When considering building a home, the foundation is literally and metaphorically the area of the home that holds the most weight. Think about it: what do you need from a foundation? Most would say it should be strong, durable, and sustainable. It should be something that grounds you and has your back to weather the storms.
So it’s most important to consider which materials to choose for the foundation of your home. Many people might decide to go with the most economically friendly foundation for their house, and there are many excellent reasons to do so. Builders are finding that Structural Insulated wall Panels (SIPs) are an extremely eco-friendly option that is gaining in popularity. Here are six reasons why.
1. They Save Energy
SIPs save homeowners 50 to 60 percent on heating and cooling costs. They’re a good source of insulation, covering more surface area with fewer gaps than traditional wood framing. The material is 15 times tighter than conventional construction, too, which means it does a better job of restricting airflow into the interior of the home.
By trapping your heated or cooled air inside with SIPs, you can be certain you’re not throwing away energy or money trying to keep your home at an appropriate temperature.
2. They Require a Unique Ventilation System
Conventional ventilation systems in a SIPs house would allow more airflow into the interior of the home than an alternative system. To further increase the energy efficiency of a SIPs home, some builders opt to use mechanical ventilation with heat recovery instead of the conventional type of system.
These heat recovery systems recycle the warmth from the air that’s already inside the building. The already-heated air is mixed with the incoming fresh air, helping warm that fresh air for use throughout the building. The system recovers up to 90 percent of recycled heat, which conserves energy. It also cuts energy costs throughout the entire year.
In addition to circulating fresh air throughout the building, this system gets rid of allergens, humidity and pollutants. Who wouldn’t want to decrease their energy bills, help the environment and have cleaner air in their homes?
3. They Have a Low Impact on Global Warming
The foam core of this insulation has a low global warming potential. In addition, it has zero ozone depletion potential, which means there is zero corresponding amount of degradation to the ozone layer it can cause. It feels good to choose materials that have a lessened impact on global warming.
4. They Use Oriented Strand Board
Oriented strand board is a type of engineered wood similar to particle board. It’s formed by compressing layers of wood from fast-growing trees. The strands of wood are mixed with adhesives and placed in particular orientations to form the board. The board is used as the exterior portion of SIPs.
It’s an economically friendly perk to use these boards because they use fast-growing trees instead of trees from deforestation. These fast-growing trees are better for the environment because they are easier to regenerate than trees in forests.
5. They Require Less Timber
Conventional framing techniques use way more timber compared to SIPs. In fact, to construct a SIPs home, builders can use about 30 percent less timber. This means SIPs help deforestation efforts by requiring less wood from forests.
6. They Cut Down on Construction Labor Hours
SIPs are prefabricated offsite to match exact building specifications. This helps you because it eliminates the extra labor hours required for cutting construction materials on the jobsite. That means there’s no additional need for framing, insulating and sheathing.
It also reduces the amount of time that is usually spent waiting for these materials to dry. The panels arrive all ready to use, even as large wall segments. A study conducted by Reed Construction Data shows that SIPs homes reduce framing labor needs by as much as 55 percent compared to conventionally framed buildings.
Another perk to reducing framing labor needs translates to less time spent on crafting your home, which means you’ll be getting closer to your move-in date.
Contact Ray Arnold Masonry today for all your masonry needs.