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Welcome to GreenSpec Insights, an independent resource for architects, green consultants, and building product specifiers. Each week, we aim to bring you not only unbiased new product reviews, but also insights into what's really important for environmental performance in specific product categories. We hope you find it useful -- send your suggestions and other comments to Insights@GreenSpec.com.
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Which chair, desk, or filing cabinet has the smallest environmental impact? Many manufacturers make claims about recycled content, VOCs, sustainable harvesting, or other green features—but making an apples-to-apples comparison of several products’ environmental features is next to impossible.
That’s where environmental product declarations (EPDs) come in...
Read the rest of the article and Join the discussion
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- Paula Melton
Conventional hot-water recirculation pumps—a standard appliance in hotels, multifamily residential buildings, and other commercial buildings with high demand for domestic hot water—were never supposed to save energy.
These devices are installed to get hot water to the tap quickly to keep tenants and hotel guests happy. If they prevented some lukewarm water from going down the drain, that was a welcome side-effect. But high-speed delivery comes at a price: building owners end up wasting energy and money constantly reheating and pumping water—despite the fact that most building occupants need hot water only once or twice a day. The recirculation systems also act as radiators, their wasted heat being added to buildings even during cooling seasons.
Read the rest of the article and Join the discussion
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When specifying or using forest products, some people want to know that they originated in a forestry operation that respects the long-term health of the forest and its important functions, such as wildlife habitat, recreation, and support for local communities. You can’t tell those things by scrutinizing the lumber or furniture product—that’s where certification programs come in.
Read the rest of the article and Join the discussion
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- Jennifer Atlee
LEED is supposed to be about buildings--and market transformation
On the one hand, LEED is fundamentally supposed to be about designing high-performing green buildings, and product and material selection is one integrated component. It's not supposed to be about cobbling together a building out of greener products and materials. If the core purpose gets lost amidst the debate surrounding one material (yes, I'm talking FSC/SFI), we all lose.
On the other hand, LEED is at this point a major market driver for green building products.
Read the rest of the article and Join the discussion
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