Nov 14 2012
When Terry Schroth decided to have his new HVAC, plumbing maintenance and repair building constructed with SIPs, he had no idea what would happen on the night of Thursday, January 13th, 2011. Schroth had been interested in the long-term benefits of ACH Foam Technologies' R-Control Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), but as fate would have it, he reaped substantial rewards on a very cold night in January before the building was finished.
That particular night the temperature dropped to 0º Fahrenheit. The hydronic heating system had not yet been installed. Schroth was understandably worried that his paint and drywall interior finish work would be damaged by the extreme cold. All he could do was plug in two small 1500w space heaters -- one in the 50x40 shop with 12 ft ceilings and the other in a smaller office -- and hope for the best.
On Monday morning Schroth visited the structure to assess the damage. To his surprise, the thermometer inside the 2000 sq ft shop area read 60º. No damage had been done to any of the finish work or equipment. "This is amazing -- if you can understand the size of this space and these were 'milk house' heaters -- just little things. Such a small amount of heat was needed to keep this space at 60º through the winter," said Schroth. "The SIPs walls are phenomenal!"
According to Gary Sutton of Sutton Construction, "This was our first R-Control Structural Insulated Panel project yet we were able to erect all of the panels in 36 man-hours. I can't wait until my next R-Control Structural Insulated Panel project so I can apply the time saving methods I learned on this one! My electrician was amazed at how easy it was to snake the flexible conduit through the precut electrical chases in the SIPs," said Sutton.
Schroth added that Gary Sutton did a lot of research on green building materials at the outset. Sutton suggested they use R-Control Structural Insulated Panels because of SIP's superior insulative qualities, as well as savings in material waste and labor costs. "I agreed with him. Nothing like a cold night in January to show me I had made a good decision," remarked Schroth. "When we get the solar installed and hydronic heating system operating, this will be a truly green building. That makes me feel good -- and it will cut down my energy costs over the long-run. I can also let people know that TJ's Maintenance and Repair, Inc. of Morrison, Illinois is a green business."
Source: http://www.achfoam.com