Cardinal Buildings's blog

Cardinal Building Systems, Inc. will be hosting a builders class on Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)

The class will be Rescheduled due to Inclement Weather

There is no fee for the class and is open to anyone interested in learning about SIPs. The class will be held at the R-Control Plant in Winchester, VA

This class covers: The definition of SIPS, Building with SIPs, SIPs vs. Stick building, R-Control: Control not Compromise, SIP's role in the Emerging Green Market, a Question and Answer Session and will be finished up with a plant tour.

Please RSVP by Wednesday the 21st as seating is limited. If you are unable to attend this class we will be having another in March. We can also schedule individual meetings with anyone interested who is unable to make it to the classes.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Contact: Summer Berry

Phone: 540-535-7282

Fax: 540-535-0992

e-mail: summer@cardinalbuildings.com

Cardinal Building Systems, Inc. will be hosting a builders class on Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)

The class will be held on January 19th from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. There is no fee for the class and is open to anyone interested in learning about SIPs. The class will be held at the Hampton Inn in Winchester, VA then we will go to the manufacturing plant to see how the panels are made.

This class covers:

The definition of SIPS, Building with SIPs, SIPs vs. Stick building, R-Control: Control not Comprimise, SIP's role in the Emerging Green Market, a Question and Answer Session and will be finished up with a plant tour.

Please RSVP by Friday the 11th as seating is limited. If you are unable to attend this class we will be having another in February and one in March. We can also schedule individual meetings with anyone interested who is unable to make it to the classes.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Contact: Summer Berry

Phone: 540-535-7282

Fax: 540-535-0992

e-mail: summer@cardinalbuildings.com

I am trying to do some research on Carbon Credits. Has anybody delt with a Carbon Broker or with these Carbon Credits before? I am a little lost since they seem to be incredibly popular overseas but not so much here in the US. Please help!!

Thanks!

Many people understand that their homes or commercial buildings will leak energy. They also understand that over time it will hurt the environment. The problem is that it isn't a big deal to them because they can't see it. It is like telling a 16 year old that the sun can damage their skin. They don't see it happening so they don't worry about it. The easiest way for me to let people know that stick building, even if it does have decent insulation, is not efficient is with a picture. Building with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) is the best way to reduce energy leaks.

SIPs are a strong structural system consisting of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) insulation which is laminated to oriented strand board (OSB) forming a structural panel.

Now let me show you why. These two buildings are almost identical, located in West Virginia each has about 6,000 sf of roof. The photo on the top will show the thermal imaging while the photo on the bottom will show you what we are looking at with the naked eye.

The building on the left was stick built while the building on the right had a roof constructed of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) You can see the roof has multiple large "hot spots". The building on the right is a nice consistent purple showing that there are little to no leaks. The parking lots and road retained heat so they show up as yellow and orange.

Below are the same picures from the other side.

Again the stick built building (now shown on the right) has obvious hot spots while the SIP roof (now shown on the left) has no heat loss.

The use of SIPS greatly reduces energy loss. The direct benefit of using SIPs is that there is less energy loss and in turn there are less greenhouse gases being let out into the atmosphere. So while you can't always see the effect our choices have there are consequences, short term and long term. People can help the environment and themselves if they choose green building materials.

The Corrigan Rug Cleaners of Winchester, VA had a building that was 1375 square feet and was a traditional stick built structure. The building did not have air conditioning and they use heat to dry the rugs. Now they have a Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) building that is 4800 square feet with a drying room that is 80 % larger than their previous one.

What are SIPs? SIPs are a strong structural system consisting of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) insulation which is laminated to oriented strand board (OSB) forming a structural panel. The panels resist warping and racking. They are especially cost effective when strength, comfort, performance, and energy efficiency are demanded by the building owner, designer, and builder. SIPs can be used for walls, roof, and floors. Here are the price differences of the two buildings. Keep in mind the new building is three times larger than the original building and has air conditioning which the previous building did not.

Month Electric Gas
2007 2006 2007 2006
January $109.81 $281.84 $202.40 $348.78
February $260.93 $207.14 $242.96 $370.48
March $231.73 $324.04 $151.69 $347.07
April $226.35 $202.34 $80.82 $235.34
May $205.41 $145.49 $23.47 $136.56
June $312.95 $148.26 $23.77 $69.76
July $223.38 $164.94 $17.66 $68.09
August $300.34 $177.06 $21.30 $34.76
September $281.50 $165.36 $19.14 $102.84

Total $2,152.40 $1,816.47 $783.21 $1,713.68

The new SIP building uses a two zone 3 ton and 5 ton radiant geothermal heating and cooling system and a radiant heated floor. For 2006 in a smaller building they spent $3,530.15 for gas and electricity. For 2007 in a building three times larger with air conditioning and a larger drying room they spent $2,935.61 for electric and gas. That is a savings of $594.54. The numbers were over the course of nine months for 2006 and 2007.

This is only one example of how SIPs can save on heating and cooling costs. Not to mention that the new building is amazing to look at. You walk into an open area with high ceilings. The Eagle Rigid Spans give the space an almost timber frame look. The SIPs had pure white paint applied directly to them. There are three garage doors that are only moderately insulated which open directly to the main area in the back of the building. Even after they have all been opened it takes only minutes to feel the temperature return to normal. There is a mezzanine overlooking the entrance which had decorative concrete imbedded with the company’s logo . This is a very impressive structure which has allowed them to grow their company without having to expand on their energy budget