ACME Panel Puts Structural Insulated Panels on Habitat Houses

Having built seven houses already this year, Wood County Habitat for Humanity has exceeded its annual average. Director Alvin Phillips tells us, "We have had a great year due to our high-energy staff, great volunteers, and donors." This chapter just finished two energy-efficient homes using structural insulated panels from ACME Panel. "SIPs are fast and easy for our volunteers to use," commented Phillips. These homes should reduce the homeowners' electric bills by 50-60%. "We had the SIP walls up in six hours," Phillips noted about the speed of panel installations.

Heather King, in her Triple Pundit Blog, tells us about the impact Habitat has on the environment as one of the world's largest builders. Habitat for Humanity is one of the world's leading builders; in 2010, they built and sold over 38,000 homes. Build 100 ranked them the sixth largest builder in the U.S.

Habitat does encourage affiliates to follow the EPA's Energy Star program and indoor-air-plus programs. In fact, the non-profit is getting pressure from certain foundations to pay attention to efficiency and green materials. Recently, a HUD SHOP grant of $15.3 million specifically required the affiliate to use Energy Star products.

Watch for the next Habitat house using SIPs in Culpeper, VA. Culpeper Habitat looks to build in October 2011.