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Air Tightness of SIPs

National Tests Verify R-Control SIPs Outperform Conventional Framing

An R-Control SIP test room significantly outperformed a 2x6 stick-framed and fiberglass-insulated room in testing under identical laboratory conditions at Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL). Results from a carefully monitored and instrumented study in ORNL’s climate simulation laboratory showed that R-Control SIP construction is more energy efficient and far more airtight than stick-frame construction.

Testing Method

The ORNL test setup created identical climate conditions and measured the airtightness and the heating energy requirement of the two rooms. ORNL testing demonstrated that R-Control SIP connections created a structure which was virtually air tight. This contrasted to stick built walls which had considerable air leakage. Dramatically reducing air infiltration provides a more comfortable interior environment, an advantage in building with R-Control SIPs.

Blower Door Testing

The room with 4 1/2-inch SIP walls, a SIP ceiling, a window, a door, pre-routed wiring chases, and electrical outlets showed 90% less air leakage than an otherwise identical room built with 2x6 studs, OSB sheathing, fiberglass insulation, and drywall. At 50 pascals of negative pressure, the stick-built room leaked 126 cubic feet of air per minute (CFM), while the R-Control SIP room loss was a mere 9 CFM.