Interior products and those designed to save energy dominated the list of 2008 Top-10 Green Building Products released this week at the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild Conference in Boston.
The list, published by BuildingGreen, LLC, includes the first FSC-certified and formaldehyde-free bamboo flooring; doors
made with wheat-straw particleboard; a line of zero-VOC paint; a
transparent finish produced from a byproduct of cheese making; and a
line of organic fabrics.v
Three of the products this year save energy, including a low-cost, solar water-heating system; a combination heating, water heating, and heat-recovery ventilation system; and a system for monitoring real-time energy (and water) use in buildings. Water saving products are represented by a line of rainwater storage tanks–the first rainwater storage equipment ever recognized in seven years of Top-10 lists.
Half of the products this year are green in part because they are made from natural, rapidly renewable, or agricultural waste materials; natural materials often require significantly less energy to manufacture. A new compressed-earth masonry block is particularly noteworthy in this regard.
"Most of the Top-10 products this year have multiple environmental attributes," BuildingGreen president Alex Wilson said.
"Designers of LEED buildings are looking for green products, and manufacturers are responding." Wilson added.
The 2008 Top-10 Green Building Products are:
- Integrity Block
- Safe ‘N Sound Emerald doors from Masonite
- FSC-certified Plyboo Pure bamboo flooring from Smith & Fong
- Natura Paint from Benjamin Moore
- PolyWhey Floor Finish from Vermont Natural Coatings
- O Ecotextiles Natural-Fiber Fabrics
- Matrix Total Home System from NTI
- SunCache solar water heating system from Harpiris Energy
- Agilewaves Resource Monitor
- Rainwater H2OG storage tanks
Link to more info about these companies below.
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