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Using Structural Insulated Panels (SIP)
A new Green Building material has just been introduced to me, Structural Insulated Panels (SIP). This form of building uses OSB (oriented strand board) and EPS (expanded polystyrene) to create the walls of buildings and homes instead of the conventional Stick Frame design.
Any good solar design starts with a well insulated envelope. Using SIPs instead of stick frame building offers a ton of benefits. The SIPs are created with a panel of OSB, then a layer of ESP, then another layer of OSB. This system creates a strong very well insulated panel. The panels carry an insulating value of R-15 to R-45.
Most people think that using R-15 batt insulation makes the wall an R-15 wall. Well this is a common misconception. The insulating value of a wall is made up of all the components that make up that wall. What is not accounted for in a stick frame building are the thermal bridging properties of the studs, header, and window frame. SIPs address this problem by providing a continuous insulation with minimal thermal bridging.
I am still doing research on this subject. It seems this will be the construction method my Wife and I will use for creating our Solar Room.
I am waiting for my book to arrive from Amazon on this subject. If you would like to buy this book, we have provided a link below.
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