A structural insulated panel combines a rigid foam insulated core, bonded to an outer sheathing, forming a monolithic structural I-beam. The strength of the panel comes from displacing the load across the structure.
Panel construction meets all applicable fire and building codes. HP Building Solutions can provide Engineering Certification for all projects. This includes load tests, to include transverse, vertical compression, and racking sheer load. Fire tests include a corner room burn and fire exposure under load. Specifications for roof load tests, racking load tests, and axial load tests can be provided.
Whole wall R-values for SIP wall system with 3.5" EPS core have a value of of 13.9 compared to a 2 x 4 wall with batt insulation at 9.6. Structural insulated panels have been approved and supported by the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program and the U.S. Department of Energy's PATH program.
SIPs and the weather
Structural insulated panels have exceptional strength to resist typical loads caused by seismic activity and high winds. SIPs structures have also withstood tornados in Georgia and straight-line winds and tree trunks crashing into them in Michigan.
After Hurricane Andrew hit Florida, thousands of trees, buildings and homes were destroyed; SIP owners credit the survival of their homes to structural insulated panels. The storm brought winds ranging from 145 to 175 miles per hour, caused widespread wreckage and left more than 4,000,000 people without power. In one example, a SIP home had five trees, all in excess of 80 feet tall with trunk diameters from 12"-16", fall directly on their house. At two and a half tons per trunk, it's amazing that the structure of the house remained unscathed.
Structural insulated panels have exceptional strength to resist typical loads caused by seismic activity and high winds. Six homes that used SIP components withstood the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Kobe, Japan in January 1995. These homes were located just miles from the quake's epicenter and stood solidly against the tremendous force of the earthquake.
Since SIPs developed a reputation as an unusually strong building system, during the 1990s a growing number of Japanese purchased homes with SIPs built by US manufacturers.
