Healthy interior environments are important no matter what the building’s purpose. SIP building envelopes create healthier buildings from the inside out. NW Building Systems SIP-built buildings result in airtight building envelopes, minimizing or eliminating incoming unfiltered air. This means homeowners and commercial building occupants enjoy improved indoor air quality. Just how healthy are SIPs?

The expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation and oriented strand board (OSB) used in the manufacture of NW Building Systems SIPs meet some of the most stringent standards for indoor air quality in Canada and the United States. Our SIPs do not off-gas and do not contain any volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chemicals that can adversely affect the health of an occupant. In fact, the EPS insulation used in our SIPs actually eliminates HCFCs and HFCs, which are ozone-depleting VOCs that are released into the air by some other types of insulation.

Additionally, SIPs can reduce mold growth that often results from damp conditions inside a stick-framed wall. In a stick-frame wall, there is a cavity in which the warm, moist air inside the home meets with a cold exterior wall; this creates condensation. The condensation can lead to mold growth if it does not dry out quickly enough. SIPs, however, laminate the EPS insulation and OSB together during manufacture. This same lamination eliminates the cavity in which moisture could condense. And, because EPS insulation is a rigid, closed-cell plastic foam, it doesn’t promote the growth of bacteria.

Finally, many contaminants, toxins, and other allergens are filtered out of the home. This is because the combination of the air-tightness of NW Building Systems SIPs and a properly-sized HVAC system creates a healthier building from the inside out.