Residential SIP Projects

Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are suitable for all types of homes from luxury ocean view to affordable multifamily and energy-efficient ADUs. Browse these residential SIP examples, using the search fields at the right for specific types and locations.

Most individual projects include the following:

  • Exterior and interior photos
  • Name of SIP manufacturer, designer and builder
  • Performance measurements such as HERS rating and blower door test results

Browse these Look Books showcasing the 2022-built SIP structures entered into the Building Excellence Awards.

Residential SIP Project Winners

LEED Platinum SIP HouseLEED Platinum SIP House
Dexter, MI
ICF basement, 6” SIP walls, 10” SIP roof, Blower door test 0.86 ACH50, HERS Index of 37, LEED Platinum

High Performance SIP HouseHigh Performance SIP House
Lewis Center, OH
The RTA (Ready to Assemble) package sped the construction process and whatever small increase in the cost was overcome when considering the savings in utility bills and comfort the owners enjoy. I have worked extensively with the same crew and they have told us they prefer SIPs construction over studs. MM&I Construction Renegade Panels manufactured by Insulspan

Zero Energy Hillside HouseZero Energy Hillside House
Oak Harbor, WA
"I did not know I could have all this, until my builder told me about it. My wants were simple; I wanted a home that would be more comfortable than my old one, all on one level, and use less energy … everything just came together, one idea after another." – Homeowners

High Performance Residence in Fort Worth, Texas3 Sisters High Performance SIP House
Fort Worth, TX
SIP were incorporated into the project's design from the very beginning, as the owners desired the high-performance aspects derived from SIPs (extreme airtightness, great insulation and incredible strength with its reduced homeowners insurance premiums). Install went quickly, and the SIP walls and roof contributed to an extremely tight home envelope, which eventually resulted in a HERS score of 9.

Affordable SIP HouseAffordable SIP House
Oakland Park, FL
Date Completed: 11/30/2017

SIP Tiny Homes VillageSIP Tiny Homes Village
Albuquerque, NM
The Tiny Homes were built by volunteers from the local carpenters union. Using SIPs was an easy, effective way to quickly build 30 housing units. The Tiny Homes are very tight and energy efficient.

SIP Lake HouseSIP Lake House
Marion, IL

SIP Lake CabinSIP Lake Cabin
Hackensack, MN

Craftsman SIP Passive CottageCraftsman SIP Passive Cottage
Port Townsend, WA
Set on 5 wooded acres in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains of Washington State, this hilltop modern craftsman-style cottage is designed and set to maximize natural light and cubic footage to create a sense of spaciousness in a tiny energy-efficient footprint.

High Performance Energy Step SIP HouseHigh Performance Energy Step SIP House
Lake Country, BC
Panels Manufactured by West-Eco Panelized Building Systems

SIP Tiny HouseSIP Tiny House
Castlewood, SD
The Not Quite Tiny Home is the primay residence for Travis. It is occassionally rented out to outdoor enthusiests and people attending reunions/gatherings in the area.

SIP Senior Living Facility Minneapolis MNSIP Senior Living Facility Minneapolis MN
Saint Paul, MN
The decision to build with SIPs sped up the construction process and reduced operating costs for building owner Coventry Senior Living. With two SIP projects now under his belt, Greg Johnson intends to keep replicating the success the company has experienced using the energy-efficient combination of SIPs and radiant heating.

Passive SIP ApartmentsPassive SIP Apartments
Seattle, WA
Apartment Building designed to use up to 90 percent less heating and cooling energy than standard buildings. The project is believed to be the first passive house apartment building in Washington State and demonstrates how high performance, sustainable living can scale, enabling us all to reduce our role in climate change and become part of a climate solution. PHIUS+2015 - Supply Air Heating and Cooling Sufficient

Net-Zero Ready ADU SIPNet-Zero Ready ADU SIP
Los Altos Hills, CA

Fire Resistant SIP DuplexesFire Resistant SIP Duplexes
Sonora, CA
Multifamily duplex/single family home development. Speed of construction & high performance requirements, zero-energy mandate, wildlands-urban interface code. SIPS provide superior insulation and air-sealing, while eliminating the need to vent the attic, which is a big deal when it comes to the Wildlands-Urban Interface Code. Construction time was also a factor, as site labor is increasingly in short supply.

Affordable SIP HouseAffordable SIP House
Birmingham, AL

SIP Twin HouseSIP Twin House
Mapleton, ND
Multifamily investment property that will be commercialized as dwelling units.

Zero Energy Salish SIP HomesZero Energy Salish SIP Homes
Lopez Island, WA
Using SIPs to help get to zero energy use and reduced labor. Use of local materials such as trees removed from the site milled for siding. Rainwater catchment for irrigation. All Water Wise fixtures and energy efficient lighting. Passive solar design.

British Columbia SIP Passive HouseBritish Columbia SIP Passive House
Vancouver, BC
Family Residential Project with Passive House Canada Certification designed for solar gain through windows. The project has a hot water heat pum and it is Solar Ready.

Affordable SIP ApartmentsAffordable SIP Apartments
Grand Junction, CO

Net Zero SIP HouseNet Zero SIP House
Park City, UT
NET-Zero energy 12" SIP walls, 12" SIP roof & additional 4" EPS insulation on walls and roof, 8" of EPS on foundation Awarded 2010 Green Builder Magazine Home of the year LEED Platinum Built to Passive Haus Institute standards, NAHB Emerald certified, & is an Energy Star Home 6.9kW photovoltaics completely power the home with energy to spare, allowing the owners to sell power back to their utility company HERS Index: NET ZERO/PASSIVE HOUSE STANDARDS

Semiahmoo Net Positive SIP HouseSemiahmoo Net Positive SIP House
Blaine, WA
Single Family Residential. Semiahmoo Net Positive is a "forever home" for a family retiring to the Pacific Northwest. Our clients were seeking a net zero home - one that would produce at least as much energy as it would consume.

SIP Student HousingSIP Student Housing
Watertown, SD
SIP construction was chosen for the speed of construction and energy savings; they also wanted to work with a local business.

Sugar Mills SIP Villas VISugar Mills SIP Villas VI
St. Croix,
SIP was chosen due its low maintenance, energy efficiency and the possibility of eliminating over 90% of wall cavity space found in a typical home constructed with conventional means. SIP saved time and money as panels were taped and finished like drywall, then painted requiring no additional finishes such as exterior siding and / or interior drywall.

High Vaulted Ceiling SIP HouseHigh Vaulted Ceiling SIP House
Culpeper, VA
Age in place home for 2 persons, single family residence.

ENERGY STAR SIP HouseENERGY STAR SIP House
Carroll, NH
This home is about as airtight as is possible, well below even the Passive House Institute’s rigorous standard of 0.68 ACH50 or 0.05 CFM50/square foot of envelope. Five Star Energy Star Certified, This is one more example of how SIPs can help achieve an incredibly high-performance building. Before PV it had a HERS of 32.

LEED SIP Country HouseLEED SIP Country House
Cleburne, TX
A Texas family escapes fast-paced city life to raise a family in the rural countryside outside Fort Worth, Texas. Working with award-winning builder Ferrier Custom Homes, they constructed a healthy, energy-efficient home that makes the most out of its passive solar design.

Modern SIP HouseModern SIP House
Remington, VA
A modern single family home located on their family’s working cattle farm. The utilization of the space in the basement allows for them to host guests in their two spare bedrooms, full bath, home gym, and bar area with walk-out access to the property in the back of the house. The view of rolling fields and mountains can also be enjoyed from the main level, on the back deck and through the custom windows displayed under vaulted ceilings in the master suite and living area. The open living and kitchen area is perfectly balanced between elegant and comfortable, doubling as an office for both residents to work from home.

Dunn SIP HouseDunn SIP House
Sauk Centre, MN
Building with SIPs generated significantly less onsite construction waste while framing our home when compared to building a house using conventional framing especially since all of the window and door openings were precut at the factory. This left only minor trim work needing completion onsite. Building with SIPs did increase our material costs compared to conventional framing. However, we recouped a good portion of that cost through decreased labor costs. The exterior of our house was completely framed in 19 calendar days. This was significantly faster than if we had used conventional framing. Finally, due to the extremely tight envelope that SIPs give our house, we are enjoying very low heating and cooling bills. As utility costs rise, we will save thousands of dollars in monthly utility bills over the life of our home – thanks to our SIP panels

Contemporary CalGreen SIP Family HouseContemporary CalGreen SIP Family House
Los Gatos, CA
This project was extremely difficult due to the multiple angels of the walls. Hardly any of the walls had a 90-degree angel. The home would have been quite costly to build conventionally because of these angles; however, SIPs saved considerable time with labor and materials as every angle was figured in the Shop Drawings and manufactured. Using one of the best SIP engineers in the business helped considerably with keeping the project cost down.

Kenilworth LEED SIP BungalowKenilworth LEED SIP Bungalow
Minneapolis, MN
SIPs helped designers build a traditional Arts and Crafts bungalow with a LEED-H Platinum rating.

Residential SIP Project Case Studies

Aeon Alliance SIP MultifamilyAeon Alliance SIP Multifamily
Minneapolis, MN
“We chose SIPs with our eye on the prize that we may want to do LEED certification,” said Prinds. “SIPs were a little more expensive than standard framing, but we chose them after evaluating their efficiency, cost, impact on building performance, and other factors.”

Cedarwood Zero Energy HomeCedarwood Zero Energy Home
Bellingham, WA
SIPs and an ICF basement make this high performance home close to Passive House standards.

Energy Efficient SIP House Park Rapids MIEnergy Efficient SIP House Park Rapids MI
Park Rapids, MN
SIPS go up quickly, saving labor cost and getting the project out of the weather quickly. 6-inch SIP walls 12-inch SIP roof HERS Index 36 0.47 ACH50 Geothermal system 3.2 COP for heat and hot water 95% AFUE furnace, 18 SEER cooling system Energy recovery ventilator

ENERGY STAR SIP ApartmentsENERGY STAR SIP Apartments
Las Vegas, NV
SIP helped this project achieve Energy Efficiency, Labor Time Savings (installed in 80 days!) and waste savings (over conventional framing).

Energy Star SIP Demonstration HouseEnergy Star SIP Demonstration House
Olympia, WA
Residence and demonstration home 10-inch SIP walls 12-inch SIP roof Energy Star 3.0 EPA Indoor airPLUS Washington State Built Green Level 5 @200/year in heating costs

ENERGY STAR SIP HouseENERGY STAR SIP House
Everson, WA
TC Legend builds affordable Net Zero energy houses. "We use our small crew to assemble the wall panels, man-handling them into place, but a crane can be used for walls. We do use the crane to set the thicker, heavier roof panels. SIPs are very fast to assemble and incur almost no waste material onsite because everything arrives pre-cut."

ENERGY STAR SIP House St. Peter MNENERGY STAR SIP House St. Peter MN
Saint Peter, MN
SIPs saved time in the construction process. Also, it allowed to make this a Passive Solar Heated House. HERS index 40, 8 ½" SIP walls & 12" SIP roof, LEED Gold, Energy Star 5 star plus, SHGC glass for solar gain and movable sun shades, Stayed 60 degrees during a 3 day ice storm without electricity.

High Performance Affordable SIP HouseHigh Performance Affordable SIP House
River Falls, WI
The panels are user friendly for volunteer labor. Speed of construction. SIP wall thickness and core material: 12 1/4" Expanded Polystyrene, 7/16" OSB on both sides

Hollabaugh SIP HouseHollabaugh SIP House
Grand Marais, MN
Primary residence set in the beautiful woods of Grand Marais, Minnesota. We are finding the SIP construction to be superior to any home we have owned. The ease of erecting the SIPs proved helpful when the construction of our home entered the winter months. The house is well built and gives one the feeling of being in a very quiet, sturdy structure.

Kenilworth LEED SIP BungalowKenilworth LEED SIP Bungalow
Minneapolis, MN
SIPs helped designers build a traditional Arts and Crafts bungalow with a LEED-H Platinum rating.

LEED Platinum SIP HouseLEED Platinum SIP House
Dexter, MI
ICF basement, 6” SIP walls, 10” SIP roof, Blower door test 0.86 ACH50, HERS Index of 37, LEED Platinum

LEED SIP Country HouseLEED SIP Country House
Cleburne, TX
A Texas family escapes fast-paced city life to raise a family in the rural countryside outside Fort Worth, Texas. Working with award-winning builder Ferrier Custom Homes, they constructed a healthy, energy-efficient home that makes the most out of its passive solar design.

Make It Right SIP HousingMake It Right SIP Housing
New Orleans, LA
Make It Right settled on structural insulated panels (SIPs) as their building system of choice. The SIP building enclosure is engineered to meet the 160 mph winds of a category 5 hurricane.

SIP HouseSIP House
Maplewood, MN
6” SIP walls 12” SIP roof Partial 8” SIP floor HERS Index of 44

SIP MultifamilySIP Multifamily
Las Vegas, NV
3 stories, 41, 150 sq. ft. 6-inch SIP walls SIP construction reduced cooling costs for building owner in hot Las Vegas climate Framing labor and construction waste disposal costs also reduced by building with SIPs

SIP Passive House Claverack NYSIP Passive House Claverack NY
Hudson, NY
12" SIP walls and 12" Neopor SIP roof HERS Index 52 Certified Passive House - First House in New York 0.15 ACH50 Passive solar design and operable skylights HRV and two air source heat pumps Serious 725 series windows

SIP Senior Living Facility Minneapolis MNSIP Senior Living Facility Minneapolis MN
Saint Paul, MN
The decision to build with SIPs sped up the construction process and reduced operating costs for building owner Coventry Senior Living. With two SIP projects now under his belt, Greg Johnson intends to keep replicating the success the company has experienced using the energy-efficient combination of SIPs and radiant heating.

Zero Energy SIP HouseZero Energy SIP House
Seaside, CA
Clarum has used Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) in many of its homes to create high-performance building envelopes. With SIPs, it is much easier to reduce air leaks than with stick framing, since the panels are produced in a controlled setting and arrive at the jobsite in large, ready-to-install sections. The panels also have continuous insulation across their height, width and depth, along with fewer thermal bridges. The result is up to a 60 percent reduction in heating and cooling costs, plus healthier indoor air from sealing out dust, pollen and other irritants.

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