Design
flexibility makes Structural Insulated Panels the building material
of choice
The impact
of new-generation SIPs technology (Structural Insulated Panels)
on the UK construction industry will be seen increasingly over
the next decade.
With Sir John
Egan’s report, ‘Rethinking Construction’, still
fresh in people’s minds, off-site manufacture (OSM) is being
seen as the realistic way forward for improving the quality of
building materials and techniques.
For architects
in particular, the technological advances in both the quality
and performance of SIPs panels in recent years will open up many
new building options.
This is certainly
the view of Hemsec Sips, one of Europe’s most experienced
manufacturer of SIPs panels, who have seen a recent surge of interest
in their product range from all sides of the industry.
Managing Director,
Richard Daley attributes this to a combination of high performance
modular panels which can be assembled quickly and profitably to
create high quality, sustainable buildings.
“For
architects,” says Richard, “the exciting thing about
SIPs is their design flexibility. This stems from their impressive
structural strength and Hemsec Sips’s capability to pre-fabricate
features such as porches or bay-windows in factory-controlled
conditions.”
Made from
timber OSB 3 facings with a core material of fire-retardant polyurethane
foam, Hemsec Sips can be used as wall, roof or floor panels in
buildings of all types up to four storeys high.
Extensive
structural testing by UKAS showed that Hemsec Sips panels can
withstand stresses of over 40 tonnes. While in tests carried out
by Dow Chemicals on SIPs insulation performance, they were shown
to have U-values of between 0.08 and 0.28 depending on panel thickness.
Hemsec Sips
panels also comply with the spirit of the PPG 3 government initiative
in that they are thinner than walls built from conventional materials
and therefore allow more internal living space. Similarly, SIPs
used for roof construction require no trusses which automatically
frees up space in the roof area to create a highly valuable ‘room-in-a-roof’.
In every
way, the quality of Hemsec Sips panels is vastly superior to those
used in the early days of SIPs 50 years ago. Today, this exciting
technology is opening up new building opportunities in a wide
range of sectors from private to social housing, and in the education,
healthcare and leisure sectors, to name but a few.
More details
about Hemsec Sips panels – can be found on the company’s
web-site: www.hemsecsips.com
Ends. Dec
2005 |
