most exciting new green products

8/4/2019 Most Exciting New Green Products

1/22A Special Report: Todays 10 Most Exciting New Green Products BuildingGreen, Inc. 2011 1

SPECIAL REPORT

Published by BuildingGreen, Inc.

Todays 10 Most ExcitingNew Green Products


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A Special Report: Todays 10 Most Exciting New Green Products BuildingGreen, Inc. 2011 2

INTRODUCTION

I often say that green products dont make a green building.

At the same time, its nearly impossible not to have an incredible curiosity

and excitement about cool green products. Why?

The best green products can help a well-designed building perform

even betterthey can be part of the solution in creating the low-energy,

low-carbon future that shifts us towards sustainability.

Moreover, its really fun to see what new products are coming alongand you can nd the most promising ones in myCool Product of the Week

blog.

In this report on BuildingGreens Top-10 Green Products, youll get my

detailed reviews of ten products that exemplify the exciting possibilities.

From decking to insulation, smart pumps to modular wiring, youll see

some of the best examples of green product innovation. I hope you enjoy

reading my report as much as Ive enjoyed putting it together.

Best regards,

Alex Wilson

Founder, BuildingGreen

P.S. At the end of this report, Ive attached a coupon you can use to apply

towards additional BuildingGreen resources.
http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/Alexs-Cool-Product-of-the-Weekhttp://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/Alexs-Cool-Product-of-the-Weekhttp://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/Alexs-Cool-Product-of-the-Weekhttp://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/Alexs-Cool-Product-of-the-Week


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NyloDeck High-PerformanceDecking from Recycled Carpet

The U.S. throws away a lot of carpet. According tothe Product Stewardship Institute, approximately 2.7million tons (5.4 billion pounds) of carpet enter thewaste stream each year in the U.S., roughly 1.2% of allmunicipal solid waste. Some of this waste is burnedto generate electricity, but much is landlled. Nowtheres a better use for recycled carpet: decking.

Nyloboard, a six-year-old company that has been pro-ducing various rot-resistant products, including sof-t and fascia boards and sheet goods, has just intro-duced a highly durable decking product. NyloDeckwas launched in mid-September at DeckExpo 2010,and introduced to the green building community atWest Coast Green last week.

Currently, NyloDeck is made primarily from nylonderived from post-industrial recycled carpet, but thecompany is expecting to be using 100% post-consum-er recycled carpet as its feedstock by the end of thisyear, according to Tom Heimke, the facilities and pro-duction manager at Nyloboard, whom I spoke withat West Coast Green. In addition to the recycled nylonfrom carpet face ber, NyloDeck contains a VOC-free,water-blown polyurethane binder. The decking con-tains no harmful heavy metals, as do most pressure-treated wood products.

The resultant decking is impervious to moisture, ter-mites, mold, and mildew. Termite resistance achievesa 10-out-of-10 rating (AWPA E1-97); mold resistanceachieves a 10-out-of-10 rating (ASTM D-3274); andfungal resistance testing showed no decay (ASTMD-1413). Screw retention is rated at 747 pounds-force (ASTM D-1037). The product carries a 30-yearwarranty.

The decking has a three-dimensional wood-grain sur-face texture and is available in three colors: Caramel,American Gray, and Cocoa. The boards have uniformcolor throughout and UV protection. Unlike somerecycled-plastic and wood-plastic composite deck-ing, NyloDeck can also be painted or stained to meetspecic design needs.

Two thicknesses of the decking boards are available:78", which can span 16" on-center; and 1

18", which canspan up to 24" on-center. All of the decking is 512"wide and lighter-weight than wood-plastic compos-ite materials.

NyloDeck is installed with standard tools. Galva-nized or stainless-steel exterior-grade deck screwsare recommended, though hidden fastener systemscan also be used. Decking should be spaced 14" apartwith 16" end-to-end gaps.

The retail cost of the 78" decking is in the range of$2.50 to $2.75 per lineal foot, according to Heimke,while the thicker decking sells for $2.75 to $3.00 perlineal foot. Lengths from 8' to 24' are available. Thematerial is being distributed nationally; contact thecompany to track down a local dealer.

For more information:NyloboardCovington, Georgia877-695-6909, 770-385-6168www.nyloboard.com

NyloDeck is made from 100% recycled carpet and a water-blown polyurethane binder.

NyloDeck in Cocoa.

Photo: Nyloboard

Photo: Nyloboard


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Foamglas Insulation:A Great Option for Below Grade

For below-grade applications where moisture resis-tance and high compressive strength are needed, ex-truded polystyrene (XPS) and, to a lesser extent, ex-

panded polystyrene (EPS) have long dominated theinsulation market. But there are growing concernsboth with the brominated ame retardant HBCD usedin XPS and EPS and with the global warming poten-tial of the blowing agent used in XPS (see Polysty-rene Insulation: Does It Belong in a Green Building,EBNAug. 2009, and Avoiding the Global WarmingPotential of Insulation, EBNJune 2010. Subscriptionrequired for both articles).

Foamglas building insulation has been made byPittsburgh Corning since 1937 and is widely used inEurope. For over 60 years, however, it has only been

actively marketed in North America for industrial ap-plications. Now Pittsburgh Corning is actively mar-keting Foamglas for building applications.

What is Foamglas?

Foamglas is a rigid boardstock, cellular-glass insula-tion material that is impervious to moisture, inert,resistant to insects and vermin, strong, and fairlywell-insulating. It can be used for insulating roofs,walls, and below-grade applications, including be-neath slabs. The two most commonly used forms are

an unfaced T4+ product (also known as FoamglasOne), and a faced form, Readyboard, with protectivefacings on both sides. The T4+ boards are available

in 18" x 24" panels; Readyboard is sold in thicknessesfrom 1" to 6", in " increments, both come in 2' x 4'panels.

Foamglas is made primarily from sand, limestone,and soda ash. Virgin raw materials are used in U.S.factories, while up to 66% recycled glass is used inEuropean plants. These ingredients are melted into

molten glass, which is cooled and crushed into a nepowder. The powdered glass is poured into moldsand heated in a sintering process (below the melt-ing point) that causes the particles to adhere to oneanother. Next, a small amount of nely ground car-bon-black is added, and the material is heated in acellulation process. The carbon reacts with oxygen,creating carbon dioxide, which forms the insulatingbubbles in the Foamglas. This CO

2accounts for more

than 99% of the gas in the cellular spaces, and it ispermanently trapped there.

If you scratch a piece of Foamglas with your nger-nail, you will detect a rotten-egg smell from hydro-gen sulde, which is produced in small quantities inthe manufacturing process. While hydrogen suldeis hazardous at high concentrations, there is verylittle in Foamglas, and its locked tightly into the cel-lular glass. Even after 30 years in place, scratchingFoamglas produces the same smell. Its proof thatthe cells are absolutely airtight, says Axel Rebel, vicepresident and general manager of Pittsburgh Corn-ings North American buildings division. Even dur-ing landll disposal, the glass cells are unlikely to

degrade as quickly as cells of foam plastics, and anyrelease of hydrogen sulde would be dwarfed by theproduction of this gas from anaerobic decompositionof organic matter.

Environmental attributes

Foamglas has a number of important environmentaland human health advantages over other insulationmaterials. It has no blowing agents that deplete ozoneor contribute to global warming. Being noncombus-tible and inorganic, it has no ame retardants or otheradditives needed to improve re resistance.

While the domestically produced Foamglas does not(currently) contain recycled content, the materials go-ing into it are abundant and extracted with relativelylow environmental impact. Fossil-fuel energy is usedin manufacturing, but there is no hydrocarbon mate-rial in the nished product.

Foamglas is also highly durable. A West Virginiareader of a blog I recently wrote on the material said

Foamglas is being applied here as exterior foundation insu-lation. Unlike XPS, Foamglas contains neither ame retar-dants nor high-GWP blowing agents.

Photo: Pittsburgh Corning
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/7/30/Polystyrene-Insulation-Does-It-Belong-in-a-Green-Building/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/7/30/Polystyrene-Insulation-Does-It-Belong-in-a-Green-Building/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/7/30/Polystyrene-Insulation-Does-It-Belong-in-a-Green-Building/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/7/30/Polystyrene-Insulation-Does-It-Belong-in-a-Green-Building/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2010/6/1/Avoiding-the-Global-Warming-Impact-of-Insulation/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2010/6/1/Avoiding-the-Global-Warming-Impact-of-Insulation/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2010/6/1/Avoiding-the-Global-Warming-Impact-of-Insulation/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2010/6/1/Avoiding-the-Global-Warming-Impact-of-Insulation/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2010/6/1/Avoiding-the-Global-Warming-Impact-of-Insulation/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2010/6/1/Avoiding-the-Global-Warming-Impact-of-Insulation/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/7/30/Polystyrene-Insulation-Does-It-Belong-in-a-Green-Building/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/7/30/Polystyrene-Insulation-Does-It-Belong-in-a-Green-Building/


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there was absolutely no apparent deterioration ofFoamglas that his father had used under the oorslab and on exterior foundation walls in the 1950snearly 60 years ago.

Key performance attributes

High compressive strength. Foamglas T4+ will fully

support almost any concrete slaband may evenreduce the necessary thickness of a concrete slab insome situations.

Waterproof and impervious. Foamglas is waterproofand impervious to water vapor. Foamglas panels aretypically installed using an adhesive and asphaltsealer between the panels to ensure a continuousseal, making it airtight and thus a highly effective ra-don barrier. While neither moisture nor freezing initself damages Foamglas, moisture exposure in ar-eas with freeze-thaw cycles will gradually degrade

Foamglas. In below-grade applications in those cli-mates it should be protected to below frost depth,and Foamglas should not be used in an invertedroof membrane application in which the insulationis installed on top of the membrane.

Fireproof. Foamglas has exceptional heat and reresistance, with a maximum service temperature of900F (500C) and a melting point of over 1,800F(1,000C). There are no binders to burn, so virtuallyno smoke is produced in a re.

Rot-proof and vermin-resistant. Being inorgan-

ic, Foamglas will not decompose and is not a foodsource. Termites, carpenter ants, mice, and rats willnot tunnel through it; Foamglas is sometimes used asa termite shield when other below-grade insulationmaterials are being used.

Reasonable R-Value. Foamglas T4+ insulates toR-3.44 per inch with no degradation of thermal per-formance. This is a lower R-value than extruded

polystyrene and most expanded polystyrene, whichmeans that greater thickness will be required toprovide comparable performance. A 6" layer willprovide slightly over R-20. Foamglas is often usedin Europe in buildings that achieve Passive House

performance, with multiple layers used to achievevery high R-values.

Working with Foamglas

Foamglas is typically adhered directly to a substrate,though mechanical fasteners can also be used. Inmost applications, an asphalt-based sealer is usedbetween the boards, and in roong applications hotasphalt is often used directly on it. The integral bitu-men (asphalt) facings on Foamglas Readyboard sim-plify roof installations by allowing the membrane to

be melted in-situ with a torch.For environmental builders otherwise attracted toFoamglas, use of asphalt sealant will likely be thegreatest concern. According to Rebel, when there isno need to have the installation be vapor tight, seal-ant can be left out or a mineral adhesive (similar tomortar) can be used. Or a separate vapor retardermembrane can be usedthough this option leaves arisk of penetrations. Pittsburgh Corning also offers aFoamglas Readyboard being used in a sub-slab application.

Foamglas T4+ Technical Performance Properties

Photo: Pittsburgh Corning


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range of adhesive options, including low-VOC mate-rials, but Rebel says that an organic layer is requiredwith any insulation material if a continuous, trulyimpermeable layer is called for.

Cost and availability

Foamglas is signicantly more expensive than the

other commonly used rigid insulation materials. Thetypical cost of Foamglas T4+ is about $1.00 per board-foot, depending on quantities, according to Rebelroughly two-and-a-half times the cost of XPS. On acost-per-R-value basis, that difference is even greater.Rebel admits that if youre comparing insulation ma-terials simply on cost and insulation value, youre notgoing to choose Foamglas. We have to add anothervalue, he says. That value can come from replacingother layers in the construction system (vapor retard-ers, moisture barriers, radon-control layers, termite-proong), from greater durability, and from environ-

mental attributes. Rebel also notes, We can reducethe thickness of the concrete slab because Foamglasis so rigid.

Foamglas is manufactured at two U.S. factories (inTexas and Missouri) and can be shipped anywhere.Rebel told EBN that its no problem to supply it for

individual housesthough shipping may increasethe cost and result in some additional lead time.

User experience

Foamglas has a long history of use, especially in Eu-ropewhere there tends to be a willingness to spendmore money for highly durable and top-performing

construction materials. Building science expert JohnStraube, P.Eng., has used Foamglas on constructiondetails that required high strength and decent insula-tion such as under footings and brick veneers, and heconsiders it a good insulation option. From a mois-ture management perspective and as a thermal breakmaterial, he says that it works very well.

For more information:

Pittsburgh CorningPittsburgh, Pennsylvania724-327-6100

www.foamglas.us


7/22


Ornilux Bird-Safe Glass

The German company Arnold Glas produces glazingwith UV-reective striping that is highly visible tobirds yet nearly invisible to humans.

Weve written in Environmental Building News about

the tragedy of bird collisions with glazing. Accordingto the New York City Audubon Society, 100 millionbirds are killed annually in the United States throughcollisions with buildings, primarily because the birdssee reections, rather than the glass. Daniel Klem, Jr.,Ph.D., an ornithology professor at Muhlenberg Col-lege in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the leading ex-pert on bird collisions with buildings, considers thisto be the second greatest cause of avian mortalityafter habitat destruction.

Fortunately, some smart people at leading-edge

companies around the world are working on thisproblem.

Among the strategies that have been used to minimizebird collisions with buildings are gluing hawk silhou-ette decals to the glass, using glass imprinted witha ceramic fritting pattern, applying patterned plasticlms, installing exterior shading systems that helpbirds see the building (as with the New York Timesheadquarters building in New York City), plantingvegetation close to heavily glazed facades; and in-stalling netting on the outside of large windows.

A solution that has less of a visual impact on the building (for us) relies on differences in the visualacuity of birds andhumans. Orniluxglass, made inMerkendorf, Ger-many by ArnoldGlas, has pattern-ing of UV-reec-tive coating thatis nearly trans-parent to humans

but clearly vis-ible to birds. Birdsare able to see a broader spectrumof UV light thanhumans, accord-ing to the ArnoldGlas website.

The rst instal-lation of Ornilux

bird-friendly glass was in 2006 on the glass faadeof a 100-year-old indoor swimming pool buildingin Plauen, Germany. The building uses 2,700 squarefeet (250 m2) of insulated Ornilux SB1 glazing. Likeother types of glass, Ornilux can be fabricated intoa wide range of glazing systems, including high-performance double- and triple-glazed systems withlow-emissivity (low-e) coatings.

In the U.S., the New York City architecture rm FX-FOWLE was the rst to use Ornilux. The glazing was

installed on a portion of the Center for Global Con-servation at the Bronx Zoo, which was completedin 2009. (The bird-safe glass was originally speciedfor the entire building, but was value-engineered outfor all but one corner conference room.) FXFOWLEprincipal Bruce Fowle, FAIA has been a leading pro-ponent of bird-safe glazings, and his wife, MarciaFowle, co-authored the 55-page Bird-Safe BuildingGuidelines, published in 2007 by the New York CityAudubon Society. (A pdf le of the Guidelines can bedownloaded here for free.)

Visually, the UV-reective pattern on Ornilux glass is

visible, but it is less apparent that many of the otherstrategies that have been tried to minimize bird colli-sions. To date, this glass has been used primarily onbuildings where wildlife protection has been a highpriority, such as nature centers, but as awareness ofthis problem grows, the use of this glazing, and com-peting products, may grow.

In 2009, a new version of Ornilux glass was intro-duced, called Mikado (German for the game of pick-

The rst installation of Ornilux glass was in 2006 on the facade of an indoor swimming pool building in Plauen,Germany.

The random pattern on Ornilux Mikado glass is UV-reective andhighly visible to birds, while beingless noticeable to humans. Shownhere is what birds see.

Photo: Arnold Glas

Photo: Arnold Glas
http://www.nycaudubon.org/home/BSBGuidelines.shtmlhttp://www.nycaudubon.org/home/BSBGuidelines.shtmlhttp://www.nycaudubon.org/home/BSBGuidelines.shtmlhttp://www.nycaudubon.org/home/BSBGuidelines.shtml


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up-sticks). Rather than even striping, Mikado glasshas a random pattern of lines. To date, several instal-lations of Ornilux Mikado glass have been completedin Germany, but none in the U.S.

Ornilux glass is distributed in the U.S. by Roeder Win-dows & Doors, which is advertising on its website theavailability of Ornilux glass in its window and door

products at no up-charge through June, 2011. Theglass is also offered as an option on NanaWall oper-able glass wall systems.

Environmental Building News will be running a moredetailed review of Ornilux glass and, possibly, otherglazing systems designed to minimize bird collisionsin an upcoming issue.


Arnold Glaswww.ornilux.de(English website available)

[email protected]

Installation of Ornilux glass at the Center for Global Conser-vation at the Bronx Zoo, designed by FXFOWLE. You can seethe shadowy vertical stripes on the right.

Photo: David Sundberg/Esto
http://www.ornilux.de/cms.asp?Sprache=enhttp://www.ornilux.de/cms.asp?Sprache=enhttp://www.ornilux.de/cms.asp?Sprache=enhttp://www.ornilux.de/cms.asp?Sprache=en


9/22


Knoll Provides FSC Wood as aStandard Feature

Weve been writing about the Forest StewardshipCouncil (FSC) in Environmental Building News since

the organization was created in 1993. Weve watchedas FSC pushed the mainstream forest products indus-try toward more responsible forestry practices evenas that industry fought to prevent or slow the adop-tion of the U.S. Green Building Councils LEED Rat-ing system because it awarded points for use of FSC-certied wood exclusively. And weve continued torecognize FSC-certied wood products through EBNproduct reviews and listings in our GreenSpec Direc-tory.

One of my frustrations with FSC-certied products

has long been that they almost always involve an up-charge over standard non-FSC-certied products. Itsgreat that Marvin Windows or Armstrong Flooringoffers FSC-certied products, but because the FSCwood is an optiona fairly expensive option--rela-tively little ends up getting specied.

The manufacturer gets the kudos for offering greenproducts, but may not end up having to purchasethat much FSC-certied wood, because not that manycustomers are calling for it. Ive long hoped that com-panies would make FSC-certied wood standardacross their product lines.

Well, that has arrived with contract furniture manu-facturer Knoll. The company announced that, with just a few exceptions, effective December 1, 2009, itbegan providing FSC-certied wood without asking,at no surcharge, and at standard lead times on ofcesystems, casegoods, and tables. According to LouNewett, the environmental, health and safety manag-er at Knoll, making FSC-certied wood the standardfor Knoll products is part of a continuous improve-ment process that recognizes that sustainable woodharvesting can contribute to reversing environmental

and social trends--and that Knoll can be part of thesolution.

Knoll received FSC chain-of-custody certication forwood products in 2003 and has offered a FSC certi-cation as an option on selected wood product eversince, but providing FSC on nearly all product as ano-cost feature is huge. We believe that this is the rstcompany of this size to make such a commitment toFSC.

Knolls environmental achievements arent limitedto the source of its wood. Here are a few the compa-

nys many other environmental milestones: In 1984,the company set a goal to eliminate VOCs (volatileorganic compounds) from all manufacturing opera-tions. In 1986 it pioneered powder-coating for metals,reducing material waste by 80% and VOCs associat-ed with metal coating 99%. In 1993, it became a earlypartner of EPAs Green Lights initiative (a precursorto Energy Star). By 1996 the company was recyclingvirtually all scrap metal, cardboard, and paper in itsmanufacturing facilities. In 1998, it became the rstU.S. OEM manufacturer to receive ISO 14000 certi-cation for Environmental Management Systems. In

1999, after years of development, it introduced pow-der-on-wood nishing technology. In 2002, it receivedISO 14001 certication for all manufacturing facilitiesworldwide. In 2006, it joined the Chicago Climate Ex-change (CCX)a rst in the contract furniture indus-tryand the company has consistently exceeded theCCX carbon-reduction targets ever since.

Knolls FSC standard applies to the AutoStrada, Cur-rents, Dividense Horizon, Equity, Morrison, Reff, andTemplate open-plan ofce systems, along with theGraham Collection, Interaction Tables, Magnuson

Desks, and Upstart Tables.


Knoll, Inc.East Greenville, Pennsylvania800-343-5665www.knoll.com

Photo: Knoll


10/22


Bensonwood Reinventingthe House

I had the good fortune last week to spend a few hourstouring the Bensonwood ofces and factory in Wal-pole, New Hampshire. Ive known Tedd Benson for

perhaps 20 years, and knew of him a lot longer thanthat through his writings. He pretty-much created themodern timber-framing profession, starting back inthe early 1970s when he set out to reinvent the craftof timber-frame construction that our New Englandancestors used centuries ago. His 1980 book, Buildingthe Timber Frame House, and several others since,have inspired many of us for their vision, beauty, andrugged durability.

In recent years, Benson has shifted his primary focus

away from timber framing (though thats still an im-portant part of what his company, Bensonwood, isall about). His Open-Built construction platform,inspired by the work of Open Building pioneer JohnHabraken and supported by MITs Open SourceBuilding Alliance, has gone a long way toward bring-ing down the costs of the top-quality homes his com-pany builds.

Unlike the old days, when each of Bensons homeswas custom-designed from scratch, the new Benson-wood Lifestyle series is built on a modular platform

with pre-engineered components that can be usedto create homes ranging in size from 800 square feetto over 4,000 square feet. This system is called the3BMatrix (3B for Bensonwood Building Block).The company uses advanced Swiss building infor-mation management (BIM) software to put these3BMatrix modules together in 3D models. Then fab-rication instructions are transmitted to their GermanHundegger computer-based machinery that cuts thecomponents to precise dimensions for factory-panel-izing.

Bensonwoods OBPlusWall

Ive visited modular home and panelized construc-tion factories before, but what sets Bensonwood apartfor me is the attention to energy performance, greenmaterials, and rigorous building science. At the heartof this system is the OBPlusWall (OB for Open-Built). These factory-built (panelized) walls areframed using 9.5-inch-deep I-studs lled with R-35dense-pack cellulose insulation, then clad with ex-terior moisture-resistant OSB sheathing (with taped

Illustration of Bensonwoods OBPlusWall system. Not shownhere is a rainscreen detail that is incorporated behind theexterior siding.

Jay Lepple, the Building Systems Steward at Bensonwood,showing off a wall panel. The holes in the webs of the I-joistframing members will be used for blowing in cellulose.

This Bensonwood home in Alstead, New Hampshire, com-bines high-tech panelized construction and superb energyperformance with simple elegance.

Photo: Bensonwood

Photo: Bensonwood

Photo: Alex Wilson


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joints). Advanced gasket technology is used for airsealing, detailing is provided to minimize thermalbridging, a drainage plane is installed on the exterior,and integral baseboard raceways are provided on theinterior for electrical and data cables to eliminate wallpenetrations for wiring.

The computer modeling not only controls the exact

design and fabrication of these wall panels, but evenidenties the proper placement of nylon straps forhoisting the (heavy) modules into place on the jobsite.All this is done with a minimum of waste throughmaterial optimization and factory fabrication. OB-PlusWall modules ship to the jobsite with windowsinstalled and sometimes also with siding, though forsome projects the builder chooses to handle more ofthe nish work on-site.

The companion to the R-35 wall system is a stan-dard R-38 roof system, also insulated with cellulose.

Where performance goals demand, Bensonwood cango a lot further with energy performance--by usingdeeper I-joists and including additional insulationcomponents in the wall and roof systems.

When I visited, the company was nishing a housedesigned to Passive House standards. This walls willhave an additional 3.5 inches of cellulose on the inte-rior and two inches of polyisocyanurate on the exteri-or, to achieve approximately R-60 performance. Thatproject was slowed down because advanced PassiveHouse windows took some time to arrive from Ger-many--one of the complications with creating state-of-the-art buildings today.

Bensonwood creates premium homes with costshigher than that of typical tract homes, but the panel-ized construction allows the company to be cost-com-petitive with most custom homes today--while offer-ing faster construction, better energy performance,excellent durability, and the addition of timber com-ponents to achieve Bensons signature elegance.

While Benson has been reinventing residential con-struction for more than 35 years, you wouldnt know

it if you try to keep up with him on a bicycle! Aftermy Bensonwood tour, he and I biked to Walpole fora beer--via a hilly circuit that Tedd uses to keep in

shape on his lunchtime rides. It turns out he uses an-nual biking trips in the Alps to visit high-tech Euro-

pean manufacturers and software companies--someof the tools that keep Bensonwood ahead of the curvein todays quickly evolving building industry.


Bensonwood6 Blackjack CrossingWalpole, NH 03608603-756-3600, 877-203-3562www.Bensonwood.com

Bensonwood has developed an R-60 wall detail for PassiveHouse performance. Shown here is a mock-up in the compa-nys showroom.

Photo: Alex Wilson


12/22


Niagaras Innovative 0.8 gpfVacuum-Assist Stealth Toilet

Niagara Conservation has introduced a new toiletthats unlike anything on the market. It uses passivevacuum-assist technology to deliver a very quiet,

effective ush that consumes just 0.8 gallons (3.0liters)--making it, I believe, the most water-conserv-ing of any ush toilet on the market.

Who knew there would be so many ways to ush atoilet!

While pressure-assist toilets use compressed air atthe top of a sealed tank to push water through theush valve at a high velocity (achieving a very effec-tive ush), the vacuum-assist Stealth toilet literallypulls the contents of the toilet bowl down the trap-way from below.

Heres how it works:

After the toilet is ushed, water lls a special innerchamber thats hidden inside the conventional-look-ing toilet tank. (In this respect, it is like a pressure-assist toilet--with its tank-within-a-tank that is lledfrom the bottom.) As this inner chamber lls, though,air at the top is pushed down through a special trans-fer tube into the trapway, essentially creating a large

air bubble be-tween water inthe toilet bowland water in thesanitary trapnear the base ofthe toilet (see therst diagram).This air bubble,which lls about12 inches of thetrapway, exerts aforce on the wa-ter in the trap-way, raising thewater level inthe toilet bowlto create a larger

water spot (water surface area) than would be expect-ed from a toilet using just 0.8 gallons per ush.

When the toilet is ushed, water exiting the innerchamber creates a vacuum--depressurizing the trap-way. This depressurization creates a suction force

that pulls water from the toilet bowl into the trapway.During the ush, the trapway is entirely lled withwater, which cleans the fully glazed trapway.

The vacuum-assist ush mechanism helps the toileteffectively ush a signicant quantity of waste usingvery little water. Using the now-industry-standardMaximum-Performance (MaP) testing protocol, theStealth toilet is rated at 600 grams, in both the round-front and elongated-front models. This and other per-formance features have allowed the toilet to earn the

EPA WaterSense label for high-efciency toilets. Ac-cording to Cecilia Hayward, the marketing managerat Niagara, the toilet also passes all IAPMO require-ments for toilets, including a requirement that wastebe effectively moved 40 feet along the drainline whenthe toilet is ushed.

Pressure-assist toilets are popular, because the extraforce on the ush does an excellent job at evacuat-ing the toilet bowl and waste in it, and some of thesetoilets do so with just 1.0 gpf. But pressure-assist toi-lets are louder than gravity-ush toilets, producing acharacteristic whoosh during the ush. To an un-suspecting user, they can be quite startling.

The vacuum-assist mechanism in the (aptly named)Stealth toilet avoids that noise. According to BillGauley, P.Eng., principal of Veritec Consulting in Mis-sissauga, Ontario (and the co-developer of the MaPtesting protocol for toilets), it is no louder than anyother gravity-ush toilet--and much quieter than apressure-assist toilet.


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According to Chris Hanson, who is president ofAquaPro Solutions, a water products distributioncompany and director of the Aqua EnvironmentalResource Center, both in Ashville, North Carolina,the toilet performs even better in his own MaP tests--consistently removing 800 grams of test media. Hehas one of the toilets that hes been testing off-and-onfor about eight months, and the toilet has also beeninstalled some of that time in the Resource Center--where it has worked without incident. He told methat its not only quieter than pressure-assist toilets, but also quieter than most gravity-ush toilets, in-cluding Niagaras own Flapperless toilet.

One issue to be aware of, according to Hanson, is thatbecause so little water is used for the ush (half thefederal maximum), waste may not be conveyed as faras with toilets that have higher ush-volume. He sug-gests installations where the horizontal run will beno more than about 20 feet, before reaching a verticalstack.

Regarding waste conveyance, Gauley said, I would

not be concerned installing this toilet in any residen-tial situation, though I would not recommend it atthis time in non-residential installations.

The Niagara Stealth toilet was rst introduced in asoft launch in the fall of 2009, but the formal launchwas at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) inApril 2009.

The Stealth carries a manufacturers suggested listprice of $310 in the round-front model and $325 inthe elongated front model. The product is provingpopular, according to Hayward, who estimates thatup to 1,000 have already been sold.

In the U.S. Niagara is the exclusive manufacturer oftoilets using this technology, while in Canada thesame mechanism is used in Prociency toilets madeby Hennessy & Hinchcliffe (the company that invent-ed the Stealth ush technology as well as Niagaras

Flapperless technology). Hennessy & Hinchliffe andNiagara are business partners and collaborated onincorporating the Stealth technology into marketabletoilets.


Niagara Conservation CorporationCedar Knolls, New Jersey800-831-8383, 973-829-0800www.niagaraconservation.com

Hennessy & Hinchcliffe

Woodbridge, Ontario800-668-4420, 905-850-8080www.handhtoilets.com

How the Stealth toilet works.


14/22


Grundfos (and Wilo) SmartCirculator Pumps for HydronicHeating

For the past couple years, Ive been helping All SoulsChurch in West Brattleboro, Vermont, save energy.While developing a plan to improve the performanceof the building envelope of this early-1970s, heavilyglazed and horribly inefcient building, one of ourcommittee members found out about a grant pro-gram from the state that would support a heatingsystem upgrade.

To make a long story short, we replaced the massive

oil-red boiler with a compact Buderus model thattakes up just a fraction of the space; we got rid ofthe 6,000-gallon underground storage tank, replac-ing it with two 330-gallon tanks in the boiler room;we replaced the failed zone valves with new thermo-statically controlled, electric zone valves; we stoppedusing the boiler to make hot water for three smalllavatory sinks (for which the boiler would operateoff-and-on all summer); and--the topic of this blog--we replaced the constant-speed, 1-horsepower (hp)pump with a high-tech pump from Denmark thatshould dramatically reduce the electricity we use forcirculating hot water.

The pump we installed is a variable-speed GrundfosMagna with ECM motor and a unique AutoAdaptfeature that uses an integrated logic board to learnthe buildings usage patterns and calibrate the pumpoperation accordingly.

To understand why this pump is pretty cool, letme explain how the hydronic heating system usedto work at the church (work is intentionally in

quotes). The oil-red boiler heated water that was cir-culated through a primary loop in the basement andcrawl space. Zone valves (which were user-adjustedat the baseboard radiators) employed a parafn ma-terial to passively open when heat was called for and

close when heat wasnt needed (at least that was thetheory). The 1-hp pump operated nearly continuous-ly throughout the heating season, and because mostof the old zone valves were stuck open, the churchwas kept fully heated most of the time. The churchused about 6,000 gallons of oil per year.

The replacement electric zone valves now allow thehot water ow to be cut off to radiators, so we canactually set back the temperatures in different roomsin the church. That improvement, alone, should pro-duce very signicant energy savings.

But the new, high-tech pump is also pretty neatand will result in signicant electricity savings.A 1-hp pump uses about 750 watts when its on.Operating 24/7, sucha pump uses about 550kilowatt-hours (kWh)per monthabout $70worth at our currentelectricity rates. Thevariable-speed Grund-fos pump we installedsenses how hard it

has to work to circu-late water around thebuilding, and it doesntwork as hard whenless water is being cir-culated.

At night and during other periods when heat isnt be-ing called for, water is circulating only through theprimary hydronic loop; the zone valves are closed so

The Grundfos advanced, variable-speed, smart pumps forhydronic heating systems can reduce pumping energy use by80%.

A Grundfos Magna circulator installed at the 7,000 square-foot All Souls Church in West Brattleboro, Vermont.

Another view of the Grundfospump at All Souls Church.

Photo: Grundfos USA.

Photo: Alex Wilson

Photo: Alex Wilson


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hot water isnt being diverted up into the church andthrough the baseboard radiators. In this condition,the pump controls throttle it way back, so water iscirculated much more slowly and pumping energy isgreatly reduced.

The Grundfos Magna pump has a sophisticated vari-able-speed drive as well as an electronically com-

mutated motor (ECM)which makes it signi-cantly more efcient.

The AutoAdapt featurein the Grundfos Magna(and a companion Al-pha line for smallerresidential heating sys-tems) uses special algo-rithms in the processorto anticipate when heat

will be called for andramp the pump speedup or down according-

ly. Frankly, I dont understand how this works, andI havent been totally convinced of the benets--butthe company is very proud of the feature.

Grundfos is not the only company offering advanced,variable-speed (Smart) pumps. German manufac-turer Wilo (pronounced veelo) has a similar prod-uct. The Wilo Stratos (for commercial buildings) andStratos ECO (for smaller residential applications)pumps were actually introduced to the U.S. marketa few years before the Grundfos Magna and Alphapumps, and they work on much the same principle--though without the AutoAdapt feature.

A sales rep at Grundfos told me that their residen-tial Alpha pumps are about three times as expensiveas standard constant-speed circulators, while theirMagna pumps cost about 50% more than standardcirculators. Someone at Wilo told me the cost of theirStratos and Stratos ECO pumps are two to two-and-a-half times that of standard circulators. The paybackfor these pumps (assuming electricity savings only)

can range from eight months to about three years, ac-cording to representatives from both companies.

These variable-speed, ECM circulators make a lot ofsense for several reasons. One, they allow you to savepumping energy by varying the ow rate. Two, byreducing the ow they can increase the temperaturedifference between water leaving the boiler and wa-ter returning--which improves efciency, so you useless heating fuel. (With a condensing boiler, this high-

er delta-T allows theboiler to truly operatein a condensing modeduring swing seasonswhen less heat is be-ing extracted out ofthe hydronic loop;

often during thoseseasons, boilers stopoperating in the con-densing mode andtheir efciency dropsabout 8%.) And three,these pumps com-pensate for the factthat circulator pumps are almost always signicantlyoversized.

According to Grundfos and Wilo, these variable-speed pumps with ECM motors can reduce pump-

ing energy by 70-90 percent--and thats a lot ofelectricity savings. Worldwide, pumping accountsfor about 22% of all electricity use, according to SteveThompson, the vice president for building services atWilo USA!

The point about oversizing pumps is an importantone. In most buildings, according to hydronic heat-ing expert Henry Gifford, the level of savings wewill achieve with the high-tech (expensive) variable-speed pump can be more cheaply achieved simplyby right-sizing a constant-speed circulator. The real-

ity, however, is that most heating contractors dont doactual calculations for pumps (most probably donteven know how to do those calculations), preferringto cover themselves by signicantly oversizing thepumps. For this reason, this new generation of ad-vanced smart pump makes a lot of sense.

The September issue ofEnvironmental Building News(subscription required) includes a more in-deptharticle about smart pumps from both Grundfos andWilo.


Grundfos USAOlathe, Kansas913-227-3400www.grundfos.us

Wilo USAMelrose Park, Illinois866-945-6872www.wilo-usa.com

The Wilo Stratos pump for com-mercial-building applications.

Photo: Wilo USA

Photo: Wilo USA

Wilo Stratos ECO line of circula-tors for residential applications.


16/22


Recovering Heat fromCommercial Kitchen Exhaust

The Halton Group, headquartered in Finland, is nowmarketing and distributing worldwide a Heat Recov-ery Unit (HRU) that can save a lot of energy in com-

mercial kitchens. Based on a design by Martin AirSystems, the Halton HRU is a pre-packaged rooftopventilation system that reclaims heat from kitchenexhaust in order to preheat make-up air and domesticwater.

Commercial kitchens consume more energy persquare foot than any commercial building space.

The equipment used in these kitchensgas ranges,ovens, broilers, deep fryers, gas-red char broilers,and steamersproduce excess heat as well as com-bustion gases, particulates, and grease that need tobe removed by commercial kitchen ventilation (CKV)systems. Some large institutional kitchens vent over30,000 cubic feet of air per minute (cfm), and all ofthat air has to be replaced by make-up air that mustbe heated or cooled, depending on the climate, sig-nicantly raising the overall energy consumption ofthe restaurant or cafeteria.

The Halton HRU uses a n-tube heat exchanger thatcaptures heat in the exhaust duct and transfers it toanother heat exchanger in the make-up-air ducts us-ing a closed glycol loop. Sensors in the ducts deter-mine whether or not the make-up air needs to be pre-heated. If not, an optional conguration can divertthe glycol loop to heat domestic hot water. Accord-ing to Jeff Martin, developer and owner of MartinAir System, the large coil can efciently heat water totemperatures approaching 110F140F (60C).

Haltons unit can replace a dedicated, roof-mounted,gas-red make-up-air heating systemwithout additional roof penetrations for the gas lineand electricity. However, the HRU is quite large, at152" x 74" x 50", so tting them on a roof while meet-ing local codes for exhaust and intake air could be achallenge for some buildings.

On the surface, CKV energy recovery seems like ano-brainer, but it is not simple. Kitchen exhaust con-tains grease and particulates that collect on the sur-face of CKV ductwork, creating a serious re hazard.Filters and regular cleaning are used to manage thegrease in most systems, but with early heat recoverysystems, grease accumulated as heat on the relativelycool heat exchangers was removed from the air. TheHalton HRU, however, removes most of the grease before it hits the heat exchanger. The unit acceler-ates the exhaust air to over 3,000 feet per minute andforces it through a 90 bend, where most of the grease

impinges out of the exhaust and drains away forcollection. This system removes enough grease thatthe HRU doesnt require additional cleaning beyondregularly scheduled maintenance, according to Martin.

Haltons HRU is available in four models rangingfrom 2,000 to 20,000 cfm capacity, and can be cong-ured in a variety of ways to match restaurant needs.In addition to preheating make-up air and water, theHRU has an optional direct-expansion coil connectedto a remote compressor for make-up air that reducesair-conditioning costs. The HRU is controlled by Hal-tons demand-control ventilation, which uses infra-

red sensors to measure heat from cooking surfacesand adjust the fan speed to balance exhaust and in-coming air. This means that when restaurant businessis slow and the equipment isnt on, ventilation energyisnt wasted.

Haltons rooftop-mounted Heat Recovery Unit contains bothexhaust ventilation and make-up air systems and does notrequire the additional gas lines or roof penetrations usuallyassociated with make-up air systems.

This schematic of the Halton HRU shows heat being trans-fered from ventilation air being exhausted.

Photo: Halton Group

Heat Recovery Unit Schematic

Schematic: Halton Group


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About 100 Halton HRUs have been installed to date,mostly in Canada and the Northern U.S. They cost$25,000$75,000, depending on size and options. Abasic, conventional exhaust and make-up air system,without heat recovery, costs less$12,500$14,000,according to Rich Catan, vice president of sales andmarketing at Halton Americas. But because of the en-

ergy savings, Catan expects payback within two tove years. Energy savings will depend on the numberof hours the kitchen equipment is on per day (the lon-ger equipment is operating, the shorter the payback),the type of cooking equipment (the hotter the better),and the climate (the further north the more savings,though this can be offset when heat is diverted fordomestic hot water).

The South Street Burger Company, a Canadian fast-food chain, has installed the HRU in 10 of its 13 res-taurants since 2007, according to Smiley Cheung, thecompanys project manager. The restaurants use both

char broilers and fryers, with a ventilation system de-signed to pull 4,500 cfm. It is a high-grease scenario,and in the rst restaurants [without the HRU], wehad problems with grease build-up on the rooftops,said Cheung, but with Martins system and the waythe box is designed on the exhaust side, the grease iscontained. So far none of the units have had to bereplaced, and Cheung estimates the company saves$4,000$5,000 in annual energy costs per restaurantusing the HRU. Were quite pleased with the energysavings and not having to run the gas lines for themake-up air, said Cheung.


Halton Indoor Climate Systems, Ltd.1021 Brevik PlaceMississauga, ON L4W 3R7Canada905-624-0401www.haltoncompany.com

The Halton HRU with the cabinet open so that copper heatexchanger coils can be seen.

Photo: Halton Group


18/22


LED Light as Good as Halogen:the Xicato LED Spot Module

While in California recently, I visited the headquar-ters of Xicato, one of the most exciting companies inthe burgeoning LED (light-emitting diode) lighting

industry. CEO Menko DeRoos explained the compa-nys modular approach to LED lighting and demon-strated the exceptional light quality that is achievedwith their system.

To date, Xicato has been focusing on replacements forsmall MR-16 halogen lamps, dening a very specicniche for the company. The company does not itself

m a n u f a c t u r elight xtures; itsupplies the LEDcomponents tothose manufac-turers. The rstproducts wereshipped to xturemanufacturersin January, 2009,and the companyis working withabout 60 xturemanufact urersworldwide today.

The three-year-old rm has pioneered a number of

signicant advances in the development of these MR-16 replacements. For starters, the company createdthe module category in LED lightingan approachthat is now being widely copied by other manufac-turers. This approach allows xture manufacturersto quickly prototype and efciently produce LEDxtures. Using just three screws, the LED module issecured to a heat sink for carrying away unwantedheat--a key requirement with LED lighting--and in-terchangeable reectors with various beam-spreadscan be easily secured to that LED module.

Literally in a day they [xture manufacturers] canbuild a prototype, DeRoos told me. We try to shrinkthe time to market. Xicato currently offers LED mod-ules with outputs of 400, 700, and 1,000 lumens, andthey will soon be introducing 1,300- and 2,000-lumenmodules. All of these modules have the same dimen-sions, making xture design very easy.

The second advance pioneered by Xicato is remotephosphor technology in which the phosphors are

separated from the actual LED light sources. This ap-proach allows the company to use fairly standard,off-the-shelf LEDs (from quality LED manufacturersPhilips, Cree, and Osram), skip the laborious bin-ning process in which light output of individualLEDs is color-matched, and generate highly consis-tent white light through the phosphor design.

The companys standard XSM modules achieve acolor rendering index (CRI) of a respectable 81, whiletheir XSM Artist Series achieves a truly remarkableCRI of 98--virtually identical to that of halogen lamps.

Perhaps more signicant, the variability of light color

LumeLEX 2024 xture from LSI that uses the Xicato LEDSpot Module.

This chart shows the range of acceptable color of Xicatos LEDmodules, vs. the industry standard.

The Xicato LED Spot Module is revo-lutionizing LED lighting.

Photo: Xicato

Photo: Lighting Services Inc.

Graphic: Xicato


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has been dramatically reduced. DeRoos demonstrat-ed how much color variability is permitted with ANSIand NEMA standards and then the maximum vari-ability permitted by Xicatos XSM specications (seechart); the differences were remarkable. In technicalterms, Xicato maintains color consistency within twoMacAdam ellipses, while industry standards for LEDbinning allow for seven MacAdam ellipses (this will

mean something to lighting designers).

A key part of Xicatos success has been their drivingcommitment to quality. Their products are tested at85C and 85% relative humidity--signicantly moreextreme conditions than what most manufacturerssubmit their products to. Xicatos product efcacy(lumens per watt) specications are based on op-eration at 70Cactual worst-case conditions thatxtures are likely to experiencewhile efcacies ofLED lights from some manufacturers are measured atlower temperatures (resulting in unrealistically highefcacy estimates).

The efcacy of Xicato LED modules today is good, butnot exceptional. The highest efcacies of Xicato mod-ules are in the 45-55 lpw range. In the Artist Series,efcacies drop to the range of 33-40 lpw. DeRoossphilosophy is to get the performance and quality upto a high level, then focus attention on improvingthe efcacy. As higher-efcacy LEDs become avail-

able, the energy performance of Xicato modules willcontinue to improve--while the company maintainsthe quality they are quickly becoming known for.DeRoos says the efcacy of companys LED moduleswill improve 10-15% next year.

In introducing products, Xicato worked rst withEuropean xture manufacturers, because of both thehigher cost of electricity there and the willingnessof Europeans to spend more for quality products.Among U.S. xture manufacturers using Xicato LEDmodules is Lighting Services Inc (LSI), whose LEDxtures have been installed in the Brooker Gallery

at the Field Museum in Chicago and the San Fran-cisco Museum of Modern Artapplications wherethe CRI of LED lighting had previously not beenconsidered adequate and the color variability toogreat. Its a huge hit in museums, DeRoos said oftheir products.


XicatoSan Jose, California847-525-5048www.xicato.com

Lighting Services Inc (LSI)Stony Point, New York800-999-9574, 845-942-2800www.lightingservicesinc.com

LSI xtures using the Xicato LED Spot Module illuminatingthe Brooker Gallery at the Chicago Field Museum.

Photo: Lighting Services Inc.


20/22


Modular EZ-Wiring EliminatesCommon Hazards

The Canadian company Electec is now offering (inCanada only) an innovative, cost-effective, and greenwiring solution for the building industry. EZ-Wiring

is a plug-and-play modular wiring system that is freeof halogens and heavy metals from the panel to thereceptacle.

Modular wiring systems are designed to allow anelectrician to simply plug together components ofthe electrical system before circuit testing rather thanspending time on the jobsite wiring every junctionand interconnection. These systems are easily con-gurable and recongurable, signicantly reducinginstallation time and churn costs, enabling fast-track-ing, and helping to future-proof a building. In ad-dition, modular wiring systems facilitate the removalof building wire, simplifying the recovery of copperand preventing the build-up of abandoned cabling inwalls. More prevalent in Europe, these quick-connectsystems are just starting to gain traction in the NorthAmerican building industry. Electec, which has beenmanufacturing modular wiring since the late 1980s, isone of just a few North American manufacturers.

Most modular wiring, like other building wire andcable, is chock-full of hazards, from heavy metals tohalogenated ame retardants to plasticizers. WhenEBNrst outlined these concerns (see EBNMar. 2004,

subscription required), there was no electrical wireavailable for building applications without these haz-ards. While the standard building wire in Canada,RW90, is generally at least halogen-free, the XHHWwire that meets U.S. requirements is not. Heavy met-al- and halogen-free electrical wire has begun to be-come available for the U.S. (see EBNSept. 2007) but ata signicant cost premium compared to commoditybuilding wire.

Even when halogen-free, heavy-metal-free wirecomes at a high cost premium to Electec, Chris

Pezoulas, vice president of business development atthe company, says that the labor cost savings of themodular system keep the installed cost for custom-ers below that of conventional wiring. For example,explained Pezoulas, a 25-minute hardwired lightingjob would take 4 minutes with EZ-Wiring.

This time-savings advantage is pronounced whereregular alterations are the norm and the building own-er is also the tenant, such as in big-box retail stores.

Despite the benets, these systems can encounter re-sistance. The challenge is getting acontractor to buy

in, explained Pezoulas. A lot of contractors see it asa threat to their livelihood.

To capture long-term savings, the feasibility andimportance of re-using and reconguring the sys-tem has to be impressed on contractors involved inremodeling and demolition. Instead of reusing theElectec modular wiring on site, contractors are quickto remove it and send it to the landll, pretty muchgoing against the whole concept, explained Pezou-las. Electec has developed a recycling program to en-courage people to return cable to them for reuse and

resale at discounted prices.All components of the EZ-Wiring metal-shieldedpower cabling systems are low-smoke, zero-halogen,and free of heavy metals, and are compliant withEuropes Restriction of Hazardous Substances Direc-tive. The plug-and-play modular systemfor use inceilings, underoor plenums, walls, and systems fur-nitureis designed for easy re-use and recongura-tion. Beginning with the starter cable that connects

EZ-Wirings completed assemblies, like this quick connectoutlet box, save time in the eld.

Photo: Electec
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2004/3/1/Wire-and-Cable-Untangling-Complex-Environmental-Issues/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2004/3/1/Wire-and-Cable-Untangling-Complex-Environmental-Issues/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2004/3/1/Wire-and-Cable-Untangling-Complex-Environmental-Issues/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2004/3/1/Wire-and-Cable-Untangling-Complex-Environmental-Issues/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2004/3/1/Wire-and-Cable-Untangling-Complex-Environmental-Issues/http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2004/3/1/Wire-and-Cable-Untangling-Complex-Environmental-Issues/


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to the hardwired power supply, the system includesa series of components with foolproof, plug-like con-nections that make it easy to disassemble and recon-gure any part of the wiring layout. Receptacles arecolor-coded and uniquely keyed to ensure safe, intui-tive, and error-free connection.

The EZ-Wiring system is currently available in Can-

ada for four-wire applicationsprimarily lighting.The company plans to release an eight-wire systemin summer 2010 to better address wiring applica-tions such as systems furniture, lighting controls, andraised-oor systems. Testing to U.S. standards is un-derway, which will allow EZ-Wiring to be speciedin the U.S. Electec plans to follow with UL testing be-fore pursuing the U.S. market.

For designers working hard to address toxicity con-cerns with building products, it is a big leap forwardto have any green wiring option, let alone the cost-

competitive option EZ-Wiring provides. The life-cycle cost savings of a modular wiring system mayalso make it attractive to clients less invested in toxic-ity concerns. The systems time savings (particularlyfor buildings with common or repetitive footprints)and exibility (particularly for ofces, retail, or otherfrequently recongured spaces) may be what get it asecond glance.


Electec, Ltd.www.electeconline.com


22/22

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