If you have made it to this page then you are certainly on the right track.  Insulated structural panels of most types are superior in many ways to traditional stick-built methods.  Here we’ll try to tell you why we believe Eco-Panels produces a superior product to traditional SIPs.

It appears that well over 90% of the United States SIP market uses EPS (expanded polystyrene) as an insulating foam core – and while some people simply refer to this product as Styrofoam® (it certainly looks like what we call a “styrofoam cup”) it is usually not the same material.  EPS as building insulation evolved over the years from the construction industry and its stated R value appears to range from 3.5 to 4.0/inch based on density and manufacturer’s claims – not too different from fiberglass or cellulose insulation.  This product is inexpensive and in thick layers does a fine job of insulating a structure.  SIPs made with EPS material, because the sidings have to stand far apart to achieve high R values, are quite strong and do a great job of providing structural strength to a building.  The additional wall thicknesses, however, will reduce interior square footage (for a given size envelope) and may cause problems when ordering window and door casings.

Assembly on the job site with EPS panels will include some type of spline material – most often a wooden member that joins the panels together.  Most often the builder has to supply this material and finding straight 2’x4’ lumber these days (that most often you have to supply) and inserting into the edge voids to tie panels together can be challenging.  Once installed this additional lumber will provide a thermal wick to allow for the transfer of either cold or hot energy through the building envelope.  Even some of the most advanced and small zero-energy homes (ZEH) can have over 30 square feet of thermal bridging of R3.5 (the R value of the stud in the wall) material from these spline materials.  The pre-framing of windows and doors is a cost-plus option and I would advise that you choose it – the cutting of panels on-site, if not done properly, can sometimes lead to voids or other quality related issues that can cause problems for the entire life of the structure.

Perhaps the biggest concern with EPS or polystyrene panels is safety.  Polystyrene foam typically starts to deform or melt at around 180°-200° deg F.  Just about everyone can relate to tossing a foam coffee cup into the fire – it simply disappears.  Many manufacturers claim that their EPS foam does not burn and they have flame retardants in it and that’s great, but I’ve never seen them claim that their foam does not melt or vaporize.  If you consider the panel as an I-beam, when you remove the center web of foam (or it simply disappears due to the heat of a fire), you lose structure – the entire structure collapses.  Remember these panels are holding up your roof and everything else over your head.  EPIC, or  Engineered Panels in Construction, a UK trade organization, notes that over 95% of the structural insulated building panels used in the UK have a polyurethane – and not EPS - foam core, and for good reason.  Their 10 year study of fires in buildings notes:

“…it is particularly significant that polyurethane panels were involved in 3.4% of the total fires and these fires accounted for 3.1% of the financial loss to insurers.  In stark contrast polystyrene panels were present in 12.8% of the total number of fires but these fires represented 26.8% of the total insurance loss.  This data confirms that insurer losses in fires involving polystyrene are higher than with other types of insulated panel systems – confirming the link between polystyrene panels and higher insurance losses.” 

See the link: http://www.epic.uk.com/fire_research.jsp

Because we are passionate about offering the best thermal envelope Eco-Panels uses only a polyurethane, or PUR, foam core.  Whether defending against hot weather or cold our foam offers one of the best insulation “R” value per inch available.  Initial R values are approximately 7 per inch and our 4.5” panels have an R value of 26 – EPS panels need about an 8 inch panel to reach the same value.  Our 6.5” thick panel reaches R40.  The Eco-Panels system actually evolved from the walk-in cooler/refrigeration industry – the folks who have been the best at controlling the thermal envelope for over 50 years.  The polyurethane foam we use in our panels is the same foam mix used in many of the most advanced and efficient home refrigerators on the market today.  To use an analogy of the soft-drink cooler you might purchase at the beach or for a picnic, ours is not the cheap white crumbly styrofoam-like cooler (the EPS panel), rather it is the nice strong Igloo®-like cooler – with a molded shape and lasting, dependable quality.  Our foam does not off-gas (see FAQs for more information on this) and it does not contain CFC’s, HCFC’s or formaldehydes that can be harmful to people and the environment.  With respect to safety polyurethane foam is a thermoset material – it does not melt and under most conditions does not promote flame.  Please see the “SIP Burn Test” linked from the homepage for a demonstration of how our foam (and our competitors’) reacts to a blow torch.  The strength of our foam, when coupled with even basic siding materials like OSB, has exceeded vertical compressive strength tests of over 50,000 lbs for a single 4’x8’, 4.5” wide panel!

To avoid the costly and often defect inducing practice of altering panels on site, windows, doors and electrical boxes/conduit are pre-framed or molded inside of our panels under factory conditions.  To date we are using over 15 different siding materials on our panels ranging from simple OSB to various curtain-wall materials and even pre-finished siding materials such as LP Smartside® for the panelized or board & batten look.  After windows and doors the corner of an exterior wall offers the greatest opportunity for thermal energy loss - our patented corners are molded at 90° or 135° in our factory and delivered to your site plumb and square – no more trying to make sides come together correctly with additional framing materials to wick thermal energy.  To start erecting the walls simply start at the corner and start working around the perimeter using our cam-latch system and supplied sealant to quickly lock the panels together.

In summary we believe the Eco-Panels system is the most advanced panelized framing solution on the market today and far superior to traditional SIPs.  Please take a few moments to review this website and please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.