Brothers promote old technology

Harold and Clyde Sare say technology introduced in the 1930s saves energy, money

Monique Headley

Brothers Harold and Clyde Sare are on a mission to educate the public and construction industry about Structured Insulated Panels, a technology developed in the 1930s that they say can lower energy costs and increase consumer savings.

“It’s really good technology that has been around a long time and hasn’t been put to good use until energy costs got so high,” said Clyde Sare.

“SIPs buildings can reduce energy costs by as much as 60 percent ... on air conditioning or heating costs,” said Harold Sare of Bluestem Construction of Stillwater. “The 4-inch wide walls can be three times stronger than traditional stud-built house with six inch studs.”

Walls can be built of various thickness, he said, and SIPs technology can be used for roofing.

SIPs are made of oriented strand board sheathing glued to the front and back sides of an insulation core of soybean or polystyrene — a colorless, transparent thermoplastic.

“With OSB — the structural component — it is stronger than conventional construction methods because it is glued to every inch of the foam. The strength becomes like a truss which is made to handle strength,” said Clyde Sare, CEO of the Bartlesville based company USA SIPS Inc.

The glue is approved by the International Building Code according to specific measurement and expiration date, he said.

Polystyrene is manufactured from natural gas and is free from noxious odors, he said, and when exposed to flame, the material melts. It can also be augmented to include insect and rodent repellent. According to the U.S. Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, when properly installed, it can prevent indoor moisture problems. SIPs is also approved for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

“(SIPs) provide superior and uniform insulation compared to more traditional construction methods (stud or ‘stick frame’), offering energy savings of 12 percent to 14 percent ... When installed according to manufacturers’ recommendations, SIPs meet all building codes and pass the American Society for Testing and Materials standards of safety,” according to the department.

The federal government statistics “might not take into account methods of assembly,” Clyde Sare said, but that is where the figures of 50 percent to 60 percent originated.

“The results bear themselves out when we install the product,” he said.

The federal government tested SIPs panels at Oak Ridge, Tenn., he said. The city was established in the early 1940s as a U.S. base of operations for the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb.

Since the 1980s, Harold Sare said, SIPs technology has been involved in the construction of several Stillwater structures.

Recently, he said, “we built a house at 1303 W. 10th Street. When you drive by, you cannot tell it is made of this material.”

Other SIPs projects can be found in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri, said Clyde Sare.

With technology, there is always an issue of adaptation.

“Contractors are used to building stick houses with 2-by-4s and such but this is new technology ... A lot of people think it costs more but it doesn’t,” Harold Sare said.

Clyde Sare said that if construction companies adopt the technology, however, they can benefit just as consumers will.

“Once workers learn the technology, it’s like building with LEGO blocks because it goes up faster,” he said.

Mark Lambert of Lambert Construction Co. said he thinks SIPS is a good system.

“You pay a little bit of a premium but it can streamline the construction process and keep you on schedule,” he said.

According to Harold Sare, SIPs can save up to 55 percent on labor costs. With pre-construction and the insulation component, he said, “you replace a framing crew and an insulation crew.”

He said training for the new technology is available in Dallas and takes three days. He would like to find a local facility to teach the technology, he added.

“I would strongly advise education,” Lambert said. “Anytime you introduce new technology, education is important.”

SIPS significantly reduces material waste, Clyde Sare said. Almost 90 percent of on-site construction scrap lumber is eliminated, he said.

Harold Sare said he has also seen the technology used in Japan to good effect.

“I’ve lived in Japan three times in my life,” he said. “One time, after a terrible earthquake, the only houses that withstood were houses made of SIPs while all the other stone houses were on the ground.”

Though no government certified test has yet confirmed it, company literature said SIPs homes have proven strength to homeowners through natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, gas explosions and fires.

“I can tell you with the storms in Galveston, Texas, which wiped out virtually everything, the one house left standing was built with SIPs panels,” said Clyde Sare. “This material is really oriented to a green house revolution ... The advantage of a SIPs house is it is well insulated so you save money on cooling and heating costs. I think it has to be the house of the future.”

According to information from the Structural Insulated Panel Association Web site, the construction and operation of buildings accounts for 39 percent of total U.S. energy consumption and 38 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. Green buildings use less energy and reduce carbon emissions.

For more information about SIPs, visit www.usa-sips.com