BuildingGreen Top 10 Green Products

GreenSource magazine’s partners, BuildingGreen LLC, publisher of the GreenSpec Directory, announced its ninth annual Top 10 Green Products at the 2010 Greenbuild conference in Chicago. The list recognizes the past year’s most exciting products.

Knoll FSC-Certified Furniture

Knoll produces a full line of commercial office furnishings (including casegoods, office systems, and tables) in a wide range of styles, materials, and finishes. All of Knoll’s standard furniture lines that incorporate wood now come standard with wood harvested from sustainably managed forests as certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). With just a few exceptions, Knoll recently began providing FSC-certified wood without asking, at no surcharge, and at standard lead times. Knoll is the only furniture company—and perhaps the only company of this size in any market sector—that has made such a significant commitment to sustainable forestry and FSC.

LEED value
• MR Credit 7: Certified Wood

Knoll, Inc.
East Greenville, Pennsylvania
>knoll.com

Niagara Stealth Toilet

Niagara Conservation’s ultra-high-efficiency Stealth toilet incorporates a vacuum-assist technology that uses only 0.8 gallons per flush (gpf) while producing very little noise (unlike standard pressure-assist toilets). The Stealth’s unique design incorporates a sealed tank-within-a-tank that, as the tank fills with water after the flush phase, forces air into the trapway below the toilet bowl. During the next flush, this bubble collapses creating negative pressure that pulls waste from the bowl. At 0.8 gpf the Stealth uses the same amount of water that many dual-flush toilets use on the lightest flush setting, and it is even quieter than many standard gravity-flush toilets.

LEED value
• WE Prerequisite 1: Water Use Reduction—20% Reduction
• WE Credit 2: Innovative Wastewater Technologies
• WE Credit 3: Water Use Reduction

Niagara Conservation Corp.
Cedar Knolls, New Jersey
niagaraconservation.com

Electec EZ-Wiring & Cabling Systems

Electec’s EZ-Wiring is a cost-effective, plug-and-play, modular wiring system that contains no heavy metals and no halogens (bromine, chlorine, or fluorine), which are commonly used in cable sheathing. Rated as “low-smoke, zero-halogen” (LSZH), the company’s products include the four-wire EZ-Wiring D used primarily for lighting applications; the eight-wire H-Series for systems furniture, advanced lighting controls, and raised-floor systems; and the EZ-Cabling steel-shielded voice/data zone cabling. All of these modular systems are designed for reuse and reconfiguration using uniquely keyed connections that save resources and money, simplify retrofits, and prevent the buildup of abandoned cabling in walls or air-handling spaces, a common fire and health hazard.

Electec, Ltd.
Ottawa, Ontario
electeconline.com

OBPlus Wall System

Bensonwood’s OBPlus Wall system (“OB” for “open-built”) is framed using 9.5”-deep I-studs filled with R-35 dense-pack cellulose insulation, then clad with exterior moisture-resistant OSB sheathing (with taped joints). Advanced gasket technology is used for air sealing, detailing is provided to minimize thermal bridging, a drainage plane is installed on the exterior, and integral baseboard raceways on the interior for electrical and data cables eliminate wall penetrations. Bensonwood houses are designed using sophisticated Swiss BIM software, with output to milling equipment that cuts components to precise dimensions. The company offers Passive House options, achieving up to R-60 walls and comparable roof systems

LEED value
• EA Prerequisite 2: Minimum Energy Performance
• EA Credit 1: Optimize Energy Performance
• MR Credit 4: Recycled Content

Bensonwood
Walpole, New Hampshire
bensonwood.com

Pittsburgh Corning Foamglas Insulation

Pittsburgh Corning’s Foamglas insulation is 100% glass—made from silica sand, limestone, soda, and trace minerals—whose production is free of harmful blowing agents or fire retardants. Its high compressive strength and water resistance make itan appropriate substitute forextruded polystyrene. Foamglas has a stable insulation value of R-3.44 per inch; is noncom-bustible, resistant to corrosion, and dimensionally stable; and its closed-cell, inorganic structure will not support the growth of mold, fungi, or micro-organisms. When installed as recommended, Foamglas also serves as a radon, air, and vapor barrier. It is available in flat or tapered sheets, either faced with a bitumen-impregnated sheet or unfaced.

LEED value
• EA Prerequisite 2: Minimum Energy Performance
• EA Credit 1: Optimize Energy Performance

Pittsburgh Corning
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
foamglasinsulation.com

Xicato LED Spot Module

The Xicato Spot Module (XSM) is an interchangeable LED module that is used in conjunction with a heat sink, reflector, and remote driver supplied separately by fixture manufacturers. Designed as a replacement for MR16 halogen lamps, the Xicato module is available with outputs of 400, 700, and 1,000 lumens in 2700K, 3000K, and 4000K color temperatures. Xicato produces high-quality light similar to that of halogen lamps, with a color-rendering index (CRI) as high as 98 for the Artist Series XSM, accurate enough for use in museums and art galleries. The company does not produce fixtures, only the replaceable LED module, but several dozen fixture manufacturers now incorporate Xicato’s technology.

LEED value
• EA Prerequisite 2: Minimum Energy Performance
• EA Credit 1: Optimize Energy Performance
• EA Credit 1.1: Optimize Energy Performance—Lighting Power

Xicato, Inc.
San José, California
xicato.com

Ornilux Bird-Safe Window Glazing

According to the NYC Audubon Society, 100 million birds are killed annually in the U.S. through collisions with buildings. The German company Arnold Glas produces a specialty glazing that helps reduce these impacts. Distributed in the U.S. by Roeder Windows & Doors, Ornilux glass contains a random pattern of UV-reflective lines that are visible to birds but nearly invisible to humans. This glass is available in two insulated, argon-filled configurations: one with low-emissivity coating, the other with a heat-rejection coating. It’s also available in a triple-laminated configuration for outdoor displays and partitions. Ornilux is not cheap, but it’s cost-competitive compared with some bird-protection strategies.

LEED value
• IEQ Credit 8.1: Daylight and Views—Daylight

Roeder Windows & Doors
Ventura, California
roeder-wd.com

Halton Heat Recovery Unit for Kitchens

Commercial kitchen ventilation (CKV) systems often exhaust conditioned air at 8,000 cubic feet per minute (cfm) for more than 12 hours a day at temperatures exceeding 110°F. Halton’s pre-packaged Heat Recovery Unit (HRU) exhaust and make-up air unit captures this heat using fin-tube heat exchangers and a glycol loop that can be routed to pre-heat make-up air or water (or both depending on outside conditions). First introduced in 2006 by Martin Air Systems, the HRU can save significant amounts of energy, with payback in the two- to five-year range. The unit effectively manages grease—a serious fire hazard—so cleaning is similar to standard CKV.

LEED value
• EA Prerequisite 2: Minimum Energy Efficiency Performance
• EA Credit 1: Optimize Energy Performance
•EA Credit 1.3: Optimize Energy Performance—HVAC

Halton Group
Scottsville, Kentucky
haltoncompany.com

Wilo Stratos Water Pumps

Wilo’s commercial Stratos and residential Stratos ECO pumps use variable-frequency drives (VFD) and electronically commutated motors (ECMs) that adjust to changing pump demands, reducing circulation energy by over 70% compared with standard single-speed pumps. This is significant because pumping can account for as much as a fifth of electricity used in commercial buildings. Used for hydronic heating, air conditioning, solar water heating, and other water-circulation applications, Wilo pumps’ advanced circuitry adapts to changing water demands and optimizes pump speed to reduce the amount of water circulated, helping avoid the problem of pump oversizing, the primary reason pumping water wastes so much energy.

LEED value
• EA Prerequisite 2: Minimum Energy Performance
•EA Credit 1: Optimize Energy Performance

Wilo
Melrose Park, Illinois
wilo-usa.com

NyloDeck Composite Decking

NyloDeck is a new, American-made composite decking produced from water-blown, VOC-free polyurethane binder and pre-consumer recycled waste carpet fiber. The company plans to convert to 100% post-consumer recycled carpet in early 2011. Impervious to moisture, termites, mold, and mildew, the 5-½”-wide decking is available in two thicknesses: 7/8”, for spanning 16” on-center joists, and 1-1/8”, for spanning up to 24” on-center joists. Available in three colors (Caramel, American Gray, and Cocoa), NyloDeck has a three-dimensional, embossed wood-grain surface with a planned edge-groove option by early 2011. Note that NyloDeck products have to be spaced to allow for thermal expansion and contraction.

LEED value
• MR Credit 4: Recycled content

Nyloboard, LLC
Covington, Georgia
nyloboard.com

Source: http://greensource.construction.com/products/2011/1102_products-2.asp