I am enthused by the recent article in Eco Home on Structurally Insulated Panels. I have become increasingly convinced that SIPS may be one of the best solutions for framing green homes, especially in New England. Many companies produce them right in the New England, making them a local if not regionally sensible choice. Often local lumber yards will manufacture SIPS on site, as was the case at La Valley Building Supply when we were building a home for a client in Killington, Vermont. While the engineering of this product was conservative and the creative options limited, this proved a great local solution for this small home. While the Eco Home article goes in to more detail, we were attracted to the controlled manufacturing environment, speed of manufacturing and delivery, fast and easy installation, R-value, and tight seal.
The shortcoming of most of the walls panels on the market continue to be in the ingredients. Petroleum products and chemicals in the foam insulation and binders in the skin plague the manufactured assembly as they do the pre-assembled materials. While they may still be a better alternative to many construction standards, a greener option seems possible.
Drawing from my experience, I have a potential solution to propose. Significant research and development has occurred in agricultural boards. In some of my previous work we collaborated with a company developing Oriented Structural Straw Boards. These composite panels were matching the structural characteristics of plywood for decking and sheathing applications. Hopefully this product will appear more readily on the market in the near future. This material could be combined with a greener foam insulation like the product offered by Green Cocoon. Their soy bean based spray foam insulation is a great green product, produced by a company based in Salisbury, Massachusetts. They offer a number of insulating solutions described on their website.
The collaboration of a couple of companies like these could result in symbiotic relationship that could help both companies expand their presence and strength in the construction market. The potential performance of the final SIPS product would make it a great green building solution.
