“If we want to transform the construction industry, and I think that’s needed, panelization is the way to do it,” says Alan Gibson, owner of GO Logic. His company produces predesigned GO Homes from the foundation to the finishes and also builds custom homes. “We try to do as many projects as we can in the shop,” Gibson notes, but as their panel production facility can handle a maximum of 10 homes annually, they also construct homes on site. The firm is looking to expand into a larger facility in the next one to two years.
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The territory GO Logic delivers to includes New England, eastern New York, and parts of Pennsylvania. They have fielded inquiries from all over, but because a GO Logic crew oversees the assembly of the shell package on site, they limit delivery to within a day’s drive from Belfast.
GO Logic produces wall, floor, and roof panels. The wall panels typically consist of a 2x8 stud wall with a sheathing layer and 6 inches of rigid wood-fiber on the outside. Windows and doors are preinstalled in the panels and almost always are made by Kneer Sud in Germany. The on-site general contractor is responsible for running wiring through the open stud wall and then insulating the cavity with blown-in cellulose.
Every shell that is sent from the facility is run through airtightness testing. “We always get to the Passive House standard,” says Gibson. Each predesigned home is modeled using WUFI-Passiv for the site where it will be located. “All meet heat and cooling load, heat and cooling demand, and airtightness targets,” he notes, adding, “But they might need PV to meet the PHIUS source energy target.”
In addition to designing a larger facility, Gibson’s plans for 2021 include expanding into panelized retrofits. He was involved in a feasibility study for the renovation of a building owned by a local housing authority and hopes to see the project move from concept to reality within the year. “The building has a great form factor so it would not take a super-thick panel to make the building Passive House certifiable,” he points out.