the amount of energy used in buildings, architects, builders,
and homeowners can contribute to a cleaner environment for the future.
Resource Use
The
insulation used in SIPs is a lightweight rigid foam polymer composed of
98% air, and requires only a small amount of petroleum to produce. The
foam insulation used in panel cores is made using a non-CFC blowing
agent that does not threaten the earth's ozone layer. The EPS foam
saves vast amounts of energy over and above its production cost. It is
one of the best insulation products available, and when used in a steel
SIP panel, it provides strength as well as an impermeable insulation.
Recycled Material
All
job site waste is recyclable! Expanded polystyrene is 100% recyclable,
as well as all metal job site scrap. Steel is the most recycled
material on earth. Over 80% of the steel used today is recycled!
Thermal Performance of the Steel SIP Home
Compared
to a building envelope constructed of conventional wood frame 2" x 6",
the use of structural insulated panels or SIPs can result in a shell
that has a 58% better thermal performance overall, according to recent
tests performed by the University of Tennessee and the U.S. Department
of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The study tested and
compared 18 wall systems - calculating standard R-values - but also
calculating how well heat flows through various wall materials
(structure and insulation) and how well the walls connect to other
walls, flooring, roof, doors and windows - called whole-wall
R-values. Traditionally a wall's R-value is calculated by determining
the insulation performance of only structural and insulation materials
called 'clear-wall R-value'. The new study weighed the performance of
the entire building envelope or shell, comparing whole-wall R-value
performance for concrete, wood, metal, Larson truss walls and SIPs.
SIPs
had a whole-wall R-value equal to 88% of its clear-wall R-value, which
means the material creates one of the tightest building envelopes in
construction. The panels tested were OSB covered SIPs. A steel skin
SIP would achieve even higher values due to the total impermeability of
the steel coverings. |
Green Building
