SIPS – well positioned for the low carbon future

As the construction industry witnesses a significant rise in the use of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), the newly-formed UK SIP Association has brought together key names in the market to help develop the wide range of opportunities available across the residential and commercial sectors.

THE construction industry is constantly under pressure to develop and deliver more efficient building methods. And in recent years, the pressure has centred on the ability of the industry to provide greener and more sustainable building solutions as part of national targets for more energy efficient buildings and global commitments to reduce climate change.

SIPs construction provides very thermally efficient buildings with high levels of airtightness, contributing significantly to energy conservation, carbon reduction and providing excellent performance when assessed against the Code for Sustainable Homes. In addition to these features, when SIP panels are used in conjunction with timber, concrete of steel framed building for infill or cladding solutions the improvements in the speed of construction is significant.

Typically, a SIP consists of two layers of Oriented Strand Board (OSB) sandwiching an insulation core made up of either expanded polystyrene (EPS) or polyurethane (PU). The composite structure is much stronger than the sum of its parts with the insulation core stabilising the OSB and preventing deflection under loading. The composite panel technology provides load-bearing construction elements that combine structural and thermal properties into one holistic solution.

It is against backdrop of increased use of SIP technology in the UK, that the leading manufacturers and supply chain process partners formed the SIP industry’s trade association just over a year ago. The UK SIP Association was incorporated in April 2009 and formally launched in September 2009.

UKSIPS was formed to represent the industry, responding to technical issues that may occur with modern building techniques, provide information required by the market on SIPs construction in a broader context and to communicate to members the influences and issues that may impact the SIPs industry.

“The formation of the Association was a watershed moment for our industry and recognition of how rapidly our technology has matured to become a mainstream building technique,” says UKSIPS Chairman, Andrew Orriss. “The spirit with which founding members have embraced the formation of the Association is a demonstration of our collective commitment to make SIP technology a sustainable and truly viable alternative to traditional methods of construction.”

SIPs as a Solution
SIP systems provide a balanced approach to the hygrothermal performance that maximises
gains in all areas without compromising others.

The flexibility of the system permits a wide and varied building type and style to be built with very little restriction on size, shape and form. With the Government’s commitment to the lowering of C0² emissions in construction, together with numerous Government announcements that all new homes will be zero carbon by 2016, thermal insulation and lower air leakage requirements within dwellings in particular will increase dramatically.

By adopting the use of SIPs, these new requirements can easily be achieved, especially when the SIP provider is integrated early enough in the design process to allow efficient and effective design. The recent Low Carbon Homes Conference hosted by the UKSIPS attracted 150 delegates from a broad range of disciplines including: RSLs, architects, developers, contractors and policy advisors and with presentations from Homes & Communities Agency, Zero Carbon Hub and leading users and suppliers of SIPS technology, it is clear that SIPS technology is well set to capitalise on the zero carbon future.

The early adopters of SIPS have recognised for some time the merits of embracing a ‘fabric first’ principle in design and it now seems that the wider industry is catching on to the fact that SIPS technology, with excellent airtightness, reduced thermal bridging and superb insulation performance, can provide Code Level 4 homes without the need for ‘ecobling’.

Even some of the leading exponents of timber frame construction recognise that having a SIP solution in their product range allows them to offer either solutions and in some cases optimum solutions by adopting a ‘hybrid’ construction principle.

“We are definitely seeing a migration of timber frame companies towards offering SIP technology in parallel,” adds Andrew Orriss. “In fact, we now have five mainstream timber frame manufacturers in the Association, and a number of others are set to follow suit, whilst maintaining their focus on their core timber frame offering too. We welcome this, as we have collaborated with the UKTFA on a number of ‘lightweight structures’ working groups and research projects.”

Membership of the UKSIPS has grown to over 50 companies in less than one year of operation and new members are joining at a rate of two per week as the benefits begin to be realised. Andrew Orriss has been encouraged by the reception of the association and its aims. “We feel that UKSIPS offers something different from other trade bodies in terms of the openness, culture and spirit of collaboration’, he says. “We have worked hard at engendering trust and developing a level of camaraderie that ensures we can move our industry forward at a faster pace together – particularly in the areas of collaborative product testing and standardisation of design detailing.”

For more information on UKSIPS visit: www.uksips.org