Hi All,
 I know many of you are working in the South parts of the US and was looking for information on the energy comparisons for Sips verses cast in place concrete and block buildings. Particularly the heating and cooling. I seem to have no problem finding data on this with Sips v wood frame but not concrete and block.
 Much appreciate any information on the subject.

Fergie

Fergie;

Block construction is horrible for insulation, I built many of them in the 80s', most block builders are also building with single glazed windows and the cheapest HVAC system.

Anyone building with a SIP system is most likely using, insulated windows and a high efficiency HVAC syatem, all of which help the overall energy efficency of the building.

Any printed comparisons are usually theoretical, The claims are anywhere from 30% to 80% , but coming from a block home myself to a SIPs home, my personal experience and comparative analysis showed 60% savings for the whole building system change

Hi Chris,
I agree it is a horrible system but I am over in the M.E and they are still using tradition builds here cast in place and CMU infill. I am looking at a CSIPs set-up and was trying to find some official comparison data but for whatever reason I just don't seem to be finding it.
I have actually used the approx. figures you noted in the past however it seems folk here like official types of numbers rather than what you or I might know.
If you do happen to find any would appreciate a note.

Thanks, Fergie

Fergie;

FSEC has tested and studied several of our homes they deal with many types of systems and have a number of case studies on their website ..

http://www.baihp.org/casestud/index.htm

Chris,

Thanks I'll have a look see if I find what I might be looking for.

Regards,

Fergie,

Take a look at http://www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/articles/WallRating.html for various wall R-value ratings and http://www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/whole_wall/ for a calculator. The Whole-Wall Thermal Performance Calculator provides an on-line, interactive method for determining the whole-wall R-value for a variety of wall systems and house plans.

Steve
GrandCountySIPs.com

Hi Steve
Thanks for the information I'll take a look, much appreciate your help.

Fergie