Structural Insulated Concrete Panels
Structural Insulated concrete panels (or SIP's(Structural Insulated Panels) have come to describe a wide range of different wall systems. Some building systems construct panels with foam insulation on the outside of the concrete to insulate the wall. Other building systems construct panels with the insulation encased inside concrete. This type of insulated concrete panels is sometimes called a sandwich wall or ICC Wall (Insulated Concrete Composite Wall). For various reasons including protection of the insulation panels and thermal advantages, the encasement of the foam panels in concrete is the best method.
Solarcrete's standard insulated concrete panels are 7 1/4" of EPS foam encased in 2 3/8" of concrete (shotcrete) on both sides to form the 12 " wall. With this amount of EPS foam, the walls have an R-value of 36 and can save up to 70-90% of heating and cooling costs over traditional building methods. The superior structural strength gives the Solarcrete walls the ability to be used in buildings ranging from ranch homes, duplex's, multi-level apartment, condos,office buildings, warehouses,distribution centers and manufacturing plants.
Below is a picture of a cross-section of a Solarcrete structural insulated concrete panel.