Project Overview

Custom Idaho Residence

High-Performance SIP Home Designed for Comfort and Efficiency

House:  2,250 sq ft, Office/ADU:  1,150 sq ft

The Koning Residence is a custom single-family home located in Idaho, designed to deliver long-term comfort, durability, and energy efficiency in a region known for seasonal temperature swings. The project reflects a thoughtful residential approach that prioritizes building performance, construction quality, and occupant comfort.

Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) were used as the primary building envelope system, supporting a high-performance home well-suited to Idaho’s climate conditions.

Design and Sustainability

The home was designed with an emphasis on thermal efficiency and consistent interior comfort throughout the year. In cold and mixed climates like Idaho, minimizing heat loss and air infiltration is critical to maintaining comfort while controlling energy use.

SIP construction supports these goals by creating a continuous thermal envelope that reduces thermal bridging and improves airtightness compared to conventional framed construction. This approach contributes to a more durable, efficient, and comfortable living environment.

Why SIPs?

Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) were selected to provide a reliable and efficient construction system capable of delivering predictable building performance. For custom residential projects, SIPs offer a practical way to improve energy efficiency while simplifying framing and enclosure.

By integrating structure, insulation, and air sealing into a single system, SIPs reduce construction complexity and help ensure consistent performance across the entire building envelope.

Benefits of SIPs

Using SIPs on the Koning Residence delivered several important advantages:

• Energy Efficiency:
  Continuous insulation and reduced air leakage help lower heating and cooling demand.

• Interior Comfort:
  Improved thermal performance supports more consistent indoor temperatures and reduced drafts.

• Construction Quality:
  Factory-built panels improve dimensional accuracy and reduce onsite variability.

• Durability:
  SIP construction provides a solid, long-lasting envelope designed for residential use.

Construction and Innovation

SIP construction enabled efficient enclosure of the home while maintaining envelope continuity across walls and roof assemblies. The panelized system helped streamline construction and improve overall build quality—key benefits for a custom residential project.

Performance & Sustainability Features

• Exceptional airtightness:
  Blower door results of 0.19 ACH50 under pressure at completion of AirBarrier sealing; 0.33 ACH50 after unmasking windows and doors

• Energy performance:
  Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 15.7 kBtu/ft²
  Winter energy use reflected active construction conditions; summer usage has since dropped by approximately 5%

• Heating, cooling, and ventilation:
  Two 24,000 BTU ducted mini-split systems, one per side of the home
  Systems are zoned independently and balanced through air mixing in the great room to maintain even temperatures throughout the house
  System selection accommodated the open-concept layout without crossing the great room with ductwork

• High-performance windows and doors:
  Triple-pane, double low-E fiberglass units
  U-values: 0.18 (fixed), 0.22 (hinged), 0.23 (sliding)
  Solar Heat Gain Index (SHGI) below 0.35

• Foundation system:
  8-inch Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) foundation taken down to bedrock

• Lighting and envelope integrity:
  Energy-efficient LED puck lighting installed in a furred-down ceiling to avoid cutting SIP roof panels
  Only two 3-inch plumbing vent penetrations through the roof, sealed prior to AirBarrier application

• On-site renewable energy:
  9.68 kW solar photovoltaic system
  Panels mounted on a secondary structure to avoid roof penetrations in the SIP main house
  System has generated more energy than used through September and is sized to meet at least 80% of annual electricity demand for two to three occupants

• Indoor environmental quality:
  Predominantly non-VOC and low-VOC interior paints

• Site sustainability and stormwater management:
  Berm and French retention drain system sized for a 30-year storm event
  Integrated landscape strategy including a hobby orchard and vineyard with fruit trees and grapevines

Challenges and Solutions

Residential construction in climates with seasonal extremes requires careful attention to insulation and air sealing. SIPs addressed these challenges by delivering a high-performance envelope that limits energy loss and supports year-round comfort with fewer construction steps.

Key Features

• Custom single-family residence in Idaho

• Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) wall and roof construction

• High-performance building envelope

• Energy-efficient residential design

• Improved comfort, durability, and long-term performance