When many people hear the words “green building,” what springs to mind are green products and materials. They’re the most visible signs of a green home.
It’s important to note that green products are only one consideration in the grand scheme of green building. A home could be filled with green products from wall-to-wall, yet fail miserably from the standpoint of energy efficiency. Home design, along with effective construction and installation techniques, contribute to increased energy efficiency and water efficiency, improved durability, and better indoor air quality.
What is a green product?
Green building products are more than fashionable finishes like recycled glass, bamboo, and cork. Many attributes constitute a green product. According to the GreenSpec® Guide to Residential Building Materials, green products may contain recycled or salvaged content, derive from renewable or responsibly managed resources, reduce manufacturing pollution and detrimental indoor emissions, and conserve energy or water.
When it comes to green products, a common concern among homebuilders is whether or not environmental and health attributes come at the expense of performance. Homeowners still expect their low-flow plumbing fixtures to deliver a strong spray or flush and their eco-friendly paint to hold up to wear and tear just as well as conventional paints. Recently, improved technologies have allowed manufacturers to produce green products that meet and exceed performance expectations. The following products have received recognition in the building industry for both their performance and green characteristics.
Hallowell International Acadia™ Combined Heating and Cooling System
Hallowell International’s Acadia™ heating and cooling system won ASHRAE’s Innovation Award for Heating. The Acadia is a “boosted” air-source heat pump that extracts heat from outdoor air and distributes it through ductwork, much like conventional heat pumps. What sets the Acadia apart is its wide operating range of 0°F to 62°F. The Acadia’s coefficient of performance (C.O.P.) is 2.0 to 4.1. While heat pumps have traditionally offered an energy-efficient alternative to standard HVAC systems, they’ve fared poorly in cold climates, where supplemental heating (usually electric resistance heat) must be used as back-up when temperatures drop below the balance point temperature. Not only does the Acadia operate in lower outside air temperatures, it defrosts 82% less than a typical heat pump, which saves additional energy.
Arch Wood Protection, Inc. FrameGuard® Wood
FrameGuard® mold-resistant indoor wood won the NAHB Green Building Award for Green Product Marketing of the Year. It was the only green product honored at the 2007 NAHB Green Building Conference. Arch Wood Protection, Inc. developed the safe coating with three fungicides and a borate compound—the same fungicides used in some cereals, coffee, and lotions, and the same borates used in some hand soaps and cosmetics. The FrameGuard coating is applied to interior wood, including trusses, OSB, and plywood to inhibit termites, mold growth, and fungal decay. It’s been certified as a “low-emitting product” by GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI). Besides having lower emissions, FrameGuard wood is durable and grown on responsibly managed timberlands, all qualities that make it a green product.
PPG Pure Performance® Paint
Interior paint has traditionally been notorious for affecting indoor air quality. Some paints contain heavy metals, formaldehyde, and ethylene glycol, which are added as pigments, drying agents, or fungicides. Paints also contain solvents, which allow paint to evaporate to a solid film after it’s applied to a surface. The solvents often contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which can pose health risks to painters and homeowners who breathe the fumes.
Several manufacturers now offer low or zero-VOC paint. One of these manufacturers, Pittsburgh® Paints, offers Pure Performance® interior paint, the first paint to receive the Green Seal Class A rating for zero-VOC paints. The resins in Pure Performance are formulated to be compatible with zero-VOC coalescent agents, whereas many other latex paint resins are combined with coalescent agents that are considered to be VOCs. Pure Performance paint is therefore low odor. It also contains a mold and mildew resistant additive for durability.
American Standard FloWise® Toilet
American Standard’s FloWise® toilet was among the first to receive the EPA’s WaterSense™ label for water efficiency. This high efficiency toilet (HET) uses 1.28 gallons per flush, or 20% less than conventional toilets, which are required by law not to exceed 1.6 gallons per flush. The FloWise toilet uses a forceful flush instead of a high volume of water to clean the bowl. The funnel-shaped piston-action Accelerator™ Flush Valve forces water into the bowl in less than a second.
