Eric Corey Freed is an architect, lecturer, and writer based in San Francisco, California, with 15 years of experience in green building. He is a practitioner in the tradition of organic architecture, first developed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Eric is founder and principal of organicARCHITECT, part architecture firm, part think tank. In addition to designing award-winning green buildings, the firm publishes its research and produces the annual organicAWARDS to recognize designs that are both innovative and environmentally responsible.
During Eric's early years working in his hometown of Philadelphia and in New York City, noted architect and critic Philip Johnson cited Eric as "one of the real brains of his generation." After several years in Santa Fe, New Mexico, working with natural building materials, he moved to San Francisco in 1997 to join the heart of the green building movement.
In 2002, he was Founding Chair of Architecture for the San Francisco Design Museum, the exhibits of which were featured in Metropolis, ARTNews, and Newsweek. In 2005, San Francisco magazine named Eric the city’s "Best Green Architect."
Eric teaches in the Sustainable Design program he co-developed at the Academy of Art University and the University of California, Berkeley. He is on the boards of Architects, Designers & Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR), Natural World Museum, Green Home Guide, and West Coast Green, as well as the advisory boards of nearly a dozen other organizations.
A much sought-after lecturer, Eric speaks extensively around the United States, giving nearly 50 talks a year, and consults directly to large companies seeking to transition into sustainability.
His monthly column, Ask the Green Architect, is published by GreenerBuildings and syndicated to dozens of other publications. He is a regular columnist for LUXE Magazine and his work has been featured in Dwell, Natural Home, Newsweek, and Town & Country, among others.
SIPs offer numerous benefits to homeowners, but no product is perfect. Here’s a breakdown on the pros and cons of structural insulated panels.
The Pros
SIPs offer numerous advantages:
SIP homes go up much faster than traditional wood-frame buildings. An experienced contractor trained in SIP installation can save a significant amount of construction time.
With proper planning and coordination with the manufacturer, SIPs can be precut and partially assembled to speed construction even more. Panels are typically 4 feet wide and come in lengths of 8 feet up to 24 feet. Entire walls can be put up immediately, with the openings for the windows and doors already cut.
Because the window openings can be precut into the panels, a separate header over the openings may not be needed. Just be careful to figure out the correct sizes for your windows and doors. Although it’s only slightly difficult to make an opening larger, you won’t be able to make a precut opening smaller!
The foam cores of a typical SIP panel are predrilled for plumbing and electrical wiring. The panels already have spaces to run plumbing or electrical chases. Unlike with traditional wood walls, the pipes and wiring must be fed up through these predrilled holes, making it like adding plumbing to an existing wall. Working with the panels takes some getting used to. Making new chases for pipes is more difficult than in traditional wood-frame walls, but it’s still easy to do.
Because SIPs are solidly filled with a high-density foam insulation, without any of the voids, gaps, or mistakes found in wood-stud walls, SIP buildings are much more energy efficient. Your monthly heating bills will be up to 50 percent lower than in a similar wood-frame building. Warning: Because they’re nearly airtight, you have to take some extra steps to ventilate your new SIP home. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s installation recommendations for venting.
In addition to removing air gaps and leaks, a SIP building has a higher R-value (insulation value) than traditional wall construction. Building with SIPs can cut your home energy consumption by up to half, lowering your energy bill and saving you money. SIPs are one of the most energy-efficient construction methods available. Conserving this energy not only saves you money, but reduces greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and dependency on oil.
Because the foam insulation is 98 percent air, SIPs are very resource efficient. The blowing agent used to spray the foam doesn’t hurt the earth’s ozone layer. The OSB uses small pieces of wood from fast-growing, small-diameter trees, instead of large, solid pieces of lumber. Be sure to use formaldehyde-free and low-VOC adhesives for the OSB panels.
Because SIPs are prefabricated and precut in the factory, constructing a SIP building generates far less waste. The same panels can be used for the walls, floors, and roofs, saving the need for several other materials, and allowing you to use leftover scraps in other parts of the construction.
Because every wall is a structural wall, a SIP building is up to twice as strong as a conventional wood-frame home. If you live in an area prone to hurricanes, earthquakes, or tornados, a SIP building will offer you better protection than a wood building. ....read more
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