Structural insulated panels (SIP's) are gaining market share in the building industry and have the potential to improve the performance of opaque parts of the buildings. SIP's are typically a sandwich of oriented strand board skins and an expanded polystyrene core. By using advanced skin materials and a system of metal splines performance of these panels can be improved and installation costs reduced. Daylighting reduces the need for electricity for lights and also has the potential to reduce the cooling requirement. However, the panels have not been well integrated with openings, especially in roofs. The challenge of this project is to develop an integrated structural insulated panel roof daylighting system that does not leak. Baseline reference building designs will be developed based on current practice. In Phase I several alternative skylight/SIP combinations will be developed and analyzed and ranked in terms of performance. Computer simulations will be used to compare baseline and proposed designs to identify energy savings and payback periods. The project will include design innovations in panels, connections and roof openings. In Phase II we will develop and build the most promising designs and evaluate their constructability, cost, energy use and amenity.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:In addition to energy savings from daylighting, the SIP/skylight combination will yield a better R value for the roof than conventional construction of the same thickness and a tighter construction reducing infiltration. Utilizing SIPs will also reduce construction time reducing project cost. The SIP/skylight combination will also reduce framing lumber and total wood used to build the roof and reduce waste at the construction site.
