Murus Green Building Certification Guide
» Download the Murus Green Building Certification Guide V4.0 as a PDF file
» Download the Murus Green Building Certification Guide V4.1 as a PDF file
Green Building and Murus
The green building movement continues to gain momentum as more builders and owners embrace the value of environmentally conscious approaches. Architects, design professionals, and specifiers have embraced green principles, leading them to seek out products that enable them to design sustainable structures. Often, they rely on specific data that demonstrates how a product will contribute to widely accepted green building standards.
Green building standards
This guide provides detailed information to architects, owners, and builders on how Murus SIPs may contribute to certification under the LEED Guidelines and ICC-700 National Green Building Standards (NGBS).
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the rating system created by the U.S. Green Building Council, provides a framework for certifying a structure’s sustainability.
The National Association of Home Builders and the International Code Council partnered to establish the ICC-700 National Green Building Standard. Certified by the American National Standards Institute, this comprehensive green building program covers single-family homes, multi-family homes, residential remodeling projects and land development.
Murus and sustainability
Murus is a leading manufacturer of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), high performance building panels used in floors, walls, and roofs for residential and light commercial buildings. SIPs combine interior and exterior sheathing with a rigid, solid core of insulation in one composite panel.
Murus SIPs provide a number of environmental benefits: superior energy efficiency and insulating properties and the use of fast-growing, renewable wood species, among others. In addition, Murus SIPs are structural, eliminating the need for stud construction that depletes our diminishing timber resources. These and other green attributes may contribute to specific credits in categories defined by LEED and NGBS.
Energy & Atmosphere
Optimize Energy Performance
Murus SIPs enhance the insulating value of the building envelope with their superior R-values. The higher the R-value of a material, the greater its insulating capacity. Murus SIPs’ R-values range from R-15 to R-67, depending upon the type of foam core and its thickness. Unlike fiberglass batt insulation, Murus foam cores do not sag, shift, settle, or compress, or otherwise compromise the integrity of the original R-value rating. The contribution to this credit is dependent on the R-value of the specific Murus product being used, in combination with other building product materials used on the building envelope.
R-Values
| EPS SIPs | |
| Thickness | R-value |
| 4-1/2″ | 15 |
| 6-1/2″ | 23 |
| 8-1/4″ | 29 |
| 10-1/4″ | 37 |
| 12-1/4″ | 45 |
| 15″ | 55 |
| PUR SIPs | |
| Thickness | R-value |
| 4-5/8″ | 27 |
| 5-5/8″ | 34 |
| 6-5/8″ | 41 |
| GPS SIPs | |
| Thickness | R-value |
| 4-1/2″ | 18 |
| 6-1/2″ | 28 |
| 8-1/4″ | 36 |
| 10-1/4″ | 45 |
| 12-1/4″ | 55 |
| 15″ | 67 |
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System
Murus SIPs have the potential to contribute up to 24 points for LEED-NC and up to 42 points for LEED for Homes. Check with the USGBC for specifics on your particular application of Murus SIPs.
Air Infiltration
Because of their solid core construction, Murus SIPs virtually eliminate air infiltration and stratification. A structure enclosed with Murus SIPs will be three to five times tighter than typical enclosure systems.
Materials & Resources
Construction Waste Management
Murus’s optional factory CNC pre-cutting service will virtually eliminate on-site panel waste.
Certified Wood
The standard OSB manufacturer is a member of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Program. OSB manufactured with FSC Certified wood may be used, when available.
Environmentally Preferable Products
Murus uses OSB made with renewable softwood and hardwood species including pine, poplar, and aspen, from self-regenerating forests or plantation-grown trees. The OSB contains no added urea-formaldehyde other than the minimal amount naturally occurring in wood, which contributes to safe indoor environmental quality.
The HFC 245fa blowing agent used in Murus’s PUR SIPs has a zero Ozone Depletion Probability (ODP) and is not considered a Volatile Organic Compound (VOC), making Murus Polyurethane foam safe for humans and the environment.
Material Efficient-Framing
The efficient use of Murus SIPs creates a continuous whole-wall system with virtually no thermal bridging, breaks, or air infiltration, which are present with wood or steel framing systems. A tight building envelope will contain the inside conditioned air, resulting in significantly less heating and cooling fuel consumption and lower energy costs while providing exceptional living comfort. SIPs can also earn points toward building certification for roof and floor applications.
ICC 700-2020 NGBS (National Green Building Standard)
Murus SIPs have the potential to contribute up to 87+ points when following the Energy Performance Path or 82 points following the Energy Prescriptive Path. Check with ICC or NAHB for specifics in your particular application of Murus SIPs.
Additional available paths are: Energy Rating Index (ERI) Target Path, and Alternative Bronze, Silver, and Gold Paths
For more information:
» Download the Murus Green Building Certification Guide V4.0 as a PDF file
» Download the Murus Green Building Certification Guide V4.1 as a PDF file