A NEW ERA IN BUILDING TECHNOLOGY. AWARD WINNING ECO-PANELS PRESENTS THE EPIC BLOCK™ 

Named Best of the Best in the Building Envelope & Construction Materials category at the 2021 Architecture MasterPrize competition, and Best in Class for Energy Saving Systems at the BLT Built Design Awards, the EPIC BlockTM had already been recognized at the 2021 NAHB International Builders Show as among the Most Innovative Start-Ups in the building products industry.

Combining the durability, fire resistance and strength of concrete as the load- bearing outer ‘skins’ with the sturdy and super-insulating capabilities of an agriculturally based fire retardant closed-cell polyurethane foam core, the EPIC Block seeks to replace the traditional concrete and mortar block wall used the world over. With 60-80% less concrete and no mortar/cement relative to the traditional block wall, embodied carbon emissions associated with the EPIC Block are dramatically reduced while the wall’s insulating abilities increase by 400% or more.

The president of Eco-Panels, Charles Leahy, hopes to enter the European market in 2022 through partnerships with existing companies as well as through government invitation and incentives. “Much of the world including the US and European countries are still building structures using centuries old technology of stud/timber framing or block/brick construction. Erecting these structures is complicated and requires skilled labour, and the resulting buildings are not nearly as strong or energy efficient as they could be. And with many countries setting lofty goals for reduction in carbon emissions, we finally offer an easy method for significant carbon emission reductions for both existing structures as well as new construction.”

• The EPIC BlockTM Product
  As noted by the International Energy Agency, “The buildings and buildings construction sectors combined are responsible for over one-third of global final energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO2 emissions.”

And the single greatest consumer of energy in most buildings is the energy associated with interior climate control – the heating or cooling of the structure. Despite occasional advances in green design, the underlying methods of construction – concrete block or stud/timber/steel framing- have remained largely unchanged in the U.S and much of the world for the past two centuries. An other structural shell is erected first and then insulation follows separately, if at all, and both steps require skilled labour. Eco-Panels has shown that through better product design and more appropriate use of materials anyone can create structures that are stronger, safer, and significantly more energy efficient than traditional methods.

With structural testing of the EPIC Block presently underway and initial market availability anticipated in the summer of 2022, Eco-Panels will hasten entry into the market by seeking to partner with existing concrete products fabricators around the world. Eco-Panels anticipates this will lessen the need for significant new capital infrastructure while greatly increasing the profitability of these existing facilities through increased product value-add.

Concrete and cement products are notorious for their high carbon emissions during the manufacturing process. The EPIC BlockTM will allow an architect or builder to create a durable
and long-lasting structure without the significant negative impacts of the carbon emissions associated with a traditional block wall. “This is a real game changer. Governments and communities around the world use steel and concrete block to build their structures because of the durability and fire resistance of the materials, and yet these same materials are some of the least energy efficient materials available. The EPIC Block now allows them that same durability, but with the comfort of knowing that their energy bills associated with the heating and cooling of structures can be greatly reduced and sometimes even eliminated entirely” says Charles Leahy, President of Eco-Panels and inventor of the EPIC BlockTM. “And with better-designed building materials that almost anyone can assemble, we can help contractors broaden their labour pool almost overnight – further impacting communities in a positive way by offering an easily accessible method of employment.

■ About Eco-Panels
Eco-Panels presently ships panel product all around the world and has previously been recognized by building scientists working for the U.S. Dept. of Energy as having the most advanced panelized building system on the market today. Eco-Panels uses only zero GWP and zero ODP foaming agents and all products are styrene-free in the interest of health and safety. “It is our mission to design and create simple yet elegant modular building systems that do not require skilled labour to assemble,” says Leahy. “Stud frame construction is the weakest and least energy-efficient method of construction allowed by law and it is also the most complex. In the U.S. market, access to homes of high strength and energy efficiency is often limited only to the wealthy. But with our growing line of products, clients are building their own homes at one-half or even one-third of the cost of a home built by a general contractor – and they cost much less to operate than a traditionally built home as well.”

Headquartered in North Carolina, U.S.A., Eco-Panels is expanding across the United States and is presently seeking partners in the European market who are interested in expanding their building product offerings.
■For more information, visit: eco-panels.com