September, 2007
In Depth: Green Building Products
Find out what "green" really means—and why it matters. Plus, learn about a few green products that are making a mark in the marketplace.
By John Wagner
Saying you’re for “green” is a little like saying you’re for “progress.” It’s hard to argue with that.Green can mean many things to many people, and unfortunately, the market for green is largely unregulated. A hammer manufacturer that uses fiberglass handles may claim its products are green because they don’t need to harvest wood, while the manufacturer of hammers with wood handles claims they’re green because they don’t use fiberglass.
The marketplace will eventually sort out who is greener, and—just as we saw in the organic food market—government regulators may even step in with a unified effort to certify and label green products…but don’t hold your breath. The building materials marketplace is so large, multinational, and unwieldy—home building and remodeling combine to create by far America’s largest industry—that it will be buyer-beware for years to come.
Can anything definitive be said about green today?
Yes.
A green product or practice is one that:
Improves the indoor air quality of a home, thereby improving the health of the people who live in it.
Lowers pressure on the environment through the use of products that support responsible manufacturing and sustainable harvesting of natural resources, such as lumber, water, and extracted minerals.
Reduces the use of water throughout a home, thereby lowering demands on freshwater sources and the energy-intensive infrastructure required to pipe, store, and purify it.
Reduces the “carbon footprint” of a home—the CO2 resulting from the energy burned to heat and cool a home over its lifetime. (This calls for efficient appliances, lighting, windows, and doors, and an energy-efficient building envelope.)
Reduces the chemical danger and exposure risks to people working on, or eventually living in, the home.
Under these guidelines, a high-performance caulk would be considered green. It contributes to sealing and stopping air infiltration and helps to create a sound building envelope, which will reduce the home’s carbon footprint.
But there is an important distinction to be made here between green and sustainable. A tube of caulk is a good example.
A high-performance, high-VOC (volatile-organic-compound) caulk that creates toxins during the manufacturing process and poisons the air for workers may be considered green after it is applied on site. But is it sustainable to produce this caulk if it creates toxic by-products and poisons the air? A high-performance caulk that doesn’t give off fumes and is manufactured through a process that has little or no impact on the environment is both green and sustainable.
What this all means is that you really have three basic choices:
Products that are not green, because they are environmentally costly to make and use, like traditional oil-based polyurethane.
Products that can be considered green because they contribute to the overall quality of a job, even if the products were environmentally costly to manufacture, such as concrete.
Products that are both green and sustainable, like no-VOC, water-based polyurethane produced by an environmentally conscious manufacturer.
Finishes and Adhesives
Paints, finishes, and adhesives were the very first building products to bring green to the mass markets, and there are many choices at good prices. When choosing paints, finishes, and adhesives, going green is relatively easy. Look for products with zero or low-VOCs.
DriTac 7500 Eco-Urethane
With zero VOCs, DriTac 7500 Eco-Urethane is a very green adhesive. This solvent-free, moisture-cure urethane adhesive offers good initial stickiness, and creates a permanent bond on a wide range of wood flooring, whether that is bamboo, engineered planks, traditional solid wood, parquet, or plywood. DriTac 7500 Eco-Urethane (available in 2- and 4-gallon containers) can be used in above- or below-grade settings; is freeze-thaw stable, and remains elastomeric to allow for the expansion and contraction that would be expected in any flood. The company also offers DriTac’s 9200 FasTac (a VOC-free, wet-lay adhesive.)
DriTac.com • 800.394.9310
OSI Green Series Adhesives and Sealants
Initially developed to comply with stringent California regulations, OSI Green Series products have seen lots of “test miles” in every type of application. Both adhesives and sealants are for interior and exterior applications. The parent company, Henkel, says that their Green Series products use “environmentally friendly” formulations. With a “low-VOC” rating (5-250 grams of VOC per liter), this can help improve indoor air quality while helping to create a quality building envelope. The OSI Green Series includes acoustical sound sealant, indoor acrylic urethane, deck adhesive, drywall panel and construction adhesive, flame seal (fire, smoke, and draft stop sealant), high-performance subfloor and deck adhesive, minimally expanding sealant, and acrylic urethane indoor/outdoor sealant.
Greenseries.com • 800.321.3578
Titebond GREENchoice
Solvent-free adhesives are as green as they get, and Titebond, from manufacturer Franklin International, recently launched its GREENchoice line with seven solvent-free adhesives and one “eco-friendly” polyurethane formula. The company says it developed the first eco-friendly construction adhesive two decades ago. (The line also comes in corrugated cartridges made from post-consumer recycled material.) The solvent-free adhesives include GREENchoice Heavy-Duty Construction, Projects & Repair, Weatherproof Subfloor, Professional Drywall, Professional Cove Base, Professional Acoustical Sealant, and Professional Radon Sealant. The GREENchoice line also includes eco-friendly Premium Polyurethane Construction Adhesive.
Titebondgreenchoice.com • 888.533.9043
Engineered Lumber & Treated Wood
Engineered lumber truly optimizes the use of forest resources. It not only uses more of the tree than dimensional lumber, it can use secondary-demand lumber from smaller trees, potentially lessening overall pressure on a forest. Once installed, it can span longer distances and is more consistent than dimensional lumber of the same size. This can reduce both the need for additional framing and the labor required to get the frame true and square.
For treated wood, factory-applied treatments prevent poisonous materials from being spread at a job site—always a good thing.
Ainsworth 0.8E Durastrand OSL Rimboard Any product that can reduce the need for additional lumber or reduce the risk of overframing walls gets high marks for being green. For short-span beams and headers, Ainsworth’s 0.8E Durastrand OSL Rimboard is an interesting engineered solution. Unlike OSB rim boards that can’t span, Durastrand OSL Rimboard can be used without the need for separate headers. And Durastrand OSL Rimboard—which has a “modulus of elasticity” of 800,000 psi, hence the name—can span up to 9 ft., so it can run continuously around the whole floor system in many applications. At 11⁄4-in. thick, Durastrand OSL Rimboard is available in depths of up to 24 in. and lengths of up to 24 ft. Ainsworth.ca • 877.661.3200
Ainsworth’s Thermastrand Radiant Barrier Roof SheathingA good radiant barrier can reduce the cooling load of a home, lower the carbon footprint of a home, and save money on gas bills to boot. The goal of radiant barrier roof sheathing is to block the sun’s radiant heat (one of three types of heat that enter a building). Ainsworth says that its Thermastrand Radiant Barrier Roof Sheathing blocks up to 97% of the sun’s radiant heat. The radiant barrier is attached to the FSC-certified OSB as it is manufactured, and Ainsworth offers a 25-year warranty against delamination. Ainsworth uses low-e aluminum foil that can breathe for the barrier. The result? Thermastrand can keep the spaces just below the roof sheathing as much as 30ºF cooler, meaning a 10-20% savings on cooling costs. Thermastrand is an ENERGY STAR product and meets California’s Title 24 energy-efficiency code.
Ainsworth.ca • 877.661.3200
BluWood Factory-applied wood treatments that are effective against insects can circumvent the need for on-site application of termiticides and pesticides. And that can save a great deal of poison from being spread around a home site…a very green feature indeed. BluWood lumber is treated at the factory with a two-part coating that can be used to protect all wood framing components from mold, moisture, and termites. All lumber used in a home can be treated, including dimensional lumber, engineered wood, OSB, trusses, rafters, and sheathing. The technology includes an infusion-film that forms a water-repellent, semi vapor-permeable film that interlocks with the wood fibers to provide controlled topical and subsurface moisture absorption. The film also resists mold growth on the cured surface of the film. The second part of this technology is the Perfect Barrier DOT Wood Preservative, a proven fungicide and insecticide that provides protection from rot fungi and wood-eating insects, including termites. Bluwood.com • 561.416.1972
iLevel by Weyerhaeuser Trus Joist TimberStrand LSL Beam Engineered lumber optimizes the use of raw wood, and given the wide-ranging impact of logging on the environment, that’s a very green feature. The TimberStrand Laminated Strand Lumber (LSL) manufacturing process converts up to 75% of a log into high-performing engineered lumber. This process uses small-diameter, plentiful trees that are not strong or straight enough to be of structural value as conventional sawn lumber products. The wood is cut into thin strands and then glued together in a proprietary steam-injection process. The result is a wood product that can be milled into a wide range of building products for applications such as rim board, headers, beams, columns, studs, sill plates, and stair stringers. Ilevel.com • 888.453.8358
Contact IndustriesOptimizing lumber resources is a key feature of green. Quality wood veneer products offer the look of solid hardwoods without the need to harvest full-dimension wood products for each application. Contact Industries has made a name for itself because it has mastered wrapping and gluing technology that makes highly efficient use of wood and wood veneer.
Focused on cabinet and door components, Contact Industries uses substrates to make the best use of natural resources. For example, a typical block of 5/4 solid hardwood might make a single solid moulding profile. Contact can produce 50 identical products with that same 5/4 block by slicing thin veneers from it and then gluing them to profiles formed by finger-jointed pine or other material. Contact is able to use as much as 95% of the wood that enters its facility, and they recycle almost all of what can’t be used in their product line. The company also recently introduced a line of adhesives that can be cured with UV light, which the company says cuts down on VOCs and hazardous air pollutants.
Contactind.com • 800.547.1038
Roseburg’s Environmentally Certified Products
Third-party certification of lumber products is costly and it can be onerous to comply with standards set by regulators. Getting certified is a very green thing to do, and anyone who has gone to the trouble of getting certified deserves a close look. Roseburg produces several plywood and lumber products that have been environmentally certified by one of the world’s most accepted third-party certification organizations, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). FSC is an independent, not-for- profit organization with a diverse membership representing environmental, business, and social interests globally. SmartWood, the primary certifying organization for FSC, has evaluated and certified that Roseburg’s forestry operations meet international environmental standards through appropriate conservation of the forest’s economic resources. Roseburg also has had their particleboard manufacturing process audited by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), a third-party environmental testing and certification organization. SkyBlend, UltraBlend and Roseburg Pine particleboard are certified by SCS.
Rfpco.com • 800.245.1115
Roofing and Trim The roof is a huge solar collector, whether we use the heat and power that accumulates there or not. In warmer climates, it’s important to lower cooling loads of buildings by reflecting or emitting the sun’s heat back into the sky. That means high-performance roofs are a key green feature of any home. The same can be said of non-wood trim packages that reduce the need for clear or #2 lumber.
EcoStar Recycled Premium Steep Slope Roofing Products Weathertight recycled rubber and plastic polymer roofing with a 50-year warranty? It screams green, because the 3-tab alternative would have to be replaced three times over in that same time period. EcoStar roofing products are made from recycled rubber and offer good, long warranties, Class 4 impact resistance, freeze/ thaw resistance, high wind warranty, and a Class-A fire rating. The product line includes Majestic Slate, Designer Series, Seneca Cedar Shake Tiles, and Titus Tiles. Majestic Slate—a 50-year rubber slate tile—is a prime example of the other products in the line. It’s made of 100% recycled rubber and plastic polymers. The tile is injection molded using a special formula that protects the integrity of the rubber, creating an environmentally friendly, lightweight alternative to slate. Each tile weighs just 1.26 pounds, alleviating stress to buildings and injury problems for applicators. Ecostar.carlisle.com • 800.211.7170
HB&G’s PermaWrap PVC ColumnsAlthough PVC isn’t that green to manufacture, it does provide durable, low-maintenance products that will, over their lifetime, far outperform any wood product. A leading column maker, HB&G, offers the PermaWrap cellular PVC Column. Each column includes neck and panel molding, adhesive, installation brackets, and handrail installation blocks. The company says PermaWrap is easy to install with their self-locking system. All are backed with a 5-year warranty, and they are currently available in 6-, 8-, 10- and 12-in. widths, and in 8- and 10-ft. lengths.
Hbgcolumns.com • 800.264.4424
TAMKO Metalworks Cool Colors Roofing
Roofs can be considered green if they are durable, made from recycled (or recyclable) materials, and most importantly, emit heat and reflect the sun’s rays away from the home. Metalworks Steel Shingles meet these criteria and they do so while offering the look of slate, wood, and tile, even though they are made of protective metal. The shingles are designed with a four-way locking system that stays weathertight on the roof. There’s also a 50-year limited warranty.
TAMKO.com • 800.641.4691
The Building Envelope
Lots of exotic new green products are on the market today, but one aspect of a home that has always been green is a high-quality building envelope. A quality building envelope—and products that contribute to its overall integrity—are foundational green features.
AmDeck Floor & Roof System
Remain-in-place insulating concrete forms have revolutionized wall construction by dramatically driving up R-values while reducing the impact of notoriously wasteful concrete form building and demo. That’s a green feature indeed! Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is a common material for making insulated concrete forms (ICF) that form walls. Now the AmDeck Floor & Roof System uses the EPS concrete form technology for pouring concrete floors and roofs. AmDeck’s forms are lightweight, modular, and they stay in place, so the EPS provides a built-in, continuous thermal insulator. AmDeck floors and roofs not only provide high R-value for energy efficiency, the company says they reduce the transmission of noise from floor to floor. Joists created by AmDeck’s floor or roof systems can span up to 35 ft. or even longer.
Amvicsystem.com • 877.470.9991
Delta-Dry Enclosure Wall Rain Screen
Product innovation has long been a central feature of the U.S. building market and this new housewrap pushes new features in a number of areas, all focused on the key green feature of moisture control. Unlike products that lie flat on the sheathing of a house, Delta-Dry’s new barrier housewrap offers a raised pattern of channels that offer drain paths for water. That way water can find its way to a drainage track installed at the bottom of the wall. The company says its design helps to ventilate walls so they stay dry, which defeats mold and rot. Cosella-Dörken’s Delta-Dry is made of impermeable HDPE plastic, and lets a wall “dry out” by containing airflow passages that vent moisture vapor from the inside of the house. The company says the product’s metallic silver membrane reflects approximately 60% of radiant heat, and it also acts as a radiant barrier and wind shield.
Delta-dry.com • 888.433.5824
DuPont Tyvek AtticWrap
Moisture buildup in attics can cause havoc with a home. Unchecked, it can compromise the home’s air quality and even its structural integrity. DuPont says its new AtticWrap can help reduce air leakage and radiant heat flow through the ceiling. AtticWrap is installed over the top of rafters or trusses, creating a barrier that stops airflow, yet allows moisture in the attic to escape. Beneath the roof sheathing, AtticWrap simultaneously forms vent channels that allow airflow between the soffit and the ridge, which can reduce heat buildup. AtticWrap has a downward-facing metallized surface that also helps cooling by reducing radiant heat buildup. That same surface can reflect radiant heat back into the living space in cold climates.
Construction.tyvek.com • 800.448.9835
DuPont Tyvek ThermaWrap
Containing heat loss and gain drives down the fuel needed to heat and cool a home, which reduces its carbon footprint. More than 60% of heat lost or gained by a building is through radiant heat, and Dupont Tyvek ThermaWrap helps to manage that loss. Like Tyvek housewrap, ThermaWrap offers vapor-permeable air barrier, but it also has a low-e surface which achieves an insulation value of R-2. It provides a water-vapor transmission feature and water-penetration resistance that still allows walls to breathe.
Construction.tyvek.com • 800.448.9835
Walls: Inside and Out
Wall systems that are durable, low-maintenance, and can be installed without risk to the workers’ health are green because it’s green to be healthy. Walls that don’t have to be replaced or repainted often also have a lower life cycle impact on the environment.
CertainTeed WeatherBoards FiberCement Siding and ColorMax FiberCement Siding
Wood siding has to be painted and painted and painted again over its lifetime. When it wears out, it has to be trashed, and new lumber has to be milled to replace it. So, there’s nothing more green than durable, non-wood siding, especially when it’s sustainably manufactured. CertainTeed Corp. has long been offering products that are durable, long-lived, and that contain no food for termites and mold. The company’s cementitious products also won’t rot and resist the effects of salt spray and UV rays. CertainTeed now offers a re-formulated, patented fiber cement siding that they say is even more environmentally friendly. WeatherBoards FiberCement Siding and ColorMax FiberCement Siding are made with a combination of recycled fly ash (which adds workability to the wet cement), Portland cement, wood fiber, and additives.
Certainteed.com • 800.233.8990
Quiet Solution’s Soundproof Drywall
Noise attenuation provides a better quality living environment, an ultimate goal of green, but the wall components that reduce noise also tend to be high-performance products that more efficiently use natural resources and labor. According to Quiet Solution, a single sheet of its QuietRock 525 has the noise reduction capability of eight sheets of traditional drywall. Quiet Solution also says that developers can use more infill areas for residential housing, even near highways, because of sound-deadening qualities of QuietRock 525. This product is used like traditional drywall, but it has a Sound Transmission Class (STC) value of up to 72, which is relatively high.
Quietsolution.com • 800.797.8159
Sheetrock Brand Dust Control Joint Compound
USG says that its new Dust-Control Joint Compound is the first compound to reduce airborne dust during the finishing process. Any product that improves indoor air quality in this way gets a high score for green. When sanded, the compound’s unique “heavy dust” particles bind together and drop straight to the floor, ready to vacuum up. This clears the air for workers, cuts down on cleanup labor, and contains job site dust…the bane of most any job.
Usg.com • 800.874.4968
Insulation
The thermal envelope of a building is a key indicator of how green it is. That’s because the thermal envelope not only affects how much fuel is burned to heat and cool the building, it also affects how moisture is handled. Poorly managed moisture can shorten the life of a building by encouraging rot and mold, and it can compromise the indoor air quality, the purity of which is a key green metric.
BASF Comfort Foam InsulatingAir Barrier
Insulation is most effective (and most green) when it drives air permeability down to zero as it reduces or eliminates condensation. BASF’s Comfort Foam closed-cell, spray-applied polyurethane foam offers near-zero air permeability and superior insulation properties. The company says its Comfort Foam can eliminate the thermal bridging (when a wall component transfers heat at a higher rate than the surrounding wall areas) and air leakage that are common with traditional batts. The product can also help control moisture, reducing the risk of mold, and reducing the movement of vapor through a wall, thus driving down the potential risks of condensation. Closed-cell spray foam insulation can also give structural stability to a wall and virtually eliminate air infiltration, improving indoor air quality by keeping out allergens and pollutants. Comfort Foam is urea-formaldehyde-free, and uses ZONE3 zero-ozone-depleting propellants.
Basf.com/res • 888.900.FOAM
CertainTeed’s DryRight Fiber Glass Insulation
Controlling moisture is key to green building because when moisture is left uncheck-ed, it can destroy a building (through rot) and foster the growth of mold and mildew, a risk to indoor air quality. DryRight Fiber Glass Insulation by CertainTeed Corp. is faced with a unique MemBrain to help control moisture within wall cavities, reducing the risk of mold and mildew when installed properly. The film’s molecular-scale pores open under moist, humid conditions during the cooling season to allow moisture vapor to pass. When humidity is low inside during the heating season, the molecular-scale pores close to block vapor transmission. This process allows closed building envelope systems to increase their drying potential with seasonal climactic changes.
Certainteed.com • 800.233.8990
Icynene Insulation
Insulation is green when it blocks air and moisture infiltration and is “continuous,” meaning it leaves no gaps when applied. These are areas where blown foam really shines.
Because it is sprayed in place, Icynene Insulation—either the Icynene Insulation System or Gold Seal 400, Icynene’s portable, soft foam insulation dispensing system—can accommodate a wide variety of project sizes and types. Icynene offers a continuous insulation and air-barrier system that offers a high-R-value, and is efficient, draft-free, and noise-free. And by forming a comprehensive air seal, Icynene prevents warm, moist air from infiltrating the building envelope and contacting cooler surfaces where moist air can condense. (Condensation is one of the conditions that can foster mold, mildew, and other airborne bacteria, so Icynene can also contribute to indoor air quality and mold prevention.)
Icynene.com • 800.758.7325
JM Formaldehyde-free andMold-resistant Insulation
Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and putting it in your walls isn’t very green. Nor is mold, which can degrade indoor air quality and require that a building be dismantled and discarded. Johns Manville offers the only complete line of formaldehyde-free fiberglass insulation. Traditional fiberglass batts are made up of spun glass and a binder that holds the thin glass threads together. Most batt insulation manufacturers put formaldehyde in their binder, but Johns Manville uses an acrylic binder instead. So, formaldehyde—a known carcinogen—won’t leak from the insulation into the home.
An independent, nationally recognized laboratory tested these products to determine emissions of toxic VOCs of concern, including formaldehyde. They passed the Environmental Specification 1350 test—among the nation’s toughest indoor air quality test. More recent data showed the JM products to be free of all VOC emissions. Johns Manville also offers mold-resistant batts. MR Faced Batts are treated with an EPA-registered preservative–a product used in food–to help protect them from the growth of mold and mildew.
Jm.com • 800.654.3103
Flooring and Decks
When your entire family walks on a floor every day, or when that product takes abuse every day in direct sunlight, you’d better have flooring that a) can be replaced in segments and recycled, b) is highly-durable, and c) is made of recycled material. Many floor products now have these green features.
Marmoleum Click
Modular finish flooring is green indeed, because high-traffic areas can be replaced without trashing the entire floor. Marmoleum click is a natural linoleum-HDF (high density fiberboard) flooring with a cork layer. The flooring comes in 12x36 or 12x12 in. panels and gets its name from a simple, patented, tongue-and-groove system that “clicks” into place. Ideal for high-traffic areas, these floors do not require adhesives, so the floor can be walked on immediately after installation. The flooring also has a bacteriostatic property that inhibits the growth of bacteria.
Themarmoleumstore.com • 866.627.6653
TrexContours
Recycled plastic and reclaimed wood can be used to create high-performance decking, and there are many viable products to choose from today. Trex calls its product line TrexContours because the boards have the contours and grain of real wood. The profile of these boards is narrow (5 in.) yet they use the same joist spans as Trex 5/4 boards. They are made from a combination of recycled plastic and reclaimed wood, and the company says that the plastic shields the wood from moisture and insect damage, and the contours also act as an anti-slip feature.
Trex.com • 800.289.8739
Doors and Windows If you are going to cut a hole in a perfectly good wall, you’d better have a high-performance item to stick in there. Attaining a high-performance building envelope is one of the first rules of green, and quality windows—with long warranties and superior thermal performance—are central to any green building.
Amarr Garage Doors/JELD-WEN Two consistently green features are the use of recycled material and high durability. This product line offers both. Jeld-Wen and Amarr Garage Doors have teamed up to distribute Jeld-Wen garage doors in all of Amarr’s Door Centers. Jeld-Wen’s “composite” line of doors is especially green. They are made from 100% recycled wood fiber, and their exterior skin is “virtually impervious to moisture, cracking, rotting, sub-zero freezing, desert heat, and the damaging effect of the sun’s ultraviolet rays,” the company says. The doors are also filled with CFC-free, expanded polystyrene insulation for extra energy efficiency. The trim boards are made from an advanced polymer construction that will not dent, rust, or delaminate. Amarr.com • 800.503.3667
Hurd Windows & Doors with ClimaGuard SPFThese Hurd windows exemplify the very best in thermal performance. That’s very green, because it lowers the carbon footprint of the home. ClimaGuard SPF is a new glass coating technology from Guardian Industries. The company says ClimaGuard SPF blocks 99.9% of UV-A rays (powerful photoaging and skin cancer agents) and UV-B rays, yet does not sacrifice daylight or visibly change the color of the glass, as some coatings do. Hurd Windows & Doors now offers ClimaGuard SPF on almost all of their wood windows and doors and says the technology blocks 35% more UV rays than any other coating currently on the market. ClimaGuard also offers a 50+ Fade Protection Factor (FPF), when the average score is 7. (Clear glass has an FPF of 2.) Hence, Hurd SPF windows can offer long-term protection against sun damage to furniture. Hurd.com • 800.223.4873
Integrity All Ultrex Window Series
Although pultruded fiberglass may not sound like a very green component, it creates an exceptionally durable product, and there is nothing more green than extended lifecycles. Marvin Windows says that its Integrity All Ultrex windows feature pultruded fiberglass that is twice as strong as steel and eight times stronger than vinyl. These windows feature Ultrex’s pultruded fiberglass material inside and out, and the windows are treated to resist spotting, scratching, streaking, fading, warping, corroding, and denting. With double-strength glass standard, the All Ultrex series also features a heavy-duty sash, and low-e II insulated glass with argon gas. Every Ultrex window meets and exceeds NFRC and ENERGY STAR requirements. Integritywindows.com • 888.419.0076
Kolbe Ultra Series Casement Windows
Green windows should offer high performance in northern or southern climes, and at least a 20-year warranty. Kolbe’s Ultra Series offers a 30-year warranty, so they’re off to a great start. Kolbe’s Ultra Series casement windows use extruded aluminum for the exterior sash, coated with a PVDF fluoropolymer plastic that Kolbe says will not crack, check, fade, or peel. The glass has all the standards you would expect: low-e coatings, argon gas, and Thermo-Edge spacers. The windows meet ENERGY STAR requirements for northern climates, and the windows have a U-factor of less than 0.34, considered high-efficiency. Kolbe also says the windows achieve a very high design pressure (DP) of DP-85 (which means they can withstand 200-plus mph wind).
Kolbe-kolbe.com • 800.955.8177
Sage Electrochromics
Controlling solar gain though shading is a time-tested way to cut cooling bills. Sage Electrochromics allows owners to tint a window with the flick of a switch. The SageGlass coating is made up of five layers and when voltage is applied to these in their “clear” state, they darken as lithium ions disperse from an electrode. That means the sun’s light and heat are absorbed and subsequently re-radiated from the glass surface—much the way low-e glass also keeps out unwanted heat. Reverse the voltage and the glass becomes clear again. The DOE says that electronically tintable window systems can save up to 40% on energy bills.
Sage-ec.com • 877.724.3321
Weather Shield’s Zo-e-shield Windows and Doors
Zo-e-shield Windows and Doors are not only top thermal envelope performers, and hence very green, but they have an added EasyCare feature that cuts down on the need to clean them. That in turn cuts down on the use of hazardous cleaners. According to the Department of Energy, windows in the U.S. currently consume 3.8 quadrillion BTU’s of energy annually in the form of heating and air conditioning loads at a cost of more than $30 billion. Zo-e-shield glazing systems are custom engineered to improve a home’s energy usage. The windows deliver very low (low is good) center-of-glass U-values and solar heat gain coefficients and block harmful UV rays. The glazing systems feature multiple layers of low-e coating, and inert gas-filled airspaces. The flexible, low-conductive, durable materials create an effective insulating barrier against heat flow, sound, and condensation. Also, the invisible, permanent EasyCare coating resists dirt and causes water to “sheet off” rather than cling to the glass.
Weathershield.com • 800.538.8836
Tools
How can a tool be green? It can have a longer life cycle and lower toxicity than the previous generation did, which reduces stress on the waste stream. And it can optimize labor and efficiency to reduce the overall building cycle. For a software product, it can optimize the building process, reducing waste and even the need for materials.
iLevel Javelin Software
Waste reduction during the building process is a key feature of green building, and software that optimizes framing members can make a huge impact, from lumber harvest to waste stream reduction. Javelin Structural Frame Design software from iLevel by Weyerhaeuser gives dealers tools to serve homebuilder customers. Instead of “one size fits all,” the integrated, single platform approach in Javelin design software creates customized framing layouts to suit each builder’s preferences for materials and framing practices. Dealers enjoy the benefits of better communication with builders and framers, a higher standard of accuracy, optimized material lists, and improved customer satisfaction. Builders will realize a more efficient use of materials, while framers will gain more confidence as they assemble the floor, walls, and roof structures. The program connects the structural panels to framing members, setting the stage for more precise wind and seismic load analysis in future versions of the software. Ilevel.com • 888.453.8358
Lithium-ion Batteries There’s nothing green about trashing old batteries, but a new breed of battery not only lasts longer, but it is largely inert when finally carted off to the landfill. Lithium-ion batteries come from the greenest battery technology available today. Offering relatively superior power and run-time in a battery that is lighter than the nickel cadmium battery (NiCd) alternative, Li-Ion provides nearly 400% more energy that NiCd batteries of the same size and twice as much as nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH). Lithium-Ion batteries need to be charged less and replaced less often. When the Li-Ion battery is discarded, it won’t release highly toxic cadmium—a common component in nickel cadmium batteries (NiCd). Lithium-Ion replacement kits are increasingly available, and many toolmakers now offer these products, including Milwaukee, Bosch, DeWalt, Makita. Check out recycling options for your old batteries here: Rbrc.org/call2recycle.
John D. Wagner is the Green Editor for LBM Journal. An award-winning author of nine books about home building and a frequent contributor to the industry’s leading trade magazines.
| Answer | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Counter. |   | 8.7% |
| Diffuse. |  | 47.82% |
| Explain. |  | 13.04% |
| Adapt. |  | 30.44% |
