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Insulation Performance
Expanded
Polystyrene was first utilized in the
cold room industry. When it was
originally introduced, the costs were
relatively high. For this reason, it was
not considered for use in home
construction. In time, the price
decreased considerably. Recognizing its
excellent thermal resistance properties,
manufacturers of home construction
materials began to incorporate it into
many different products.
The Structural Insulated
Panel (SIP) emerged as a unique
alternative building technology for
building envelope construction that was
comprised of two skins of the same or
different materials laminated to either
side of an expanded polystyrene foam
core. Tests were conducted by Jeffrey
Christian, director of the U.S.
Department of Energy's Buildings
Technology Center of Excellence at Oak
Ridge Laboratory, and Jan Kosny, a
research engineer at the University of
Tennessee. The structural insulated
panel or SIP provided a 58 percent
higher thermal whole-wall performance
than a building envelope constructed of
conventional wood frame 2" x 6".
All the windows and
doors available through Structall
Building Systems satisfy high industry
standards for thermal performance
according to ANSI/AAMA specifications.
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TESTS PROVE SIPS
TOPS IN THERMAL Performance
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 of 21.6, which is
88% of its clear-wall
R-value of 24.7, which means
the material creates one of
the tightest building
envelopes in construction.
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Wall System |
Clear-Wall R-Value
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Whole-Wall R-Value
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% Difference
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2x4 wood stud wall 16-in.(
40-cm.) o.c., R-11 batts,
0.5-in.(1.3-cm.) plywood
-exterior., -in.(1.3-cm.)
gypsum board -interior. |
10.6
|
9.6
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91%
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2x6 wood stud wall 24-in.(
60-cm.) o.c., R-19 batts,
0.5-in.(1.3-cm.) plywood
-exterior., -in.(1.3-cm.)
gypsum board -interior. |
16.4
|
13.7
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84%
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Structural Insulated Panel
Wall, 6-in. (15-cm.) thick
foam core + 0.5-in.
(1.3-cm.) OSB boards,
0.5-in.(1.3-cm.) Plywood
cladding -exterior.,
0.5-in.(1.3-cm.) gypsum
board -interior. |
24.7
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21.6
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88%
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4-in. (10-cm.) Steel stud
wall, 24-in. (60-cm.) o.c.,R-11
batts, 0.5-in.(1.3-cm.)
plywood -exterior., +
1-in.(2.5-cm) EPS sheathing
+ 0.5-in. (1.3-cm.) wood
siding, 0.5-in.(1.3-cm.)
gypsum board -interior. NAHB
Energy Consv. House Details.
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14.8
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10.9
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74%
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3-1/2-in. (8.9-cm.) Steel
stud wall, 16-in. (40-cm.)
o.c., R-11 batts,
0.5-in.(1.3-cm.) plywood
-exterior.,. + 0.5-in.
(1.3-cm.) wood siding,
0.5-in.(1.3-cm.) gypsum
board -interior |
7.4
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6.1
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83%
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