Any of These Three Wall and Attic Insulation Systems Qualify for The EnergyWise Guarantee Program.
Spray Foam with Conventional Stick-Framing or Steel Frame Construction:
Using stick or steel framing with a spray foam insulation application, property owners will achieve very favorable results and it is a very attractive alternative. The spray foam insulation process can be applied using "open cell" (0.5 pound) or "closed cell" (2.0 pound) formulations. Both products use a two-part spray polyurethane system. These products are applied by spraying the backside of the exterior walls before the sheetrock goes up, but after all the plumbing, electrical wiring, etc. It goes on as a heated liquid and then quickly expands, completely filling every open space, around every pipe, electrical outlet or light switch, and windows. The spray foam cures within seconds providing temperature, sound and condensation control in one fast application. It simultaneously insulates and creates an air and sound barrier. When good caulking techniques are added, the result is a virtually air-tight structure and you can begin to realize the benefits of "Ultra Energy-Efficient" construction.
Structural Insulated Panels (SIP's):These panels are large, strong and highly insulated sandwich panels used to form the floors, walls and roofs of buildings. Available in sizes up to eight-foot by twenty-four-foot panels, SIPs can quickly be assembled into whole houses using common carpentry tools and basic construction skills. SIPs are made with structural skins of Oriented Strand Board (OSB), an engineered composite lumber product manufactured from small trees, and insulated cores made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) or polyurethane foam insulation.
Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF's):These are EPS foam blocks with rebar-reinforced cores that are filled with concrete. This wall system, when installed properly, is unquestionably the most energy efficient and most structurally strong wall system on the market. It provides the best performance relative to air infiltration, and it has excellent acoustic properties. Keep in mind that using ICFs as a wall insulation system will still require the use of a good quality spray foam insulation for the attic roof to complete the tight thermal envelope.
Extensive use of caulking is extremely important regardless of which wall system you decide to use.
