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The Potential of Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) to Supply Net Zero Carbon Housing

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Governments throughout the EU and the UK face a persistent challenge of satisfying the continual growth in demand for housing and create zero carbon buildings. Stephen Finnegan evaluates the potential for Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) to address this challenge

Image courtesy of interviewee. May 22, 2024

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This video video discusses a research paper addressing the housing crisis in the UK and the European Union, highlighting a need for approximately 300,000 new homes annually in the UK alone. Modern methods of construction (MMC), such as Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) and insulated concrete forms, are presented as viable alternatives to traditional brick construction to help meet housing demands and achieve net-zero carbon standards. The study specifically examines the feasibility of magnesium oxide SIPs in satisfying rigorous energy performance criteria set by the UK and EU, demonstrating that these panels can offer equal or better energy efficiency compared to conventional methods.

Key points include:
- The urgent need for new housing to combat the current shortage.
- The potential of MMCs, particularly SIPs, to provide sustainable solutions.
- The rigorous standards for energy performance that new buildings must meet.
- The study finds that magnesium oxide SIPs can meet or exceed these standards, indicating their robustness and efficiency.
- The proposal for government incentives and industry investment to promote MMC adoption, as they currently represent a small fraction of UK construction.

Overall, the research advocates for modern construction methods as a solution for addressing housing shortages while aligning with sustainability goals.

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X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

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The paper was written, due, well,

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for two main, main reasons really.

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We, we, we, across the UK

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and the European Union, we are on a housing crisis.

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Now, to give you a very quick example,

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we need approximately 300,000 new homes

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per year in the, in the uk, Ireland, 50,000,

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Finland, for example, 38,000.

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So there's a massive housing shortage.

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Uh, that coupled with the fact that we need to build now

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to net zero carbon standards

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and look at alternative solutions beyond conventional brick

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construction, was the main motivation to speak

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modern methods of construction as a, it's not,

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it's not really a, a new term.

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It's been around for a long, a long time now.

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It covers things such as, sips construction,

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structurally insulated panels.

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It covers things like insulated concrete form work.

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Any sort of modern method of design beyond traditional brick

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and block construction could be considered a modern method

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of construction.

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There's a, there's a construction gap shortage of people

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who can build these standards,

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and there's a lots of inherent problems

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because it hasn't had the long tradition of brick laying

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and those, and those sorts of skills really.

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So MMC covers a range of different options and, and,

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and we find new options occurring on a almost weekly basis.

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I have another research project looking at like gauge steel,

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frame construction,

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modular construction, prefab construction.

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All of these can be termed MMC.

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Our method was to test the, the, the,

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the feasibility really, or potential for SIPS construction.

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So that's structurally insulated panel system.

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And what, what role can that play to su to supply the UK

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and the European Union with, well,

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with additional housing at using modern method

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of construction and also to meet the, you know,

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the impending net zero carbon standards we have in the UK

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and the net zero energy buildings, or sorry,

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or the nearly zero energy buildings.

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We have, sort of standards we have across the European,

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the European Union, so it address the housing shortage

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and also tries to address this impending,

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net zero carbon targets that the UK and the EU have set.

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Magnesium oxide is a sips is type

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of structurally instated panel

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that there are also, other types.

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I mean, I mean what sips gen essentially is, is, is two,

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OSB or two, two O oriented strand boards with a,

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with a huge in insulation layer.

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It's, it's, it's a sandwich essentially with two bits

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of material with an insulation layer inside.

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This particular study looked at a magnesium

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Oxide board insulation and a second magnesium oxide board.

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And the purpose of this study, again, was

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to test the robustness,

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and the feasibility of that to,

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to reach these net zero carbon standards.

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So how well, you know, that they are quite thin compared

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to a normal a, a normal home, which,

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which would've a brick cavity and brick

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or brick cavity block construction.

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So they're quite thin, you know, does

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that mean there's more heat loss?

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Does that mean there's more heat gain?

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I mean, how robust are they?

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They're quite thin in design as well.

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So does that cause problems with, you know, with noise or,

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and, and generally people's perception on this, you know,

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I don't really want a house built of built of a thin wood.

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I want a solid brick construction home.

03:47.145 --> 03:50.365
So it's all those conceptions really, and thoughts

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and conceived ideas that the paper was trying to address.

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So how good are they, how robust are they?

03:57.045 --> 03:59.565
And, and in particular magnesium oxide sips,

04:00.795 --> 04:01.895
do they provide a solution?

04:02.515 --> 04:06.015
We essentially looked at the, the net zero carbon

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building standards and regulations for the UK

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and what we call the nep,

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nearly zero energy building standards

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for the European Union.

04:15.315 --> 04:18.095
Now, those standards are quite rigorous in terms

04:18.095 --> 04:19.575
of energy standards.

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So they allow a property to essentially perform

04:24.335 --> 04:27.515
to a, to a certain, to a certain criteria,

04:27.575 --> 04:29.515
and that is, you know, the kilowatt hours

04:29.515 --> 04:32.395
of energy used per meter squared of that home.

04:33.055 --> 04:34.355
Now, if we can meet

04:34.355 --> 04:37.035
that standard from an energy performance perspective,

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then it can qualify itself as a nailed zero energy building

04:41.615 --> 04:43.275
and it follows what's called the German

04:43.385 --> 04:44.835
passive house principles.

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So that, so essentially, you know, if, if a building can be

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as air tight as possible

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and use as little energy as possible, then it can be deemed

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to be a nearly zero energy building

04:57.655 --> 04:59.635
or a net zero carbon building.

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And, and a fully net zero carbon building will be one

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that does essentially does not emit any

05:05.735 --> 05:07.055
carbon drawn into use.

05:07.835 --> 05:10.375
And that's what we're interested in for this paper,

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essentially in this study.

05:12.795 --> 05:16.335
The answer to that question is, yes, we,

05:16.555 --> 05:19.575
we can meet those energy performance standards

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of both the UK and, and, and the European Union

05:23.235 --> 05:27.775
and sips MGO SIPS panels, do achieve

05:27.965 --> 05:31.495
that standard so they can give the same energy performance

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as in fact,

05:33.015 --> 05:35.215
better energy performance than a traditional

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forms of construction.

05:37.125 --> 05:40.415
It's down to essentially the way in which the building is

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constructed by using sits panels

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and as long as they're fitted correctly.

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And the, and the, the build

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and the construction process is, is right, we avoid any,

05:52.155 --> 05:54.095
any leakage within the building.

05:54.395 --> 05:56.735
You know, I live in a Victorian property, which is

05:56.735 --> 05:59.245
Extremely leaky, so we have a lot of energy coming in,

05:59.245 --> 06:02.445
a lot of energy going out with these, with these sorts of,

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of buildings.

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Again, as long as they're constructed correctly,

06:06.275 --> 06:09.125
they will retain heat exceptionally well

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and also reflect heat, if that's the right word to use

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during the summer and keep the buildings cool.

06:14.585 --> 06:16.885
So it's, it's, it's a down to combination

06:16.885 --> 06:18.365
of the construction methods used

06:19.105 --> 06:20.965
and the, the levels of efficiency

06:20.965 --> 06:23.005
that these sip powers can bring.

06:23.635 --> 06:25.085
Huge potential. So it's,

06:25.085 --> 06:27.405
it's interesting you mentioned money there as well

06:27.405 --> 06:29.325
because what we've actually found is that if,

06:29.705 --> 06:31.965
if this particular case study within this,

06:31.965 --> 06:36.765
within this property, if, if the entire roof was solar,

06:37.515 --> 06:41.765
then this property would be, would be, essentially

06:42.315 --> 06:43.565
zero energy bills.

06:44.145 --> 06:46.445
So all of the electricity that will be

06:46.605 --> 06:49.285
provided that would be needed, sorry for the property,

06:49.285 --> 06:52.005
would be provided from the solar as long

06:52.005 --> 06:55.045
as we had the battery storage system as well.

06:55.225 --> 06:58.925
So therefore it would cost, no money

06:59.025 --> 07:00.045
to operate the building,

07:00.185 --> 07:03.485
but it'd be higher increased CapEx for the solar

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and the battery.

07:05.235 --> 07:07.885
What we also did in, in this study, in, in this study was

07:07.885 --> 07:11.805
to look at concept called game theory, which you may,

07:11.985 --> 07:15.085
may have came across from a film, the Beautiful Mind,

07:15.095 --> 07:16.445
which is all about game theory.

07:16.465 --> 07:18.925
And, and, and what we looked at just to, just to conclude,

07:18.985 --> 07:22.105
was to say, well, where do we draw the line?

07:22.125 --> 07:25.385
If, if we have SIPS companies invest in millions

07:25.385 --> 07:28.665
of pounds into creating this, then do the government need

07:28.665 --> 07:32.305
to support or where's the

07:32.705 --> 07:33.905
optimal solution?

07:33.905 --> 07:36.065
And it will, it will come as no surprise that

07:36.065 --> 07:37.465
what we need is a push and a pull.

07:38.085 --> 07:40.705
We need governments to support this new modern methods

07:40.725 --> 07:42.745
of construction by incentivizing it,

07:42.745 --> 07:46.625
but we also need the industry to, to put some money in and,

07:46.685 --> 07:48.985
and grow this part of the NSU

07:49.185 --> 07:52.545
'cause it's still probably what represents less than 1% of

07:53.455 --> 07:54.235
UK construction.

Addressing the UK's Housing Crisis with Innovation

00:00:00 - The paper was written, due, well, for two main, main reasons really. We, we, we, across the UK and the European Union, we are on a housing crisis. Now, to give you a very quick example, we need approximately 300,000 new homes per year in the, in the uk, Ireland, 50,000, Finland, for example, 38,000. So there's a massive housing shortage. that coupled with the fact that we need to build now
00:00:33 - and look at alternative solutions beyond conventional brick construction, was the main motivation to speak modern methods of construction as a, it's not, it's not really a, a new term. It's been around for a long, a long time now. It covers things such as, sips construction, structurally insulated panels. It covers things like insulated concrete form work. Any sort of modern method of design beyond traditional brick
00:01:05 - of construction. There's a, there's a construction gap shortage of people who can build these standards, and there's a lots of inherent problems because it hasn't had the long tradition of brick laying and those, and those sorts of skills really. So MMC covers a range of different options and, and, and we find new options occurring on a almost weekly basis. I have another research project looking at like gauge steel, frame construction,
00:01:35 - All of these can be termed MMC. Our method was to test the, the, the, the feasibility really, or potential for SIPS construction. So that's structurally insulated panel system. And what, what role can that play to su to supply the UK and the European Union with, well, with additional housing at using modern method of construction and also to meet the, you know, the impending net zero carbon standards we have in the UK
00:02:10 - or the nearly zero energy buildings. We have, sort of standards we have across the European, the European Union, so it address the housing shortage and also tries to address this impending, net zero carbon targets that the UK and the EU have set. Magnesium oxide is a sips is type of structurally instated panel that there are also, other types.
00:02:43 - OSB or two, two O oriented strand boards with a, with a huge in insulation layer. It's, it's, it's a sandwich essentially with two bits of material with an insulation layer inside. This particular study looked at a magnesium Oxide board insulation and a second magnesium oxide board. And the purpose of this study, again, was to test the robustness,

Examining Thin Construction for Net Zero Standards

00:03:11 - to reach these net zero carbon standards. So how well, you know, that they are quite thin compared to a normal a, a normal home, which, which would've a brick cavity and brick or brick cavity block construction. So they're quite thin, you know, does that mean there's more heat loss? Does that mean there's more heat gain? I mean, how robust are they? They're quite thin in design as well. So does that cause problems with, you know, with noise or, and, and generally people's perception on this, you know,
00:03:44 - I want a solid brick construction home. So it's all those conceptions really, and thoughts and conceived ideas that the paper was trying to address. So how good are they, how robust are they? And, and in particular magnesium oxide sips, do they provide a solution? We essentially looked at the, the net zero carbon building standards and regulations for the UK and what we call the nep,
00:04:13 - for the European Union. Now, those standards are quite rigorous in terms of energy standards. So they allow a property to essentially perform to a, to a certain, to a certain criteria, and that is, you know, the kilowatt hours of energy used per meter squared of that home. Now, if we can meet that standard from an energy performance perspective, then it can qualify itself as a nailed zero energy building
00:04:43 - passive house principles. So that, so essentially, you know, if, if a building can be as air tight as possible and use as little energy as possible, then it can be deemed to be a nearly zero energy building or a net zero carbon building. And, and a fully net zero carbon building will be one that does essentially does not emit any carbon drawn into use. And that's what we're interested in for this paper, essentially in this study.
00:05:16 - we can meet those energy performance standards of both the UK and, and, and the European Union and sips MGO SIPS panels, do achieve that standard so they can give the same energy performance as in fact, better energy performance than a traditional forms of construction. It's down to essentially the way in which the building is constructed by using sits panels
00:05:44 - And the, and the, the build and the construction process is, is right, we avoid any, any leakage within the building. You know, I live in a Victorian property, which is Extremely leaky, so we have a lot of energy coming in, a lot of energy going out with these, with these sorts of, of buildings. Again, as long as they're constructed correctly, they will retain heat exceptionally well and also reflect heat, if that's the right word to use during the summer and keep the buildings cool.

Solar Efficiency and Investment in SIPS Construction

00:06:16 - of the construction methods used and the, the levels of efficiency that these sip powers can bring. Huge potential. So it's, it's interesting you mentioned money there as well because what we've actually found is that if, if this particular case study within this, within this property, if, if the entire roof was solar, then this property would be, would be, essentially zero energy bills. So all of the electricity that will be
00:06:49 - would be provided from the solar as long as we had the battery storage system as well. So therefore it would cost, no money to operate the building, but it'd be higher increased CapEx for the solar and the battery. What we also did in, in this study, in, in this study was to look at concept called game theory, which you may, may have came across from a film, the Beautiful Mind, which is all about game theory. And, and, and what we looked at just to, just to conclude,
00:07:22 - If, if we have SIPS companies invest in millions of pounds into creating this, then do the government need to support or where's the optimal solution? And it will, it will come as no surprise that what we need is a push and a pull. We need governments to support this new modern methods of construction by incentivizing it, but we also need the industry to, to put some money in and, and grow this part of the NSU
00:07:53 - UK construction.

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