BuildingGreen Announces Top-10 Green Building Products

Winners are selected by the editors of Environmental Building News.

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 11/14/2005

BuildingGreen, the publisher behind the GreenSpec Product Directory and sustainable publication Environmental Building News (EBN), has announced its 2005 selections of the Top-10 Green Building Products. Though some products have been on the market longer, the award recognizes those added to the GreenSpec Directory this year.

The list, selected by editors of Environmental Building News (EBN) based on criteria developed over the past 14 years, encompasses a wide range of product types. In addition to other environmental benefits, three winners save energy, two products save water, three are made from recycled waste or bio-based material, and two offer sustainable flooring alternatives for commercial buildings.

“Most of the Top-10 products this year have multiple environmental attributes,” says GreenSpec coeditor Alex Wilson. Trends include dual-flush toilets for residential and commercial environments, white LED lighting achieving as high as 50 lumens per watt, and products that avoid PVC's (polyvinyl chloride) and plasticizers. “The introduction of a non- PVC polymer composition tile as an alternative to VCT (vinyl composition tile) late in 2005 was a huge breakthrough,” according to Wilson.

This year also marks the introduction of a binder for plywood that does not contain formaldehyde--a chemical that was reclassified in 2004 from a “probable human carcinogen” to a “known human carcinogen.” The binder is also made from soybeans--a rapidly renewable material--verses petroleum or natural gas.

On the energy front, 2005 saw the introduction of an ice-based thermal energy storage system that makes off-peak cooling practical for smaller commercial buildings and homes. Building owners who pay electricity demand charges or have time-of-day electricity rates will save from this development, and utility companies will be able to reduce the use of peaking power plants, which are often the most polluting.

More than 160 products have been added to the GreenSpec database, which now includes 2,000 product listings, representing several times as many actual products. The 6th edition of the GreenSpec Directory, also available online as part of the BuildingGreen Suite, will be published in early 2006.

The complete list of winners is below:

• BioNet Erosion-Control Mats from North American Green

• PureBond Hardwood Plywood and Agrifi ber-Core Panels
from Columbia Forest Products

• Nybacker recycled-carpet tile-backer from NYCORE

• Stonescape from American Biltrite Canada

• TerratexBiobased Textiles from Interface Fabrics Group and Carnegie

• Uppercut Dual-Flush Flushometer Valve from Sloan Valve Company

• Aquia Dual-Flush Toilet from TOTO USA

• Ice Bear Thermal Energy Storage System from Ice Energy

• UltimateAir RecoupAerator 200-DX ERV from Stirling Technology

• Enbryten LED and Pendant and Downlighting Luminaires
from Permlight Products