Vermont builder presents SIP-panel 'Irish Hills' as faster path to energy-efficient homes

Kevin Moyer, owner of Vermont Frames and Faux Lisonbee, told the House General & Housing Committee on Feb. 14 that structural insulated panels, or SIPs, and a simple production design his firm calls "Irish Hills" could speed construction of energy-efficient homes across Vermont.

Moyer said his two companies design, fabricate and install about 50 to 60 homes a year from Maine to New Jersey and that SIPs allow large sections of a building envelope to be made in a heated factory and assembled quickly on site. "A SIP is think of an ice cream sandwich," Moyer said, describing the panels as a foam core bonded between two structural boards. He added, "Speed of construction is your real advantage here. It's going to be about the same price, but you're going to get it built months quicker and you're going to spend a lot less for the life of the home to heat and cool it."

Nut graf: The committee heard SIPs described as a near-term tool to produce more housing units and cut household energy bills, but Moyer and members flagged practical constraints that could limit immediate deployment—seasonal limits on foundation work, a shortage of installers, and the need to meet Vermont code requirements for ventilation.

In his presentation Moyer outlined technical and cost details the committee asked about. He said factory-made panels typically use expanded polystyrene at roughly 1 pound per cubic foot, and his standard wall SIP is 6.5 inches thick (meant to accept 2x6 framing for some penetrations). He said panels can be manufactured up to 8 feet wide and 24 feet long to ease transport. On thermal performance he cited blower-door results “under 2 ACH50” for panel-build homes, and noted that airtightness requires mechanical ventilation: "Vermont code requires ... the HRV, the heat recovery ventilation system. That's a ... must have," Moyer said. He also described factory joint details (splines plus injected spray foam) used to seal connections on site.

Moyer gave an illustrative cost benchmark for his subcontract scope—delivering and installing the panel envelope to a slab-on-grade foundation—at roughly $60,000, while noting that his company does not supply windows, doors, cabinetry, or plumbing. He said that producing repeated units brings modest material-cost savings (he estimated roughly 5–10% on his portion with larger orders) and large time savings on site because panels can be erected in days rather than months. He told the committee his production had some spare capacity but that installation crews were the bottleneck and could be scaled only by hiring and training more installers.

Committee members asked about durability, multiunit potential, and renovation uses. Moyer said panels can be engineered for higher loads and multi‑story buildings and that his company uses third‑party structural engineers to stamp plans for snow, wind and other loads. He cited completed nonresidential projects such as the Shelburne Vineyard roof and other commercial roofs and barns as examples of larger-span uses.

Members also pressed on Vermont-specific limits. Moyer and members discussed winter seasonality: foundations and concrete work often cannot proceed in freezing or muddy conditions, leaving crews idle. Moyer said this affects workforce retention and urged exploring town-level road/permit flexibilities to reduce weather-related delays. He said unemployment insurance and seasonal income interruptions make it harder for employers to retain skilled crews.

On indoor-air quality and building performance, Moyer described the SIP approach as providing continuous insulation with minimal thermal bridging; that increases airtightness but makes mechanical ventilation essential. He said the panels are manufactured with modern adhesives and that factory off‑gassing is not a concern for current products. He also noted that while panels cost more in materials than an equivalent stick-built wall, labor and operating-cost savings over a building's life can be substantial for households.

Moyer described the "Irish Hills" house as a compact, geometrically simple 24-by-40-foot plan designed for buildability, expandability and snow-shedding roof geometry. He said the plan was still an initial concept being shown to VHCB, VHFA and contractors and had not yet been built. He offered tours of his factory and recent projects, including a timber-frame home under construction in Charlotte and the Shelburne Vineyard project.

Ending: Committee members thanked Moyer and said they would continue committee planning and financial discussions in the coming week; no committee action or vote followed the testimony.