Auburn, WA (PRWEB) February 27, 2010 — Three of the winning homes in the NAHB Research Center and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nationwide “2010 EnergyValue Housing Awards” (EVHA) rely on Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) manufactured by one company – Premier Building Systems. “Silver” award homes built by Clifton View Homes, Gold Medallion Homes, and Bridgewater Innovative Builders incorporate Premier SIPs in their walls and/or roofs. Premier SIPs help create a tight building envelope to reduce home heating and cooling costs by up to 60 percent. The EVHA are the nation’s preeminent energy efficiency awards, honoring the top 20 builders each year who voluntarily incorporate energy efficiency into all aspects of new home construction. www.pbssips.com

Studies conducted by the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that rooms built with SIPs have 90 percent less air leakage than stick-framed spaces. According to Sam Rashkin, National Director of ENERGY STAR for Homes, “A SIP house has fewer joints, less complicated interfaces between conditioned and unconditioned spaces, and it is dramatically easier to make it tight.’”

A SIP house has fewer joints, less complicated interfaces between conditioned and unconditioned spaces, and it is dramatically easier to make it tight
Premier SIPs offer large energy savings in both hot and cold climates. The company’s panels have been used in homes and commercial and institutional buildings from Alaska to Florida.

“As the U.S. pushes toward energy independence, we anticipate that SIPs will be used more frequently in projects across the country,” says James Hodgson, general manager of Premier Building Systems. “They’re a big part of zero-energy homes, which more cities and states are requiring – notably California. And, SIPs today can help meet the American Institute of Architects’ ‘2030 Challenge’ that calls for carbon neutral buildings within 20 years.”

Premier SIPs are an advanced building technique using prefabricated insulated components for walls, roofs and floors. They consist of two outer skins of oriented strand board (OSB) and an inner core of insulating expanded polystyrene laminated together to form a monolithic building panel with high-energy efficiency. They replace conventional stud or “stick frame” construction and need no additional insulation or skeleton for support. In addition to high energy savings, Premier SIPs help meet other green building goals such as improving indoor air quality and reducing jobsite construction waste by up to two thirds.

About Premier Building Systems
Premier Building Systems, a division of Carlisle Construction Materials, leads the construction industry in the research, development and manufacturing of high-performance, energy-efficient structural insulated panels and innovative construction framing materials. Headquartered in Fife, Washington, Premier operates manufacturing facilities in Fife and Phoenix, Arizona. For more information about Premier’s products and services, call (800) 275-7086 or visit www.pbssips.com

SIPA is proud to be a member of a team that is helping builders like Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS) build energy-efficient homes through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) High Performance Residential Challenge. INHS is the second builder to start construction on an energy-efficient SIP home in New York State, following Kraft Construction, who is expected to complete their project in March.

The good folks over at INHS have been documenting the construction of the 1,800 sq. ft. home on their blog. Working with crews from SIPA Dealer/Distributor member Panel Pros, they were able to install most of the first floor walls in a single day.

Dexter, Michagan home from EVHA winner Fireside Home Construction

January 18, 2010 – Twenty of the nation’s top energy-efficient builders were recognized at the 2010 Energy Value Housing Awards (EVHA) presentation in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Now in its 15th year, the program recognizes elite builders who are constructing and marketing cutting edge energy-efficient homes.  It is managed by the NAHB Research Center, and operated in partnership with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the U.S. Department of Energy through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Although the winning entries varied across the competition’s categories from affordable homes to high end custom homes, seven of the winners had one thing in common: structural insulated panel (SIP) construction.

A panel of industry experts selected the winning homes based on energy value, design, construction, marketing and customer relations efforts.  Energy efficiency is measured using the industry-standard HERS Index, a third-party test that measures home energy use based on the home’s air infiltration, insulation, appliances, and other technologies used in the home.

The winning entries averaged a HERS Index of 41, 59 percent more efficient than a home built to today’s building code.  Cresswell & Company’s 4,142 sq. ft. awarding-winning custom home in Limerick, Pennsylvania used SIP construction and solar generation to reach a HERS Index of 25, moving closer to the Department of Energy’s goal of net zero energy homes (HERS 0).

Longtime SIP builder Don Ferrier of Ferrier Custom Homes grabbed his sixth consecutive EVHA with a 2,438 sq. ft. custom home in Cleburne, Texas that was certified under LEED for Homes and the National Green Building Standard.  Judges commented that Ferrier’s repeated performance “demonstrates a good understanding of what it takes to build appropriately in a hot climate” and that the builder “has truly systematized the whole idea of green building.”

“We have really learned a system of how to replicate energy performance in all the homes we build,” said Ferrier.  “I think SIPs give me the biggest bang for the buck in terms of energy efficiency.  When you’re looking for great air tightness and insulation, nothing gives you that like SIPs.”

Six other builders using SIPs were awarded the EVHA, including Fireside Homes, Cresswell & Company, Habitat for Humanity Portland MetroEast, Bridgewater Innovative Builders, CVH/Clifton View Homes, and Gold Medallion Homes.

“The EVHA recognizes the nation’s elite energy-efficient homebuilders, and this shows that elite energy-efficient builders are saying that SIPs are the product to use to build an extremely energy-efficient home,” said Ferrier.

With Congress contemplating stricter building energy requirements and many organizations supporting progressive energy codes, SIPA Executive Director Bill Wachtler sees the technologies employed by EVHA winners growing more commonplace in the near future.

“As states, municipalities and the federal government move to make homes more green and energy efficient, SIPs and other high performance building envelope systems will be essential to reach the new performance levels,” said Wachtler.

In June of 2009, the House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act that mandates a 30 percent increase in building energy codes one year after enactment, with scheduled increases leading up to 70 percent by 2030.  An independent assessment by the Alliance to Save Energy estimates that this provision alone would create national energy savings of four quadrillion Btus and prevent 60 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide emissions.  This is the equivalent of taking nearly 13 million cars off of the road for a year or eliminating 90 coal power plants.

More information on the 2010 EVHA winners can be found at http://www.nahbrc.com/evha/winners.aspx.

Born January 15, 1927, in Richmond, Ohio, to William L. Porter and Marjorie Hanauer Porter, Bill was raised in Ohio and Florida. He served with the Army Air Corp in Germany after World War II, then graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering.  After working in Research and Development for the Chris Craft boat company, Bill founded W.H. Porter in 1964 in the old Heinz building on the north shore of Michigan’s Lake Macatawa to build balsa-wood cores for boats.

That business evolved into PorterCorp and the manufacturing of structural insulated panel systems (SIPS), hog confinement buildings, and park shelters and gazebos. In the late 1960s, he moved his company to its current location in Holland, Michigan so he could continue to expand and explore new ideas and processes. His company now employs about 100 people. He holds dozens of patents on products and product components and his Poligon structures are installed in parks and public spaces across the country. He continued designing until the day before he died.

Bill was involved in SIPA during its formative years and continued to be an influential figure in the association.  He held the position of Secretary/Treasurer on the SIPA Board of Directors in 1993, shortly after the association was formed in 1990.  In 2007, Bill graciously donated materials and engineering for the 3,000 sq. ft. SIPA Village exhibit at the International Builders’ Show.  Bill was also instrumental in establishing the SIPA code report – an accredited evaluation report shared by many SIPA manufacturing members.

Bill served on the Saugatuck Zoning Board of Appeals and was an active cyclist with Saugatuck Spokes. He participated in many Holland 100 rides and other endurance events over the years. He was also an avid skier, enthusiastic traveler, and sailor. Bill was survived by his wife, Cynthia McKean of Saugatuck, children Emily, Gay, Fran, Andy, Jeff and Leslie McKean, and seven grandchildren.

On a national level, the House passed the American Clean Energy and Security act (ACES) in June of 2009 that requires a 30 percent increase in residential energy efficiency just one year after enactment, with scheduled increases leading up to 75 percent more efficiency than the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code by 2030.  Commercial buildings would follow a similar progressive tightening of energy codes under the pending bill.

State and local jurisdictions would be allowed to adopt their own energy codes, providing they meet or exceed the level of efficiency dictated in the ACES schedule—and some already have.  In Washington State, the state senate passed the Energy First bill in May, requiring a 70 percent reduction in energy use for new buildings by 2030.  Oregon passed similar legislation to increase nonresidential building efficiency by 30 percent and residential building efficiency by 15 percent by 2012.  These changes are hopefully just the tip of the iceberg.  It is clear that America is moving towards an energy-efficient future.

SIPA is poised to capitalize on this trend with our “2030 Now” campaign.  Through a comprehensive marketing plan, SIPA hopes to brand SIPs as the only building technology that can meet these aggressive energy efficiency goals today.  Conventional cavity wall insulation will not suffice when builders need to cut energy use by 70 percent.  What architects, builders, and homeowners need to know is that SIPs are the building material of the future.

SIPs are being recognized for their energy efficiency and ease of construction benefits well beyond the United States and Canada.  SIPA has seen an unprecedented interest from startup manufacturers all over the world looking for information on how to build safe, cost effective and energy-efficient housing with SIPs.  In September, SIPA’s Executive Director Bill Wachtler, Board member Al Cobb, and I traveled to Birmingham, England to meet with the United Kingdom SIPs Association, a new organization that is working to expand the presence of SIPs in the UK.  Members of the UK SIPs Association will be attending the upcoming SIPA Annual Meeting & Conference, which will be an international event.  Interested companies from Mexico, Russia, China, Australia and beyond will be attending the conference in April.

It’s exciting to see that these companies and associations are looking to SIPA as a source of information.  Our association is standing out as the primary resource for SIP knowledge and the center of the SIP movement.  We owe this success to our members, many of whom have volunteered countless hours working in SIPA’s committees.  This work benefits all members of the SIP industry.  I would like to extend a personal thank you to all SIPA members and staff who are putting in time and effort to grow this industry.
Terry Dieken
Extreme Panel Technologies, Inc.
SIPA President

Published January 31, 2010

A family of 15 people near Houston can sleep easier after workers from a New Braunfels company helped build a home for them after Hurricane Ike took theirs away.

Workers from EH Systems, which builds structural insulated panels, or SIPs, were contracted through television giant ABC earlier this month for an episode of its show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

The episode, a two-hour long special, showcases the largest house it has built since the show started. The 5,700 square foot home was built for Larry and Melissa Beach and their 13 children, left homeless after Hurricane Ike made landfall in September 2008, said Bill Stipanovich, chief operating officer of EH Systems. The family has four children of its own and nine adopted children, who are disabled.

Workers, many of them volunteers driving on their own time from around the state, spent about three days building the two-story house in Kemah from the ground up. The panels, made in New Braunfels, were used for the walls and roof. They consist of composite wood panels glued to huge Styrofoam boards and are considered greener than traditional building materials, Stipanovich said.

The company was recently contracted to provide its building materials for reconstruction in Haiti relief efforts. A number of small, simple homes being built there will use the insulated paneling in their construction in hopes that residents’ homes will be stronger.

The company, founded in New Braunfels five years ago, operates out of a 103,000 square foot factory and employs about 25 workers.

The family helped by EH Systems and the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” show moved into their new home in January.

According to a story in the Galveston County Daily News, the family lived for months in two Federal Emergency Management Agency mobile homes.

The couple have fostered 85 children, many of them with special needs.

The episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is scheduled to air on ABC in March.

http://www.diynetwork.com/videos/framing/47476.html

SIPA: C4482

Premier Building Systems: C4377

Metal Roofing Alliance: C4379

FischerSIPS: C4381

PorterSIPs: C4480

Please stop by our exhibits and learn about Structural Insulated Panels and the future of the green building industry. See you there!