Indoor Air Quality

A SIP home or commercial building allows for better control over indoor air quality because the airtight building envelope limits incoming air to controlled ventilation. Controlled ventilation filters out contaminants and allergens, and also allows for incoming air to be dehumidified, reducing the possibility for mold growth.

There are a variety of ventilation strategies that can employed to provide fresh air to airtight homes. These vary by climate, but most are relatively inexpensive and operate on automatic control systems without the need for homeowner action.

SIPs do not contain any VOCs or other harmful chemicals that can affect occupant health. The components used to make SIPs (foam, oriented strand board, and adhesive) meet some of the most stringent standards for indoor air quality.

• EPS uses pentane, a non-CFC blowing agent that dissipates shortly after production. EPS has no offgassing and many EPS manufacturers are GREENGUARD certified
• SIP homes have qualified under the American Lung Association’s Health House® indoor air quality standard
• The adhesives used in SIP production do not contain any measurable amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can be harmful to occupants
• Oriented strand board (OSB) does not contain urea formaldehyde adhesives and meets the world’s leading formaldehyde emissions standards, including the U.S. HUD Manufactured Housing Standard, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Air Toxic Control Measure for Composite Wood Products and the European EN-300 Standard

Learn more about OSB and formaldehyde

Learn more about expanded polystyrene (EPS) and HBCD flame retardants