| Summary: | With increasing interest from the construction industry to deliver innovative solutions for low-cost energy-efficient green housing, Magnesium Oxide Structural Insulated Panels (MgO SIPs) are being developed as one alternative envelope system for green housing. Although many benefits have been claimed, little quantitative support can be found. This research, as a case study of a pilot single family house for First Nations communities using an MgO SIP envelope system, provides several quantitative analyses such as labor produc-tivity assessment, life-cycle environmental assessment, cost analysis and thermography quality test, for the MgO SIP house and other envelope alternatives. A qualitative analysis of the benefits and challenges found during construction are also examined. The results show that the MgO SIP panels perform slightly below the expected results for traditional construction assemblies in many of the quantitative assessments, although several ad-vantages are evident in the qualitative analysis. The results are inconclusive in terms of definitive conclusions regarding the relative cost and functional performance of the MgO SIPs, but they do help to understand the implications of this alternative construction tech-niques. Faculty Reviewed
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