GREEN BUILDING MATERIALS

as per previous board exams

Insulated Concrete Forms: preformed blocks made with expanded

polystyrene (EPS) and metal rebar (can be stacked to build frame); filled with concrete to create an insulated and exceptionally strong wall

Benefits of Insulated Concrete Forms• Ease of Use - building blocks are very easy to use; require less crew

and take significantly less time to build than a traditional house• Energy Efficiency - insulation properties of polystyrene + high

thermal mass of concrete reduce the internal temperature fluctuations for efficient/comfortable indoor environment

• Noise Reduction - reduction of noise transmission• Fire-resistance - highly rated for fire-resistance (four hour resistance

rating)• Strength - exceptionally strong (built to hurricane/seismic standards)• Mildew/Rot - will not support the growth of mildew and mold• excellent structural choice for those exposed to severe weather such

as hurricanes and tornadoes; blocks are made of concrete (does raise some environmental concerns)

Note: Concrete depends on cement and the production of cement is

an environmental hazard.

Insulated Concrete Forms: preformed blocks made with expanded

polystyrene (EPS) and metal rebar (can be stacked to build frame); filled with concrete to create an insulated and exceptionally strong wall

Cement Substitutes - blocks that use concrete with a high concentration of fly-ash

Structural Insulated Panels - high performance building panels used to form walls, floors, roofs for commercial and residential purposes; made by sandwiching foam insulationbetween Oriented Strand Board (OSB)

Oriented Strand Board (OSB) - an engineered wood product formed with wax and resins and compressed

Insulated Concrete Forms:

Green Building Applications

Green Building Applications

The 7 Guiding Principles of Green Building

1. Lot Design, Preparation and Development

2. Resource Efficiency

3. Energy Efficiency

4. Water Efficiency

5. Indoor Environment Quality

6. Operation, Maintenance and Homeowner Education

7. Global Impact

Carbon Footprint

• a measure of the amount of greenhouse gases, measured in units of carbon dioxide, produced by human activities; measured for an individual or an organization, typically given in tons of CO2-equivalent (CO2-eq) per year.

• The global average carbon footprint - 4 tons of CO2-eq per year

Sample Carbon Footprint Calculation

• to calculate the carbon footprint of homegrown granulated sugar; detailed assessment of each stage of sugar production process – analyse ‘Total Supply Chain’, including growing and transporting of sugar beet, producing the sugar then sending the packs to store

• A one kg bag of homegrown sugar has been certified by the Carbon Trust to produce 0.5 kg of CO2 equivalent per kg of product (the low carbon footprint number reflects a focus for many years on improving energy efficiency)

Green Building Materials and Technologies

Green products used to achieve Energy Star and Green Built certification

• Superior Wall Foundation

• Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF)

• Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS)

• Geothermal Heat (closed loop and vertical loop)

• Air Source Heat Pump

• Radiant Floor Heating

• Energy Recovery Ventilators

Green Building Materials and TechnologiesGreen products used to achieve Energy Star and Green Built

certification

• Solar Domestic Hot Water

• Photovoltaic Power Systems

• On-Demand Water Heaters

• Dual Flush Toilets

• Low Flow Toilets

• Water Saving Faucets

Green Building Materials and TechnologiesGreen products used to achieve Energy Star and Green Built certification

• Weatherization Station (sprinkler system control)• Foam Insulation• Blown Cellulose Insulation• Low VOC Paint• LED Lighting• Fluorescent Lighting• PET Carpeting• Bamboo Flooring• Lyptus Wood Flooring• Cork Flooring

Green Building Materials and TechnologiesGreen products used to achieve Energy Star and Green Built certification

• Rain Gardens

• Native Landscaping

• Composite Decking

• Blower Door Testing

• Duct Leakage Testing

• Pervious Concrete Driveway

Wall Substitutes

• Pozzotive Plus concrete masonry units (CMUs) and concrete facing brick - manufactured using 30% post-consumer recycled glass as a portland cement substitute and an average of 50% post-consumer recycled masonry aggregate from local sources. The recycled glass pozzolan (tradename Pozzotive), is ground to15 microns (finer powder than portland cement) alternative for cement, saving about one ton of CO2 for every ton of cement replaced.

• made with up to 90% recycled aggregate, though 50% is typical. Compared to conventional CMUs and brick, Pozzotive Plus products require less energy to produce, are stronger, and have greater moisture and chemical resistance. 

Top Green Building ProductsNyloDeck

COMPOSITE DECKING produced from recycled carpet fiber and waterblown, VOC-free polyurethane binder (currently using pre-consumerrecycled waste carpet, but perceived to be converted to 100% postconsumer recycled carpet in 2011; impervious to moisture, termites,mold, and mildew; decking has a three-dimensional, embossed woodgrain surface available in colors uniform throughout the material.Decking must be spaced to allow for thermal expansion and contraction. 

What makes this product green?• Post-consumer recycled content• Pre-consumer recycled content• Exceptional durability

Top Green Building ProductsFoamglas cellular glass insulation

• 100% glass, made from silica sand (60%), limestone (20%), soda (15%), and trace minerals (5%).

• Production free of harmful blowing agents, high compressive strength (without creep or deformation); resistant to water/water vapor (appropriate substitute for extruded polystyrene, which contains brominated flame retardant HBCD produced with HFC blowing agents (high global warming potential)

• Noncombustible, resistant to corrosion, termites/rodents, dimensionally stable; will not support the growth of mold, fungi (closed-cell and inorganic structure); installed with bitumen sealant; serves as a radon air/vapor barrier (insulation value is a stable R-3.44 per inch); available in flat or tapered sheets, unfaced or faced with a bitumen-impregnated sheet

Unfaced Foamglas on exterior foundation wall Foamglas, in the bitumen-faced option - used to insulate

beneath concrete floor slabs, walls, roofs• What makes this product green?• Exceptional durability/low maintenance• Building components reduce heating/cooling loads• Alternative to hazardous components• Releases minimal pollutants

Top Green Building Products Ornilux Glass

• a specialty glazing with a pattern that reflects UV light, more visible to birds than to humans; random pattern of UV-reflective lines; available in two insulated, argon-filled configurations: 1) with low-emissivity coating, 2) with a heat-rejection coating; available in a triple-laminated configuration, providing the visible UV pattern when viewed from either side; used on outdoor displays and partitions

The triple-laminated version, is UV-reflective from both sides; more visible in the reflected sky than when shaded by the building

Mikado pattern on a sample of Ornilux low-e insulated glass

• What makes this product green?• Enhance wellbeing through connection to the

outdoors• Reduce impacts from construction

Top Green Building Products 100% FSC-Certified Wood

• commercial office furnishings, including case goods, office systems, and tables

• wood certified according to standards from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) - significant commitment to sustainable forestry and FSC.

 • What makes this product

green?• Certified wood• Releases minimal pollutants

Top Green Building Products Salvaged Wood

• use of salvaged wood in timber-frame construction• OBPlus Wall system (“OB” for “open-built”) - advanced

panelized construction system. The wall system 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 (air sealing/detailing to minimize thermal bridging; drainage plane is installed on the exterior, and integral baseboard raceways provided on the interior for electrical and data cables to eliminate wall penetrations for wiring

pre-fabricated OBPlus Wall System Cellulose-insulated OBPlus Wall System showing interior

wiring raceway• What makes this product green?• Components that reduce heating and cooling loads• Exceptional durability• Salvaged materials• Post-consumer recycled content

Top Green Building Products Stealth 0.8 gpf Toilet

• ultra-high-efficiency toilet uses a vacuum-assist technology to achieve superb flush performance (less water and producing less noise)

• vacuum achieved by creating an air bubble in the trapway as the toilet tank is filling up after flushing. Air at the top of a sealed tank-within-a-tank is forced into the trapway below the toilet bowl, and this bubble creates the vacuum during the flush

The Stealth toilet uses a vacuum-assist flushing mechanism to achieve very good flush performance with very low noise and only 0.8 gallons per flush

Diagram showing how the Stealth toilet works: as the tank refills after flushing, air is pushed into the trapway, creating a bubble, which results in suction during the flush

• What makes this product green?• Fixtures and equipment that conserve water

Top Green Building Products ECO Pumps

• ECO pumps use integral variable-frequency drives (VFD)/electronically commutated motors (ECMs) to reduce circulation energy by 70%, compared with standard, single-speed pumps. Pumping account for 1/5 of electricity in commercial buildings; use advanced circuitry logic to analyze town rotational speed/current draw; compute where the unit is on its “pump curve” and optimize pump speed; includes soft-start, high-torque design, built-in data logging (records hours of operation, no. of starts, accumulated power consumption), overload protection; accessories (infrared remote control/interface modules for remote monitoring/control; used for hydronic heating, air conditioning, solar water heating, ground-source heat pumps/water-circulation applications; adapt to changing water demands/reduce amount of water circulated; optimize pump speed and avoid pump oversizing, (primary reason for energy wasted in water pumping; permits easier zoning using zone valves - savings in heating fuel use/pumping energy

• What makes this product green?• Equipment that conserves energy and manages loads

Top Green Building Products Heat Recovery Unit (HRU)

• a pre-packaged exhaust/make-up air unit for commercial kitchens that incorporates energy recovery; commercial kitchen ventilation systems exhaust 8,000 cubic feet per minute (cfm) at a temperature of 110°F; system uses demand-control ventilation to adjust the fan speed of the exhaust fan (based on feedback from heat/infrared sensors) and the make-up-air fan. A fin-tube heat exchanger captures heat from the exhaust, transfers it to a glycol loop that can be routed to pre-heat make-up air or water (or both depending on outside conditions). Exhaust air speeds through a 90° bend, which “impinges” most of the grease out of the air. Grease is collected for disposal, remains removed during routine cleaning

copper heat exchanger tubing captures waste heat from commercial kitchen range hood exhaust fans

HRU transfer of heat from kitchen exhaust air for use in preheating incoming air or water

• What makes this product green?• Building components reduce heating and cooling loads• Equipment that conserves energy and manages loads

Top Green Building Products Spot Module

• an LED module coupled with a separate heat sink, reflector, and remote driver. Replaces MR16 halogen lamps; available with outputs of 400, 700, and 1,000 lumens in 2700K, 3000K, and 4000K color temperatures; “remote phosphor” coating absorbs the off-color light emitted from the LEDs and re-emits a consistent, color-corrected light similar halogen lamps, with color-rendering index (CRI) 81 for the standard SM (45–55 lumens per watt ) and 98 for SM (33–40 lpw). Interchangeable reflectors allow different beam angles

relies on multiple LEDs and remote phosphor to produce high-quality white light.

Spot Module, a finned heat sink, reflector, and remote LED driver

• What makes this product green?• Alternatives to hazardous components• Equipment that conserves energy and manages

loads

Top Green Building Products Modular Wiring System

• cost-effective plug-and-play modular wiring system contains no halogens (bromine, chlorine, or fluorine); used in cable sheathing; no heavy metals; rated as “low-smoke, zero-halogen” (LSZH); The four-wire system (lighting applications); eight-wire system (systems furniture, advanced lighting controls/raised-floor systems); steel-shielded voice/data zone cabling system satisfies requirements for cabling; designed for easy reuse/reconfiguration using foolproof, keyed connections; resource/cost savings, easier retrofits, prevents buildup of abandoned cabling (walls or air-handling spaces) - fire and health hazard; product cost is higher, but installed cost is comparable to standard construction, because of reduction in installation time

fast plug-in connections Installing a receptacle box• What makes this product green?• Reduces impacts from construction or demolition• Releases minimal pollutants• Alternatives to hazardous components

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS

1) Use Low- or classified Zero-VOC paints, wood finishes, adhesives, and caulks

• volatile organic compounds (VOCs) seep into the air in your home or mix with outdoor pollutants to create ground level ozone (smog)

• see labels indicating “Low-VOC” and “zero-VOC” paints, meaning they contain a reduced number of grams of VOC per liter (under 150 grams for low-VOC and under 5 for zero-VOC).

1) Use Low- or classified Zero-VOC paints, wood finishes, adhesives, and caulks

• Water-based wood finishes (waterborne urethane or acrylic) have decreased toxic compounds, provide comparable durability to their standard counterparts

• find paint with recycled content which keeps remainders out of the waste stream, cuts down on new production, and generally costs less

• conventional interior grade composite materials (carbon fiber and engineered wood, contain urea-formaldehyde binder, classified as a Toxic Air Contaminant due to its potential to cause cancer

• Choose formaldehyde-free fiberboards 

2) Re-Use, Recycle, Use Rapidly Renewable, and choose Third Party Certified Products.• In areas that call for conventional plywood

or finished materials (cabinets, trim, doors, shelving and window frames) reclaimed lumber is of higher quality than new lumber

• Grasses - bamboo and straw (the stalk of wheat, rice, and barley) make a great MDF (medium density fiberboard) alternative for the cabinetry and built-ins; bamboo is harvested in 3-5 years; straw-based MDF is derived from an annually renewable waste product

• farm-grown domestic and exotic hardwoods, bamboo, recycled palm and wood, agricultural byproducts like kirei, formaldehyde-free products, and woods from FSC-Certified sources. Another is Terramai, sourcing old growth wood for new applications

3) Put Something Good Under Your Feet:Eco-friendly Flooring

• Cork - not local in most parts, rapidly renewable, harvested from the outer bark of the oak tree and regenerates within 10 years

• Bamboo and its younger cousin, Plyboo, are also rapidly renewable and particularly elegant

• Linoleum - mixture of natural ingredients like cork, wood flour, and linseed oil. Though it’s sometimes hard to distinguish between linoleum and vinyl flooring, the ingredients tell all. Both are resilient, but sheet vinyl and VCT contain polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a chemical linked to many health concerns, and has horrendous environmental impacts during both conception and disposal

3) Put Something Good Under Your Feet:Eco-friendly Flooring

• Rugs/Carpets come from 100% natural and renewable resources, w/ biodegradable backing; look for those with high percentages of recycled content from wool, cotton, nylon or recycled plastic bottles

• Modular Carpet Tiles - mixed and matched, easily replaced, and recycled

4) Cover Your Surfaces Wisely, From the Inside Out.

• countertops and backsplash, utilize recycled content tile (70% recycled glass and other materials; cementicious countertops with recycled and post-industrial by-products; recycled glass and concrete; recycled paper compressed into a warm, durable alternative to stone (LEED-H qualifies environmentally preferable counters with min 25% recycled content)

• Concrete used inside and out - LEED-H has required minimum 30% fly ash or slag substitute for cement (dominant ingredient in concrete) Cement production is a prime contributor to green house gasses. Steel production produces a by-product called slag, and the burning of coal produces a post-industrial waste known as fly ash. Fly ash and Slag provide high-quality cement-substitute; both may take longer to cure, but the end concrete product is stronger.

5. Envelope Your Building Wisely, From the Outside In.

• Exterior surfaces — cladding, siding, roofing, decking: FSC-certified or reclaimed wood, recycled metal, fiber cement board, durable, recyclable materials (stone, brick, and stucco preferred to virgin wood, metal, plastic)

• Roofing materials - (tile, slate, fiber-cement, recycled plastic, metal) are durable; provide fire protection. Cool metal roofs contribute to LEED points. For decking, LEED-H requires minimum 25% recycled content. 

• Trex decking - easy alternative to raw wood (contains reclaimed wood particles and recycled plastic; more durable than wood decking)Note: deck picture has a support surface made of salvaged road signs

Eco-friendly Flooring

Bamboo/Cork/Recycled Glass Tile/Linoleum/Recycled Metal Tile/Recycled Glass

Pebbles/Stone Tile/Reclaimed & Sustainable Wood

Eco-friendly Flooring• Bamboo flooring - excellent environmentally-sensible

alternative to hardwood floors/carpet; natural qualities (durability/structural stability ensure reliability)

• Cork floors - ideal for areas requiring maximum comfort/high noise absorption; applied to any leveled surface (kitchens)

• Linoleum - durable, biodegradable material; comfortable, warm, quiet; constructed from natural ingredients; low-tox flooring option; floating linoleum floor planks are hypoallergenic/antistatic; (home, office or medical facilities); antistatic linoleum repels dust/dirt; excellent option for playrooms/work out areas; resilient to rolling furniture and equipment wheels

• Recycled glass - collected, crushed, mixed with metallic oxides, tiles are individually poured into molds and cooked at high temperatures.

• Metal tiles compare to other tiles? recycled aluminum tiles are often 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of their counterparts; less expensive than other metals or stainless steel tiles

Eco-friendly Flooring• Pebbles - used indoors/outdoors, wet/dry areas, integrated into

concrete, or used stand alone as landscaping material• Slate - hard, dense, fine-grained low-grade metamorphic rock;

splits into thin slabs along planar surfaces. This splitting (slaty cleavage), results from recrystallization under pressure and commonly develops at an angle to the bedding planes; formed from clays, shales, volcanic ash, and other fine-grained rocks. Minerals present are quartz, sericite, chlorite, some graphite, titanium oxide, and iron oxides

• Limestone - fine-grained, sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcium carbonate in the form of calcite or aragonite. Trace amounts of dolomite, iron oxide, quartz, clay, or organic particles can also be present. Due to these impurities, limestone vary in color from a cream to yellow to pink to brown to celadon, mustard, and dark gray; formed from compressed and cemented seashells and marine animal skeletons (reefs) or reprecipitation (stalactites, stalagmites); softer and more easily worked than marble.

Eco-friendly Flooring• Sandstone - sedimentary rock made of sand-sized grains

of minerals (quartz, feldspar, or older rocks held together by one of several types of cement or a fine, muddy matrix); vary greatly in color, composition, texture of grains, degree of cementation and layering. Ripple marks, planks, animal trails appear on bedding surfaces, retained when cutting the stones

• Stones are installed like other tiles. Use a wet saw and grinder to cut, mortar and grout to install. Stones must be sealed after installation to resist staining.

• How do you seal stone? spraying the stones until saturated with sealant in a well-ventilated area (sealants last up to 60 years with a single application)

• Stone over ceramic tile? more slip-resistant than a glazed ceramic tile; have more natural design; repairable (a chipped limestone/slate tile touched up with sandpaper and sealant)

Eco-friendly Flooring

• Reclaimed wood flooring - milled from structural beams/timbers used in warehouses/factories in early1900s. Some of the flooring has also been salvaged from tongue/groove planks from previous life as flooring

• woods from sustainably harvested forests is milled into tongue-groove flooring planks and is sold unfinished.

Benefits of using reclaimed wood - Reclaimed wood is often sourced from structural materials, so the wood is very dry, dimensionally stable, and clear. If you are adding onto an existing floor, reclaimed wood is often the best match to maintain the integrity of an existing design.

Sustainably harvested wood - Wood that is sourced from forests that are managed by owners who practice sustainable forestry