Award-Winning SIP Project

The Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) recently announced the winners of the sixth annual Building Excellence Awards. The awards competition recognizes green homes and commercial buildings constructed with structural insulated panels (SIPs).

To be eligible, all entries used energy-efficient SIPs for a minimum of 50% of the building envelope. SIPs are used to provide a well-insulated building envelope for a variety of different applications in the competition’s entry categories: single-family homes over 3,000 sq.ft.; single-family homes under 3,000 sq.ft.; multifamily; agricultural; and institutional, industrial and commercial buildings.

Judges evaluated the entries based on demonstrated energy efficiency, design innovation and other SIP-related factors that contributed to the success of the project. From the entries, the judges selected a winner in each category along with an overall competition winner and runner up.

Burnside’s Inn
Fireside Home Construction
Overall Competition Winner
Winner: Single-Family Home Over 3,000 sq.ft.

Fireside Home Construction was selected as the Overall Competition Winner for the elegant 4,010-sq.ft. Burnside’s Inn, located in Dexter, MI. Energy-efficient 6" thick SIP (R-27) walls and 10" thick SIP (R-45) roof panels sit on top of a timber frame structure. Fireside Home Construction also used energy-efficient insulating concrete forms (ICFs) for the home’s basement. The resulting well-insulated and airtight building envelope had a stunningly low blower door test result of 0.86 air changes per hour at 50 Pascals (ACH50).

SIPs are only one of the many energy-efficient features included in the home. Heating is provided by a geothermal heat pump that uses the temperature of the surrounding soil to heat the home and provides the majority of water heating. Ventilation for the airtight home is accomplished with a heat recovery ventilator. The home also uses a 2 kW photovoltaic array, fluorescent lighting and Energy Star appliances.

In addition to claiming the SIPA Building Excellence Awards competition, the home also earned a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and an Energy Value Housing Award from the National Association of Home Builders.

Panelworks Plus
Competition Runner Up
Winner: Single-Family Home Under 3,000 sq.ft.

When Panelworks Plus owner Curt Stendel read a blog about building a green home hosted by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, he contacted the author and homeowner Jason Hammond to explain the green benefits of building with SIPs. Hammond was impressed with the amount of energy he could save using SIPs and he documented the construction of his SIP home on his blog and in weekly articles in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

The home boasts a unique architectural design with a flat roof, repetitious windows and other complex design features. The home features Thermomass foundations, radiant floor heat and reflective metal roofing.

Energy Panel Structures
Winner: Multifamily

SIPs manufactured by Energy Panel Structures (Graettinger, IA) were able to solve design and installation issues on this four-story, 24-unit condominium complex in Spirit Lake, IA. Energy Panel Structures’ engineering team responded to increased design loads by specifying panels using ¾" thick OSB skins in place of standard 7⁄16" skins for the bottom story of the building.

On-site construction time was dramatically reduced by building with SIPs. The prefabricated panels were installed directly off flatbed trucks due to the job site’s lack of an adequate staging area.

Panel Pros
Winner: Institutional, Industrial and Commercial

It is no surprise that SIP distributor Panel Pros (Keene, NH) picked SIPs as their building product of choice when it came time for a new facility. However, the unique design and other environmentally sustainable materials used in the building earned the facility the award in the Institutional, Industrial and Commercial category.

Roof trusses were used to support the SIP roof panels over the 4,000-sq.ft. workshop, allowing for an open workspace without support posts. The roofing and siding were made from recycled steel. The entire facility uses radiant heat provided by tankless water heaters and paint with zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

In the attached three-story office building, the first floor uses etched concrete with a soy-based stain while the upper levels use cork and bamboo floors or recycled carpet.

Energy Panel Structures
Winner: Agricultural

Energy Panel Structures supplied specialty 6" thick SIPs for five 40'x168' poultry research buildings for the University of Illinois facility in Urbana, IL. The SIPs used on the project feature plywood skins with fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) laminated on the interior side for easy cleanup. The controlled environment created by the airtight SIP building envelope makes it easier to keep a consistent temperature for the poultry.