SIPs & Passive House

SIPs have a good track record with the Passive House community and the reason is obvious. A structural insulated panel envelope (if installed properly) is very tight, and it is this inherent tightness that allows builders to meet the airtightness requirements of Passive House. I often hear about builders’ and designers’ concerns over meeting this strict requirement. A blower door test must show the envelope will leak no more that .6 air changes per hour under a differential pressure of 50 pascals (<.6ach @ 50). I’ve personally secured contracts for SIP Passive House builds by guaranteeing to meet this metric. While many builders wonder how they will ever meet a standard that requires them to build 5X tighter than the 2012 Energy Code requirements, I welcome the opportunity to show how SIPs can easily meet that goal. 

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