Toronto Passive Achieves an R61 Wall
RAY-CORE SIPs ™
When Toronto’s home renovation consultant Reiner Hoyer, The Reno Coach, set out to replace his personal home with a new, energy efficient Passive House, his goal was utilize leading edge construction technology to achieve the best insulated and tightest home possible. For this to happen, he knew that there was no other choice than to use RAY-CORE SIPs ™. RAYCORE’s 7-1/2 inch thick, staggered stud SIPs would become the foundation of this project. To better understand the Passive House concept, I visited the Passive House Institute US website, and gathered information from Reiner Hoyer’s project. When seeking certification of a Passive House, there are two different organizations you can choose to certify with.Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) or the Passivhause Institute (PHI).
What Is Passive House?
Passive House originated in Europe where there are over 30,000 passive houses to date. It utilizes computer modeling to calculate heat load, heat loss and energy usage to specify performance standards for the structure and “represents today's highest energy standard with the promise of slashing the heating consumption of buildings by an amazing 90%.” When building to Passive House standards, the first consideration is an efficient building shape and strategic placement on the lot for solar exposure, to take advantage of passive solar heat gain in the cold months and shading to minimize gain in the cooling months. The structure then is constructed with a super-insulated wall that is virtually air-tight. Advanced, ultra-high performance windows further minimize heat gain and loss and maximize solar exposure benefits. Leading-edge ventilation is incorporated to boost air quality while minimizing heat loss, and other technical features and considered to produce a structure that requires little to no energy from conventional mechanicals to heat or cool. To achieve Passive House standards, the minimum code requirements can’t begin to do the job. This is where RAYCORE Structural Insulated Panels SIPs come in. Reiner Hoyer built his home RAY-CORE Insulated wall panels that provide over twice the usual amount of insulation. With the addition applying foam to the outside of the panels, his house boasts over an R60 for the south, east and west-facing walls and an R70 for the north-facing walls. The house was topped off with a whopping R90 in the attic. To see how Hoyer achieved these exceptional values using RAY-CORE SIPs ™ is illustrated below.
Achieving a R61 Wall
RAY-CORE SIPs ™ 7-1/4" Thick R52 Polyurethane Foam insulated panels with 2x6 integrated staggered studs as used in Reiner Hoyer's Passive House
Reiner Hoyer's Passive House Standards Call for Even More! Although RAY-CORE's 7-1/4" thick staggered stud SIPs boast an exceptional R-value of 52, Hoyer chose to pump the R-value even higher through the application of additional foam on the exterior of the panels!
Floor System Details
RAY-CORE Structural Insulated Panels SIPs in Conjunction with the Floor System produce a R61 Wall in Toronto Passive House
If you would like to know more about Reiner Hoyer, The Reno Coach's Passive House Project and the use of RAY-CORE SIPs Panels, visit his blog at http://passivehouseto.blogspot.com/2011/04/opposite-of-passive-house.html .
If you would like to learn more about RAYCORE's super-insulating structural insulated panels, visit our website at raycore.com or
By Email at: info@raycore.com or by Phone: 1.877.552.2440 or…
