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A Publication of BuildingGreen, Inc. www.BuildingGreen.com Volume 23, Number 1 · January 2014 Innovative Products and Technology from the Greenbuild Expo Our product editors pick some winners from the expo floor at Green- build 2013 while raising questions about some materials.

By BuildingGreen’s Editors EBN has not yet obtained details on whether the new formula has its own Even if you did make it to the expo toxicity concerns, but removing chlo- floor at Greenbuild 2013 in Philadel- rine is a promising step, and Kingspan phia, it’s next to impossible to cover has been out front in the material the whole expo and ferret out the true transparency movement, being one of standout products. That’s why we sent the first to have completed environ- a team to do the work and brought mental product declarations (EPDs) back this overview of highlights. and health product declarations EBN (HPDs). According to Paul Bertram, Fair warning: usually focuses our Photo: Ecovative coverage on commercially available Kingspan’s director of environment and sustainability, working on the Ecovative is offering not only an insulated products, and usually on products that sheathing but also grown-in-place insulation we would actually recommend. We’ve HPD for its panels was a key motiva- and a particleboard alternative. relieved ourselves of those standards tor for removing the flame retardants. here, including some forward-looking petrochemical-based foam plastic The “nano” in IPN-Nano refers to innovations—and some that we’ll wait products emerge from the company’s the small cell structure of the foam, and see on. research activities. which increases its density and should also increase the R-value and overall Ecovative’s founders have figured out Structural and Insulation performance of the panels, though how to grow mycelium (the under- Products exact R-values are not yet available. ground portion of mushrooms, often This polyiso foam also uses pentane appearing as fine, white tendrils) We are continually on the lookout for as the blowing agent, which has zero quickly in rice hulls or other cellulos- products that can improve building ozone-depletion potential and a rela- ic waste material and form a strong, performance while reducing the toxic tively low global warming potential of lightweight material. After growing burdens of our most common insula- seven. for a while under optimal moisture tion materials. We saw some promis- and temperature conditions, the ma- The company will be transitioning to ing innovations at Greenbuild. terial is dried, which deactivates the IPN-Nano in the coming year as man- mycelium. Their molded packaging Kingspan IPN-Nano Halogen-Free ufacturing locations switch over—and has been a cost-effective replacement Foam Insulation some Kingspan products will continue for Styrofoam for several years now. to contain Tris, so you’ll have to speci- Kingspan Insulated Panels has intro- fy the HFR-free foam to avoid it. At Greenbuild, Ecovative showed off duced the industry’s first halogenated its new Myco Foam Insulated Sheath- flame retardant (HFR)-free plastic Mycelium-Based Building Products ing. One sample we picked up is 1-⅝” foam insulation, IPN-Nano. Available from Ecovative thick with a rough texture showing in the company’s Benchmark Engi- some biobased fibers and an off-white neered Façade Systems, IPN-Nano On the cool quotient, Ecovative De- tofu-colored surface. Its specifications has taken the chlorine out of Tris(1,3- sign’s prototype products at Green- are reasonable in comparison with dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate, or Tris build were clear winners. We’ve foam insulation, including an R-value (a common flame retardant found in covered Ecovative’s unique myceli- of R-3.6/inch and a Class A fire rating most polyiso foam insulation), while um-based packaging in the past (see with no added flame retardants. still meeting fire codes. our green building wish list) and have been hoping to see replacements for

Environmental Building News • January 2014 Copyright © 2014 BuildingGreen, Inc. All rights reserved. Ecovative has licensed the technology done outside—before sunlight and to Fortifiber Building Systems Group heat come indoors. Exterior roller for further product development, test- shades and roller shutters are common ing, and hopefully 2014 production. on European windows, but they have been very slow to catch on in the U.S. Grow-In-Place Mushroom Insulation. How about growing insulation in That might be changing. One of the place? Ecovative has been testing its leading U.S. window makers, Marvin, MycoFoam for in situ insulating, prob- has introduced a new exterior roller ably in a pre-fab factory setting. The shade. The window-integrated shade, foam takes about a month to grow, ac- produced through a partnership with cording to the company; then it would Hunter Douglas, fits into a track in the be allowed to dry out, producing an window jambs and can be operated airtight structural wall assembly. The remotely from indoors. company built a tiny house in 2013 to The system includes semi-rigid PVC demonstrate this system, and builders (vinyl) slats either connected by a interested in trying it out can purchase flexible, exterior-grade, acrylic fabric materials for it today. backing or as separate louvers at- Myco Board. For a denser, particle- tached to insect-screen backing (the board-like product, Ecovative can latter allowing some visibility through vary the crop-waste fiber content and the shade). The slats or louvers are produce a compressed particleboard available in five colors, and in the case product. The lightweight sample we of the version with fabric backing, picked up is just over a half-inch thick. there are corresponding fabric colors. Ecovative says that Myco Board can Photo: SageGlass Each blind rolls up into a hidden, be molded into unique shapes—for If utilized together, SageGlass Simplicity and integral “head box” at the top of the Lightzone technologies create one pane of glass producing furniture components, for window, so the blind is fully concealed that is wirelessly tinted to three different levels. example—reducing waste and dust when not in use. Marvin has done a from milling. Myco Board can be faced great job integrating the shading sys- ry windows, installing the necessary with veneer or even grown into ve- tem into the window. wiring can be difficult. neers, avoiding synthetic adhesives. The motorized openers can be pro- The new Simplicity line addresses Windows and Doors grammed to operate automatically this problem by using solar cells based on time of day or controlled by and Internet connectivity to create a Innovative companies continue to occupants as needed. Marvin wasn’t wireless system. A thin strip of solar improve the performance of windows able to give us cost information, but PV installed on the glass pane pow- and doors, as shown by several prod- the product certainly isn’t cheap. Also, ers the electronic tinting, and a small ucts shown off at Greenbuild. with the vinyl construction, the shades battery provides backup power for up to two days. Tinting can be controlled Marvin Exterior Roller Shades will not provide much security or pro- tection from hurricanes, as some roller automatically with light sensors or a building management system, or on The Europeans long ago figured out shutters provide. demand using an iPad app. Products that regulating solar heat gain is best SageGlass Simplicity in this line are expected to become available mid-2014 for commercial With an impressive booth setup com- curtainwalls, windows, and skylights. plete with a bar, Sage Electrochromics Already available is a new product chose Greenbuild to debut SageGlass called LightZone, which, like trifo- Simplicity—the latest update to its cal glasses, allows three sections of a electronically tintable exterior glazing, single pane of glass to have different which has been around for about a de- tints. cade now. SageGlass blocks solar heat gain using thin-film ceramic coatings Wasco EcoSky3 Skylight that darken with a low-voltage electric current. It can adjust to variable tints The residential and commercial skylight company Wasco—based Photo: Marvin Windows and Doors on demand, from 60% visible light transmission when fully clear to 1% in Maine, rather than Wisconsin or This window-integrated shade from Marvin, when fully tinted, helping to cut heat- Minnesota, like most of the rest of the produced through a partnership with Hunter window industry—has been at the Douglas, fits into a track in the window jambs ing and cooling loads. However, in and can be operated remotely. applications like skylights or cleresto-

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 2 ThermaWrap from DuPont to the sheathing, so installing it over ThermaWrap sim- ply requires a longer fastener. Ash told EBN that brick or DuPont didn’t have a Greenbuild presence, but we found stone ties will compress the wrap down to 3/16”, reduc- their concurrent announcement of a housewrap that also ing its insulation value to R-1, but he argued that overall provides R-5 insulation worth noting. There’s a fine line R-value is maintained, in part because the R-value of the between combination products that are a resounding ThermaWrap is actually R-5.4, leaving some slack for vari- success (can you imagine your phone not having a cam- ations in installation. DuPont is working on solutions to era?) versus the many duds out there (sporks). Tyvek make ThermaWrap compatible with lapped siding, such ThermaWrap R5.0, which essentially combines Tyvek with as clapboards, which Ash said would likely involve some a polyester insulation, has the potential to make sense: kind of furring strip. building paper should be installed continuously, and a continuous layer of exterior insulation reduces thermal We’d like to see more information from practitioners: does bridging through framing members. Other environmental ThermaWrap hold up in real-world conditions? DuPont features of the product are 20% pre-consumer recycled should also provide more installation guidelines and more content, by weight—from Tyvek—and a Class A fire rat- information from thermal imaging and hot-box testing, ing with no added flame retardants. showing that the insulating benefit really does hold up to fasteners. However, although DuPont’s installation guidelines (PDF) state that ThermaWrap should not be compressed, which The product comes with a cost premium: Ash said that it would reduce its R-value, the document lags in provid- would cost seven to ten times the price of regular Tyvek, ing details on how to install cladding over ThermaWrap and about 70% more than an inch of polystyrene foam in- without doing so. Jim Ash, marketing manager for new sulation. A better comparison, Ash says, is to the installed business development at DuPont, explained to EBN that cost of housewrap plus an inch of extruded polystyrene, the product is currently compatible with vinyl, brick, or which he says works out to a 20% premium for ThermaW- stone cladding. He says that vinyl siding “hangs off the rap. nails in a normal installation,” rather than being held tight Count this in the “spork” category for now.

forefront of skylight energy perfor- co, thermal properties of the skylight ten is a low-flow toilet with a split mance for years. outperform the leading competitor bowl that separates urine from other three-fold. It is available in both dome waste at the outset; solids go in the At Greenbuild, Wasco showed off and pyramid styles in sizes ranging back and liquids in the front. A 1.0 its new EcoSky3 skylight. This bub- from 25-¼” x 25-¼” to 95-½” x 95-½”, gallon flush is used for the back, and ble-type unit has an acrylic outer glaz- including both square and rectangular an optional “spritz” (0.01 gallons) is ing and an inner glazing panel filled designs. provided for the urinal. Urine goes with 10 mm of Lumira silica aerogel. directly to a storage tank, where it can (Lumira, made by the Cabot Corpora- Wasco also showed off itsParans be collected for use as a nitrogen-rich tion, was previously called Nanogel.) fiber-optic daylighting system, which fertilizer. (See “Urine Separation: The The EcoSky3 unit skylight offers a we’ve covered in the past, and tri- Next Wave of Ecological Wastewater remarkable U-factor of 0.25, SHGC of ple-glazed roof windows with U-fac- Treatment.”) 0.34, and visible transmittance (VT) of tor and solar heat gain coefficient 0.43. This is the only unit skylight to (SHGC) both below 0.3 (making them The Aquatron attaches to the back meet requirements of the International great for overhead applications). bowl of the Dubbletten or can be used Energy Conservation Code (IECC) in to retrofit a conventional toilet into a all climate zones. According to Was- Water Efficiency composting toilet. A non-mechanical separator installed at an angle below Even as many key plumbing fixtures the toilet uses centrifugal force gener- have been bumping up against a ceil- ated by the momentum of the flushing ing in terms of their water efficiency, water to separate 98% of liquids and some companies are finding new ways flush water from solid waste. Solid to improve water conservation and waste is diverted to a biological cham- resource recovery at the whole-build- ber, where it eventually composts; the ing level. company recommends using compost- Rosie’s Natural Way ing worms to speed the process and decrease the volume of waste. Liquid Photo: Wasco Products, Inc. Rosie’s Natural Way distributes a waste can then be directed through The EcoSky3 skylight has an acrylic outer urine-diverting system, called the a UV filter and a phosphorous trap, glazing and an inner glazing panel filled with Dubbletten, and a composting system, filtering it to meet standards for use Lumira silica aerogel. called the Aquatron. The Dubblet- as graywater, according to the compa-

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 3 ny. In testing, the number of bacteria TOTO Urinal Retrofit, Zurn Om- ny. This technology uses a layered present after exposure to the UV light ni-Flow Urinal, and Kohler Stew- capacitor to power the flushometer by was below Sweden’s National Food ard Hybrid collecting the small electrical discharg- Administration’s limits for drinking es of the battery, leaving the cell with water; however, utilizing this water We were so excited about the urinal nearly full storage. for irrigation or for toilets in the U.S. offerings at Greenbuild that we have might take some wrangling with to mention three. TOTO is offering Graywater Harvesting from Wa- health codes. a high-efficiency urinal with a 0.125 haso gallon per flush (gpf) that can easily The Dubbletten has the look and feel replace standard full-size units. The The arrival of an NSF standard for on- of a conventional toilet and has the po- Commercial Washout High-Efficiency site residential and commercial gray- tential for widespread adoption (if you UT105U model has top or back spud water systems (NSF/ANSI 350) in late can wrap your mind around the split inlets of ¾”, making it a simple retrofit 2011 signified the potential, at least, bowl), and the Aquatron can be in- option. In fact, we installed this model for a new era in water reuse: packaged stalled up to 196 feet (60m) away from at our BuildingGreen office and have systems that can be reliably installed the toilet, making it flexible to install been very satisfied with operation so and operated—hopefully with min- in new construction or as a retrofit uti- far. TOTO recommends also purchas- imal routine maintenance. There lizing a basement or crawlspace. The ing its 1/8 GPF EcoPower Flush Valve haven’t been many NSF-350 certified system can also accommodate larger for best performance. systems yet, but a commercial-grade uses, such as apartment buildings or system from Wahaso Water Harvest- schools with composting chambers up Zurn’s Z5755 Omni Flow urinal pro- ing Solutions is pending certification. to 3,170 gallons (12,000 liters) that are vides the unique feature of accommo- Wahaso’s systems, including pumps, designed for 10 to 12 toilets. Accord- dating multiple flow rates from 0.125 storage, filtration, and controls are ing to Stubby Warmbold, founder of gpf to 1.0 gpf. This allows plumbers custom-designed by the company and Rosie’s Natural Way, the system has to install multiple low-flow urinals pre-built on skids, delivered ready for drawn attention from those interested and set one or two to high flow to help installation. They include two-stage in the Living Building Challenge, and move water down the line, preventing filtration for particulates, sanitation the system designers are currently uric salt build-up and pipe corrosion. with chlorine or UV light (despite the developing a third component to natu- The urinal comes in a standard size for downside of the added chemicals, the rally filter the “graywater” byproduct retrofitting, and the flush valve has a company recommends chlorine for its into drinking water using peat moss. 10-year life on the battery. greater effectiveness), and automated Finally, Kohler, controls and reporting compatible manufacturer with building automation systems of the Steward running BACnet. Waterless Urinal, has released Ecodrain Shower Heat Exchanger a new hybrid Ecodrain is a simple, passive heat-re- model that looks covery device to transfer heat from like the waterless outgoing shower wastewater to the but is plumbed cold-water line going into the water so that it flushes. heater or going to the shower directly At 0.125 gpf, it is (or both). We are big fans of captur- still efficient but ing waste heat from showers, and could be used we have covered the even-simpler like the Zurn to GFX (gravity-film exchange) prod- clear the pipes ucts that are available from at least for waterless four manufacturers. Water heating is urinals installed representing a larger fraction of total down the line. energy consumption as our buildings Kohler is also get more efficient, making reduction of promoting its water-heating energy a higher priority. Hybrid Energy System, a hybrid Ecodrain has been under development energy cell for since 2008, but the current version flushometers, Image: Rosie’s Natural Way we saw at Greenbuild has evolved with approxi- considerably. It is designed for rela- The Aquatron uses gravity and centrifugal force to separate liquids from solid mately a 30-year tively flat (horizontal) installations, waste. The solids drop down into the biological chamber, gradually turning into compost, and the liquids are diverted through filters and used for irrigation. lifespan, accord- though steeply angled and vertical ing to the compa-

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 4 In addition to the residential systems, to strong support from the State of Ecodrain showed off a commercial California). product at Greenbuild that mounts The ShowerStart solves a huge prob- on the underside of a larger-diameter, lem with shower operation: people low-slope commercial wastewater turning on the shower and leaving pipe. A copper squared-tubing wa- the bathroom while they wait for hot ter-to-water heat exchanger, molded water to get to the shower. There are to the pipe radius, is secured to the other solutions to this problem—like wastewater pipe. This B1000 system is the Metlund D’Mand on-demand available for pipe diameters ranging circulator that brings hot water to the from 3” to 12” in lengths of 48” and point of use quickly while returning 96”. water that’s been sitting in the pipes The Nexus eWater System back to the water heater—but the Photo: George Smid ShowerStart valve is a simple, quick, Drain water from the shower flows along a The Nexus eWater system more active- affordable retrofit solution. copper plate with copper tubing beneath it, ly utilizes a home’s graywater heat for through which incoming water flows for pre- Here’s how it works: After installing heating. water heating and also filters it to be nearly potable. Graywater is directed the Evolve Ladybug Showerhead installations (like DFX systems) are to a collector that has an embedded Adaptor or the Roadrunner II 1.5 also possible. heat exchanger, which uses refrigera- gallon per minute (gpm) showerhead tion coils to transfer the heat to a wa- with integral ShowerStart valve, the The heat exchange occurs across the ter heater. The result is an amazingly user turns on the shower. When water bottom of the Ecodrain unit. Graywa- efficient water heater with a coefficient at 95°F (35°C) reaches the valve, the ter from the shower flows through a of performance (COP) of 4.0 and a flow is reduced to a trickle by a valve specialized section of drain line, and typical daily energy use of 15 kWh. that is activated by paraffin melting cold water flows through small-di- against a rubber membrane. Full flow ameter, squared copper tubing at the Once the heat is extracted, the gray- is then restored by pulling the at- bottom of the unit. The cold-water water is pumped through the Nexus tached lanyard or twisting the bypass tubing, connected by a manifold, reCycler. Bubbles are circulated to ad- lever. slows the water flow, improving heat here to soap, dirt, and oils, eventually exchange. Testing by the Food Service hardening into a foam that is returned Effectiveness of the ShowerStart Technology Center showed heat-re- to the sewer. After passing through valve has been verified through field covery efficiencies to be between 33% a UV and carbon filter, the water is studies by several California utilities. and 45%. nearly potable and can be used for But it’s worth noting that savings irrigation or for toilets (code allowing). are highly dependent on behavioral Our concern with early versions of the patterns; formerly wasteful practices Ecodrain drain-water heat exchanger The system requires separate blackwa- (leaving the hot water running a long was the formation of biofilms and ter and graywater plumbing, which time before stepping into the shower) clogging. The new design seems to is rare and an expensive retrofit in the result in the greatest savings from this have addressed this fairly effectively U.S. but may become more popular in product. To test performance through with much less impeded drain-water new construction, according to Ralph flow, but we will still be anxious to Petroff, chairman of Nexus eWater. hear about long-term testing of this However, the system itself is quite heat exchanger. The company claims affordable, at under $5,000. Petroff that an “environmentally friendly” claims that in a new home, this system nonstick surface will minimize deposi- can reduce potable water consump- tion on the walls of the heat exchanger, tion by 45%, cut sewage production which should keep the heat-exchange 60%–70%, and reduce the energy used efficiency high. The company also rec- to heat water 75%–80% compared to a ommends using a screen in the shower conventional system. drain to capture hair. Evolve ShowerStart Like the GFX systems, the Ecodrain only works when the graywater flow We first saw the ShowerStart valve is coincident with incoming water in 2008, shortly after the product had Photo: ShowerStart flowing to the water heater or shower. been introduced. This quirky water saver has not only survived but has When water at 95°F (35°C) reaches the valve Draining a bathtub or clothes washer, of the RoadRunner II showerhead, the flow is for example, typically does not allow also really taken off, with more than reduced to a trickle. Full flow is restored by for heat recovery. 500,000 units installed to date (thanks pulling the attached lanyard.

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 5 the Uniform Plumbing Code, a new Manufactured in Austria, Internorm ery and air quality—as well as more standard was created: IAPMO IGC products have just joined the “Europe- information about how the system 244-2007a. ShowerStart showerheads an Invasion” we’ve seen of windows works and how much energy it uses— and a hand-shower version are Wa- and doors suitable for Passive House but this new technology is fascinating terSense labeled—greatly exceeding projects and other high-performance and deserves a chance to show its stuff water conservation requirements for buildings. The company manufac- in North America. the program. tures PVC and aluminum-clad wood windows with the impressive U-val- BioMacht Waste-Heat-Recovery Hand Dryers from TOTO and ues we’ve come to expect from Central Systems Sloan Europe—but at a lower price point BioMacht provides medium-size because they are mass-produced rath- TOTO and Sloan each had hand dry- (50kW–2MW) electricity generators er than custom-built. ers on display at Greenbuild touting fueled by waste heat from biogas, drying times in the 10-to-12-second Unique from Internorm is a new win- diesel, or other types of engines often range. TOTO’s sensor-activated Clean dow technology that integrates a small used for combined heat and power at Dry hand dryer is a new style in the energy-recovery ventilator (ERV) right the district scale. Importing technolo- company’s hand dryer line. You insert into the vinyl frame of its triple-glazed gy developed by BioMacht’s European your hands into the unit, as with hand KF 400 model. The company claims partner, GMK, the modular systems dryers from Mitsubishi and Dyson, I-tec Ventilation permits air exchange offer a plug-and-play design. By using and any water that blows off is col- without compromising security or air a proprietary organic compound as a lected in a tray in the base. The Clean quality, and it boasts 86% heat recov- heat-exchange medium (in a process Dry uses only 690 watts and is sur- ery. known as the organic Rankine cycle, prisingly quiet at 59 decibels. It can be or ORC) rather than generating steam mounted on a wall, but mounting it in Many building science experts worry to turn turbines, the BioMacht systems the counter, as shown at Greenbuild, that ductless ventilation pulls “fresh” can make use of relatively low-tem- should lower noise even further. outdoor air through cracks and leaks perature heat that would normally be in the building envelope, bringing rejected. You might not have even noticed who-knows-what contaminants with Sloan’s hand dryer since it looked like it, but this ductless system—if it lives The system can also provide combined a standard faucet. The company is up to Internorm’s claims—can filter heat and power from geothermal partnering with Excel Dryer, manu- out pollen and other pollutants while sources or from industrial waste heat. facturer of the first high-performance drawing outdoor air into the house. Two current projects include work hand dryer, to develop a unit that is with the government of Canada to installed in the sink; it is paired with a We’d like to see more empirical data aid isolated communities in Northern soap dispenser and faucet for an inte- supporting claims about energy recov- Canada that rely exclusively on diesel grated look. You use the soap dispens- er on the left, the faucet in the middle, and the dryer on the right. Water blown off the hands simply goes down the sink—solving a problem that no other hand dryer has adequately addressed. We had a chance to try the dryer; it seemed to work well and, like the TOTO, was surprisingly quiet (the first XLerator wall-mounted models were quite loud). Unfortunately, the Sloan/Excel product is a prototype and is not currently available. HVAC Technical innovations in heating, cool- ing and ventilation systems continue to expand what we can expect from these systems. Internorm windows with built-in

ERV Photo: BioMacht This 500 kW ORC unit is being shipped to a U.S. sawmill, where it will power the facility using wood Need fresh air? Don’t open a window: waste. open the window’s ventilation system.

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 6 generators for power (their technology so confident in its core will generate more electricity from design that it offers a the waste heat) as well as a deal with 25-year warranty. Google to use waste heat from a data Air Pohoda just intro- center to produce more electricity for duced the 240E and is the servers. pursuing Passivhaus ORC systems have been in use Institut product certifi- throughout Europe for many years in cation, but as yet there combination with biomass systems. is no third-party data BioMacht has brought GMK’s technol- to verify performance. ogy to North America and is distribut- The company claims, ing in Canada and the U.S. however, that the unit is more than 90% effi- Air Pohoda Ultima 240E iERV cient and even outper- Photo: Stian Rasmussen forms models offered The Ultima 240E iERV (intelligent Comfy is an app for smart phones or desktops that allows occupants by Zehnder. The 240E to let the building automation system (BAS) know whether they’re energy-recovery ventilator)—from is not cheap, at $3,500, comfortable or if they need their space to be warmed or cooled. As the the Czech manufacturer of Passive system learns occupant preferences over time, it can save energy while but it doesn’t require House-compliant products, Air Poho- improving comfort. an added pre-heater, it da—was one of the coolest products can provide humidifi- see just how much energy it can save. at the show. Though all ERVs pro- cation and dehumidification, and with It will then offer Comfy as a service to vide fresh air, minimize energy loss an optional $900 “Cool-Breeze” add- buildings, priced with the expectation from the interior, and help manage a on, it can even provide cooling. that it will be cost-neutral or better in building’s humidity levels, the Ultima terms of energy while also improving 240E is the first ERV to offer adjustable Comfy from Building Robotics occupant comfort. While that research humidity control. is ongoing, Baker says that one thing is Are you hot, cool, or “comfy”? De- The 240E’s enthalpy core is the key clear: “It’s this cool app. [Occupants] signed to work with building auto- to this control—and a host of other love it.” mation systems (BAS), using BACnet, performance improvements. ERVs Comfy is a new tool that allows oc- typically use flat plates that transfer cupants to ask for a change in tem- Coatings and Finishes heat, with small perforations in the perature via an app on a smart phone membrane that allow moisture to With low-VOC paints standard, com- or desktop. The ventilation system cross from one airstream to the next. panies are looking for other ways to responds by immediately sending The Ultima 240E uses a triangular stand out—with mixed success. a 10-minute burst of cool or warm core with channels that capture the air, depending on what’s needed. If KNOxOUT “smog-eating” paint condensate so moisture can either be the ventilation zone is a large office drained away or directed back into the or multi-occupant area, the Comfy We’ve been down this road before— living space, depending on how the app can be set to ask whether anoth- and the emissions were terrible. air movement is controlled within the er person feels the same way before unit. The homeowner sets the desired Billed by Philippines-based paint man- adjusting the temperature. Over time, humidity level using Internet-enabled ufacturer Boysen as an “earth-friendly Comfy uses all of this data to provide controls, and the unit automatically coating,” and finally available in the the right temperature when and where makes the adjustments. The unit’s U.S., KNOxOUT paint is another in it’s needed—and to reduce unneces- molded design minimizes any poten- a long line of products designed to sary conditioning when it’s not. tial cross-contamination. clean the air while also promoting According to Lindsay Baker, vice pres- self-cleaning of surfaces. The technology has several advantag- ident of research and marketing for es over other ERVs: the 240E can op- We’ve turned a skeptical eye to the Building Robotics, the start-up compa- erate in any climate; the core does not claims made by makers of the many ny behind Comfy, the system requires contain perforations, so dust will not titanium dioxide-based products on central DDC (direct digital control) clog the unit over time; and the unit the market. We’ve reluctantly rec- and, although it can work with VRF does not freeze and does not require ommended only products that bake (variable refrigerant flow) or radiant a pre-heater (it requires only minimal the TiO2 into a cementitious coating systems, it works best with VAV (vari- maintenance in temperatures below that’s unlikely to flake or wash away. able air volume) ventilation systems -15°F, according to the company). It Thin coatings and paints, in contrast, because of the immediate feedback also uses an EBM Pabst electronically will constantly be adding more of this they can provide. commutated motor (ECM), so it is powerful nano-scale antimicrobial to very efficient, and has six-inch ducts to The company is currently testing the stormwater, where it can wreak havoc deliver good airflow. The company is tool in a variety of building types to

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 7 in ecosystems and wastewater treat- problem while also ment plants. providing unprec- edented acoustical So what makes KNOxOUT special? performance. With The manufacturers recommend it for a backing made of helping clean the air in small, localized acoustical fiberglass areas that really need it—like inside board and spray-ap- parking garages and highway tunnels, plied plaster incorpo- and on buildings and walls surround- rating perlite, benton- ing bus stations. And unlike most ite, and post-consumer companies, Boysen has some empirical recycled cotton, the data to back its smog-eating claims for product can flex—with these confined areas. the ASTM internal We’re still concerned about overuse stress rating, as well of TiO2, but this manufacturer seems as almost 30 years of

to have the right idea about using the performance in Swe- Photo: KI den, to prove it. Fellert material judiciously in places where it KI’s Strive (shown here) and Grazie lines of chairs will be the first makes the most sense. So apply under also claims that dents products to use AirCarbon plastic, whose raw materials come from the right conditions, and prepare the and dings are easy to farm-sourced methane rather than petroleum; the company claims these chairs are carbon negative. surface first with a thick layer of skep- patch. ticism and caution. As far as we can tell, gies, called AirCarbon, which could Fellert Acoustical Plaster the main drawback of the product is revolutionize the plastic industry. the antiquated binder (which contains Most plastics use raw materials (car- Acoustical plaster is an architect’s both phenol and urea formaldehyde) bon especially) taken from fossil fuels dream, providing gleaming, seamless in the Knauf acoustical board used in as their building blocks, but Newlight interiors that also absorb sound and the system—but Fellert told EBN it is is using methane for the KI plastic, pri- reduce noise even in a large, open considering a switch to the insulation marily from farms, as its source. Using space like an atrium, museum gallery, maker’s formaldehyde-free acoustical methane is critical because it has such or dramatic staircase. That seamless boards, processed with the corn-sugar- powerful global warming potential. look often doesn’t last, though: most based Ecose binder. These upgraded Over a 20-year span, methane traps 72 plasters crack with normal settling boards are a darker color, says Fellert, times as much heat in the atmosphere and other loads. so more testing is needed to ensure the as an equal mass of carbon dioxide. boards don’t compromise the plaster’s The makers of Fellert Acoustical color or light reflectance. According to Newlight cofounder Plaster claim their product solves this and CEO Mark Herrema, the process Installations requiring C-channels of converting the raw materials in may also face problems if the project methane to plastic is not new, but in team is seeking to eliminate PVC for the past, it has not been cost-effective. the Living Building Challenge or other Herrema and his team worked for reasons. more than ten years to refine their cat- alyst—so that AirCarbon is now less Furnishings expensive to produce than convention- The furnishings that we took note of at al petroleum-based plastics. Greenbuild stand out for how they are AirCarbon is a polyhydroxyalkanoate pushing conversations about resource (PHA), a biodegradable plastic, and and energy use. can be engineered to have a variety of KI Chairs with AirCarbon Plastic performance characteristics, such as being rigid or flexible. The plastic used KI, manufacturer of commercial fur- in the KI chairs is similar to rigid ABS niture, had an unassuming booth at or polypropylene and is recyclable but Greenbuild showing its Strive chair, not biodegradable. which looked like any other plastic- The KI Strive and Grazie chair lines Photo: Timothy Hursley/Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and-steel stacking chair. But this sim- will be the first products to use Air- ple chair held one of the hidden gems The Steven Holl-designed expansion to the Carbon when they become available of the show: its plastic is made using a Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, in early 2014. Cost information is not Missouri, was the first U.S. project to use new petroleum-free, carbon-negative Fellert Acoustical Plaster, which is integral to yet available, and KI is in the process the award-winning design. technology from Newlight Technolo-

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 8 of third-party verification of its car- FlexShade Zip System is an interior/ LEED in Motion: Impacts and Innova- bon-negative claims. exterior roller shade system. They tion. Drawing from LEED projects that insert into inside side rails and can reported data over the 12-month pe- Draper Solar Control Solutions withstand winds up to 90 mph. These riod between July 2012 and July 2013, are available in widths and drops up the report offers two main data points Draper showed off several new solar to 16.5’. relative to energy performance: shading offerings, including its interi- or Bottom-Up FlexShades, which can s_enn Shading System (no, that’s not On a simple average (not weighted by provide shading and privacy on lower a typo) is an exterior shade panel con- size), 450 LEED projects showed an window portions while allowing light sisting of stainless steel rods, though average source energy use intensity through on top. These could be paired it can also be rolled up like a roller (EUI) 31% lower than the national with the new FlexWave Light Shelf shade; the s_onro Daylight Shutter median source EUI. that reflects light deeper into the room, System is a roller shade that uses 404 LEED projects posted an average reducing the need for electric lighting. aluminum fins and can open from Energy Star score of 85. These light shelves can be rotated the bottom up to provide privacy and down for easy cleaning. daylighting. Good news—on the surface Draper introduced its first exterior While the news is good on the surface shading systems at Greenbuild as Share Your Innovations (with the Energy Star score indicating well, introducing several lines of What did you notice at Greenbuild, average performance better than 85% shades and louvers. or elsewhere? Post your observations of buildings nationwide, and well Omega Venetian Blinds are commer- below, or if you’re a manufacturer beyond the score of 75 needed for En- cial blinds that can be used for inte- with a cool innovation to share, let us ergy Star certification), the report does riors or exteriors. Available in widths know about it through our GreenSpec not provide several data points crucial up to 16’ 1” and drops of 32’ 1”, these website, where the products discussed to a deeper evaluation of performance blinds are available in manual (for in this article may appear after going of LEED buildings. Building type, date interiors) or motorized versions. through additional screening. of construction, square footage, or choice of LEED rating system do not FlexLouver Rack Arm System can also accompany the data. be used on interior or exterior win- NEWS dows; these louvers open and close In addition, the report does not either by hand crank or motor, but LEED Buildings Above Av- discuss median versus mean energy they do not retract. They are available scores, a distinction that could be sig- in widths up to 20’ and drops of 20’. erage in Latest Energy Data nificant if there is a large variation in Release the energy data (debate over the sig- nificance of this statistical nuance was The largest release of ener- a point of controversy with USGBC’s gy data from LEED-certified last major data release, which was buildings shows good energy made in 2008 in conjunction with the results but leaves room for New Buildings Institute). improvement in data collection and sharing. According to the report, 1,861 LEED-certified projects were compli- By Tristan Roberts ant with LEED’s mandatory energy The latest—and largest to date—re- reporting requirement (Minimum lease of data from LEED-certified Program Requirement #6, or MPR6) buildings shows that LEED build- during the reporting period, but only ings are strong energy performers. 450 provided an EUI through Energy However, lack of granularity in the Star’s Portfolio Manager. data release by the U.S. Green Build- Numbers “not spectacular” ing Council (USGBC) doesn’t reveal much more than that, possibly due to Brendan Owens, vice president of sidestepping of LEED 2009’s required technical development for USGBC, energy reporting. told EBN he considered the Energy Photo: Draper, Inc. A snippet of LEED in Motion Star average of 85 “okay—not spectac- Draper introduced a full line of solar shading, ular.” He also told EBN that the source including the non-retractable FlexLouver The data was reported during EUI number behind the 31% reduction system, shown here, that can be used on is 158 kBtu/ft2∙year, which he called interiors or exteriors and is available with USGBC’s Greenbuild conference in motorized or manual operation. November 2013 as part of its report “a number I’m not enamored by. We have a lot of 18-wheelers in our fleet

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 9 OM) project to move through the certi- fication process, and that new building projects take three to five years to design, build, and certify, with another couple years to stabilize operations to the point where meaningful energy data can be available. (Owens couldn’t provide an exact figure but told EBN that about 1,300 of the 1,861 projects, or 70%, were LEED-EBOM.) Given that timeline, Watson says, along with the “monumental task” of getting comparable, normalized data from buildings, the four years since the LEED 2009 launch might appear to be more time than it actually is to collect a large amount of data. But, Photo: Paul Schlismann Photography, courtesy of Wight & Company he added, “It seems to me that there The Lewis University Science Center addition in Romeoville, Illinois, is certified Silver under LEED-NC ought to be more outreach for earlier 2009. According to Wight & Company, which designed and built the center, it elected to comply with projects.” LEED 2009’s energy reporting requirement, MPR6, through Energy Star Portfolio Manager. The next wave of data reporting mix,” arguing that LEED-certified have one, and MPR6 wasn’t written to building stock includes disproportion- push LEED projects into that. How- In a move that could shift the focus ately more energy-intensive building ever, Owens notes, that changed with away from Energy Star and its un- types like healthcare facilities and data LEED version 4 (LEED v4), released derlying dataset, which is not only centers than the national average. (For in November 2013, which requires grossly outdated but also difficult to context, see “Measuring Energy Use building-level energy metering as a normalize, USGBC is looking ahead in Buildings.” The national average prerequisite. to the next wave of sharing data in source EUI for office buildings is 166, context: the LEED Dynamic Plaque. Owens wasn’t able to provide num- with healthcare and food service aver- Also discussed in the LEED in Motion bers accounting for the gap between ages being much higher, and residen- report, the plaque promises to be “a the 1,861 LEED-compliant buildings tial lower. Note that site EUI figures, as live LEED score that reflects current and the 450 that were included in used in the 2030 Challenge, are smaller building performance.” According to the data, although he said that more numbers.) Owens, the plaque will help LEED information would be released in projects check how they are perform- Owens expressed some disappoint- coming months. An informal sur- ing relative to similar buildings and ment about the number of buildings vey by EBN of more than a dozen to their own energy models. A robust reporting data but defended USGBC’s LEED professionals representing 400 dataset for analyzing the energy-sav- approach. The industry was initially projects suggests that many LEED ing success of LEED overall, however, resistant to the reporting requirement 2009 projects have been certified too may still be a long way off. when it was introduced in 2009 (see recently to have enough meaningful “All LEED Projects to Provide Actu- data. Respondents also pointed to a al Performance Data”), and Owens possible lack of follow-through—and New Energy Data Is Chang- acknowledges that USGBC didn’t hit corresponding lack of enforcement on ing How We Judge Efficien- the ground running with clear report- USGBC’s part—as culprits for the lack ing protocols. He says that USGBC of data. Very few had claimed the ex- cy—and LEED has been “getting a pretty good mix of emption for projects without a meter. utility bills, spreadsheets, and access Seeking lessons from New to [Energy Star] Portfolio Manager “Seems thin” York City benchmarking data, accounts, but there is some degree of researchers question every- That theory was backed by Rob Wat- data inconsistency that we’re con- thing we thought we knew son, CEO and chief scientist at ECON cerned about.” about energy metrics. Group and a longtime follower of By Nadav Malin “Part of it is that we didn’t require LEED metrics. While Watson told EBN utility meters,” says Owens. It’s that the release “seems kind of thin,” In the beginning, there was Energy an added cost to install a meter on he drew on his own past research in Star. a campus building or commercial noting that it takes two years on aver- interior space that might not normally age for a LEED for Existing Buildings: Supported by the online Portfolio Operations & Maintenance (LEED-EB- Manager infrastructure and statistical

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 10 models from the periodic Commercial use. Using a range of building charac- Buildings Energy Consumption Sur- teristics from these three datasets and vey (CBECS), the U.S. Environmental applying regression analysis to correct Protection Agency’s Energy Star has for factors such as building age, been the envy of the energy policy height, and asset class, Kontokosta world; no other country has that kind concludes that the source energy use of benchmarking tool. In fact, it was intensity (EUI) of LEED office build- just licensed to Canada. (Energy Star ings as a whole is not different in a for Homes and Energy Star labels for statistically significant way from that appliances and other equipment are of other office buildings in the dataset. mostly unrelated programs.) He also finds that Energy Star-labeled buildings have a 10% lower EUI and Thanks to a flurry of energy bench- that buildings that are both LEED-cer- marking mandates (see “Energy Re- tified and Energy Star-labeled have a porting: It’s the Law”) in the last three 20% lower EUI. years, however, we’re now starting to get unprecedented flows of data about This analysis is based on a relatively actual energy use in certain cities (just small number of buildings, however. Photo: Tom Bastin. License: CC BY 2.0 New York and Washington, D.C., so Kontokosta cross-referenced a total far, but more are on the way). Sud- of 685 office properties across the The Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue in New York boasts an Energy Star score of 78 and denly, the CBECS database is looking three databases, of which 44 are LEED a LEED-EBOM Gold re-certification. But what shabby. It’s out of date, thanks to a certified. Given that small sample size, do these metrics really tell us? Not enough, temporary funding cut that has since “we can’t really look at rating system some scholars contend. been revoked, and it’s awfully sparse type,” Kontokosta told EBN, “as it in comparison to the new datasets. won’t produce statistically significant Despite the fact that Energy Star at results.” least attempts to factor in occupant As a benchmark for energy perfor- density and operating hours, Scofield mance of New York City office build- The majority of those 44 buildings reverts to basic source EUI numbers ings, the national CBECS database are certified under LEED for Existing to conclude that LEED buildings as a has relatively few reference points, Buildings: Operations & Maintenance whole are not more efficient than the and they tend to represent smaller (EBOM), and most of the rest under overall collection of buildings. More buildings, according to Constantine LEED for Core & Shell (CS), both of specifically, he finds that the most Kontokosta, Ph.D., P.E., deputy direc- which have limitations in their ability basic LEED Certified-level buildings tor of the Center for Urban Science to affect overall building energy use. are actually less efficient, while the + Progress at New York University LEED-EBOM projects don’t typically Gold-level buildings are more effi- (NYU) and associate professor at the entail major system upgrades, and cient. Polytechnic Institute of NYU, who did LEED-CS projects have a limited a lot of the data crunching behind the ability to affect tenant energy use. As The buildings included in this analysis reports that New York City has put a result, while this assessment is likely suffer from the same rating system out for the last two years based on the a valid report on the relative energy limitations as Kontokosta’s, in that new data. performance of LEED buildings as a they are exclusively LEED-EBOM and subset of large Manhattan office build- LEED-CS certified. Again in contrast In the forthcoming paper “From ings, it doesn’t tell us anything about with Kontokosta, who reins in his con- Transparency to Transformation: A how buildings that are designed and clusions, Scofield uses his findings—as Market-Specific Methodology for a built entirely to LEED for New Con- he has in the past—to argue that LEED Commercial Building Energy Perfor- struction standards actually perform. fails to deliver energy savings. One mance Rating System,” Kontokosta of his key assumption is that each has proposed an alternative to Energy Stopping short of Energy Star of the LEED buildings has “under- Star that draws on the newly available gone extensive renovation in the last benchmarking data, as well as on ad- Oberlin College physics professor John few years” and therefore should be ditional data sources from CoStar and Scofield, Ph.D., takes a similarly dim compared to other recently renovated the Department of City Planning, as a view of Energy Star in his analysis of buildings. LEED-EBOM practitioner framework for benchmarking the en- the NYC benchmarking data, pub- Jenny Carney of YR&G disputes ergy performance of urban buildings. lished in the December 2013 edition of that assumption, however. “Most Energy and Buildings. Rather than com- commercial office buildings undergo Going beyond Energy Star ing up with an alternate method like piecemeal upgrades on a running Kontokosta, however, Scofield simply LEED project performance is just one basis; extensive renovations are more dismisses the high Energy Star scores aspect of Kontokosta’s analysis, which rare and are not often a precursor to a achieved by the 21 LEED buildings he attempts to isolate the impact of a LEED project, in my experience,” she identifies in the dataset. different variables on building energy reports.

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 11 Rethinking efficiency ing Economic Efficiency Coefficient” More generally, the slight improve- for 811 properties as the ratio of source ment in year-over-year performance Energy-efficiency advocates would EUI to economic intensity. They found in New York (see “NYC Buildings like us to believe that, as buildings get a “loose correlation” between energy Gain Three Energy Star Points in Year more efficient and their energy cost consumed and presumed economic Two”) suggests that the window into goes down, their value increases. That contribution. energy use could, in itself, have an may be the case, but you won’t find impact on owner decisions and tenant Applying their economic efficien- any obvious support for that theory behavior. here, where the highest-value prop- cy coefficient to 28 LEED-NC and erties among New York City’s large LEED-CS-certified buildings in the buildings also tend to use the most benchmarking data set, they found a Radon and Schools: A Study energy. suggestion that LEED buildings have higher economic efficiency than non- in Denial There are a host of possible reasons LEED buildings and that their efficien- for this trend: The most valuable Most U.S. states get an ‘F’ cy increases with the level of certifi- when it comes to protecting properties tend to be tall buildings cation (although they note the sample with high-tech tenants on corner lots. kids from this common but set for this last finding is too small to deadly carcinogen. Maybe it’s Kontokosta’s regression model reveals be statistically relevant). that buildings that are freestanding time for design teams to take or on corner lots use 9% more energy This work would have been much the lead. more compelling if they had actual than those in the middle of a block; By Paula Melton that each floor added on a building in- economic output from the relevant creases source EUI by 1%; that newer buildings rather than presumed out- As awareness about air quality in buildings use more energy than old put based on the tenants’ SIC codes. schools has reached unprecedented ones; and that a 10% increase in floor The CoStar database actually contains levels in the U.S., one major indoor area devoted to data centers increases that level of data in the form of tenant pollutant remains widely unad- source EUI by 34%. staff costs, but the researchers didn’t dressed: radon. have access to those details, according These confounding factors beg a larger to Pyke. It might not be the most trendy topic question, suggests the U.S. Green for building interiors, but soil chemis- Building Council’s vice president for Many numbers, few conclusions try hasn’t changed since scientists first research, Chris Pyke, Ph.D.: If efficien- discovered high radon concentrations cy is a measure of how much work While more data is streaming in, the in buildings in the 1980s—nor has output we get for our energy input, unfortunate reality is that we still have the fact that radon is considered the “what defines efficiency in buildings little insight into the market-wide second leading cause of lung cancer anyway?” Our conventional metric of impact of green building programs on deaths in the U.S. (tobacco smoke is energy used per square foot of floor building energy use. Perhaps more in- number one). area makes sense if you’re just look- formation and analysis will eventually Our standards for airtightness and ing at heating, cooling, and lighting help answer that question, though it’s ventilation have changed, and both can energy, but in many commercial worth noting that LEED certification affect radon concentrations signifi- buildings today, other loads dominate addresses much more than energy. cantly. Many project teams and school the picture. There are even aspects of LEED, such as increased ventilation, “that might officials assume ventilation systems Btu per dollar result in additional energy consump- will automatically keep kids safe, but tion,” Kontokosta notes. And while radon experts disagree. Fortunately, In search of a more relevant metric, recent updates to LEED are likely to forthcoming standards developed by akin to the way the energy efficiency drive down energy use in future LEED the American Association of Radon of our economy is measured in Btus buildings, it will take a number of Scientists and Technologists (AARST) per dollar of gross domestic product years before those impacts are seen in for monitoring and mitigating radon (GDP), researchers from Buro Hap- the benchmarking reports. in schools and other large buildings pold and Happold Consulting mashed are designed to take the guesswork up the New York City energy bench- The LEED conversation aside, the fire out of protecting building occupants marking data with the CoStar Tenant hose of new information is starting to from this radioactive carcinogen. Database and classified building ten- help us understand energy-use pat- ants according to their likely economic terns in urban buildings more general- Do we have a problem? contribution based on their Standard ly. Kontokosta is now working on ana- Based on a national survey in the early Industry Classification (SIC) code. lyzing energy patterns in multifamily buildings, for example, including the 1990s, the U.S. Environmental Pro- In work that they published as part of affordable housing sector, where resi- tection Agency (EPA) estimated that the Greenbuild Research 2013 compi- dents are especially vulnerable to high 20% of schools had classrooms with lation, the authors defined the “Build- energy costs. elevated radon levels—and, argues

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 12 radon readings could be meaningless because they reflect the state of the school when “the HVAC system is shut down or the fresh-air makeup is shut off.” If the testing devices can instead track hourly measurements, schools often find that radon levels go up at night, when the ventilation sys- tem shuts off, “but at 6 in the morning, they drop like a rock” when fresh air starts getting pulled into classrooms again. This means the ventilation system is adequately dealing with a potential radon problem—though regular monitoring is obviously war- ranted. EPA recommends periodic testing for all schools because settling can cause foundation cracks that elevate radon levels. The agency also recommends using a long-term (90 days or longer) average in wintertime (when windows Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are sealed up and negative pressure Zone 1 (red) presents the highest risk for radon, but high concentrations in buildings have been found in is typically at a high) as an indicator every zone. of elevated radon, but Kladder claims Testing existing schools this guidance is out of date. The William Angell, Ph.D., a professor at Canadian government changed its the University of Minnesota College of Testing schools and other large build- protocols to take hourly readings into Design and chair of the World Health account two years ago, he says, and Organization’s Radon Prevention and ings requires a different process than what’s used for testing single-family “there is discussion here in the U.S. Mitigation Working Group, “there’s no about revising the protocols.” reason it would have changed” since homes. When practitioners trained for then. And although children are not residential radon mitigation are hired If classrooms do test above 4 picocu- considered to be at higher risk than to test commercial buildings, there are ries per liter (pCi/L) during occupied adults, he points out, “risk is cumu- two major pitfalls, according to Doug- hours, EPA’s “action level” for radon lative with radon over a lifetime. The las Kladder, director of the Center for mitigation, there is also still debate more we limit exposure to radon early Environmental Research and Tech- about how to correct the problem. on, the more protective we are.” nology, which trains radon mitigation professionals in the U.S. and Canada. Radon mitigation in large build- In general, like most radon experts, ings Angell says testing and mitigating First, they may only test a sampling of homes is the most critical effort for classrooms, he told EBN. The problem “It’s been kind of a tussle over the public health, “but it’s also important with that is, “When you have a school years,” Kladder says. “Do we suck on that schools test—and do so accord- with elevated levels in classrooms, the dirt with ASD?” (active soil de- ing to the national protocols.” He it’s rarely all of the classrooms—the pressurization, the technique typically told EBN he’d tested schools that had reason being an unbalanced HVAC used in homes). “Or do we mess with “radon concentrations that were more system. The potential for missing the HVAC?” The answer has changed elevated than you would allow urani- elevated locations is high.” He recom- since the 1980s, he explained. “Let’s go um miners to be exposed to.” And, he mends that all occupied classrooms after the HVAC system, which doesn’t warned, “The only way to know is to with ground contact undergo prelimi- require any additional capital costs. test.” nary testing simultaneously. If a short- If you maintain the one you already term, two-day test suggests a problem, have, you can deal with radon as well That’s true even in lower-risk areas. “Follow up before you start ripping as improving indoor air quality.” As EPA explains on its Radon Zone holes in slabs,” he adds. map, shown above, elevated radon Ventilation adjustments may not get levels have been found in buildings in The second major pitfall, he claims, radon concentrations to acceptable all three zones. is “false positives” during long-term levels, Kladder continues, in which monitoring. “Testing should occur case ASD may be needed, but “in during time periods when kids are order for those things to work, you there,” he explains. Otherwise, high have to create a larger vacuum under

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 13 the slab than what’s being created by many commercial design teams just explains Brodhead, who is working the building. That’s not possible if don’t have radon on their minds with the State of New Jersey—one of a you have an HVAC system that’s not except in states and municipalities that handful of states in the U.S. to require balanced.” have RRNC laws for school buildings RRNC in schools in high-radon ar- (which is almost none). eas—to rewrite its radon code for new R. William Field, Ph.D., a University school construction. of Iowa professor of occupational A few choice words from Kladder: and environmental health and epi- “Don’t put return ducts in the dirt.” Since its adoption in the 1990s, the demiology, agrees with Kladder that Also, he notes, “It’s a very common radon section of the state building “anytime you increase air exchange in practice to use the ceiling as the return code has required the same system the schools, the radon levels should plenum. But walls that go up into the in schools as it requires in residences, decrease,” but he adds a caveat: ven- ceiling communicate down into the with 3” piping every 1,500 ft2; but this tilation can make things worse “if the soil,” and the negative pressure in the adds unnecessary fans and energy make-up air is coming from near a ra- plenum can suck radon into the venti- consumption in a large building, don source” such as a crawl space—a lation system. argues Brodhead, who’s helping to phenomenon known in the industry as write guidelines that make sense for More mindful system design, along “radon mining.” commercial construction. with a properly maintained HVAC Mitigation choices need to be made on system, should protect most children The advantages of built-in piping a case-by-case basis as well, cautions from radon exposure, but RRNC is can’t be overstated, though. If the William Brodhead, proprietor of more about the backup plan: radon school turns up with a radon problem, Pennsylvania-based radon mitigation “readiness.” you just have to install the fans and contractor WPB Enterprises and a start running them—about a $4,000 In effect, this means designing an ASD consultant to state and local govern- fix, Brodhead estimates, rather than system into the building from day one, ments about radon policy. Referring to $30,000 for a sub-slab ASD retrofit or the lack of awareness among design professionals, he said, “Certainly if State Radon Policies for U.S. Schools you talk to an architect or engineer, we shouldn’t have a radon problem State Requirements Buildings Affected because we’re going to be bringing in outdoor air”—but reality can be more Colorado Testing & disclosure of results All schools complicated.

Science labs might have exhaust fans Testing All schools constructed after 2003 Connecticut Radon-resistant new construction New construction that create negative pressure, and the (high-radon areas only) stack effect can do the same. “It can Mitigation All schools with elevated radon happen in any school, even in one that’s well designed,” he warned. If Florida Testing (20% of occupied spaces) All schools the school is meeting its ventilation (high-radon counties only) requirements and there is still elevat- New Jersey ed radon, a sub-slab ASD system can Radon-resistant new construction New construction provide very consistent results—in (high-radon areas only) part because occupants and facility Oregon managers can’t cause imbalances by Radon-resistant new construction New construction (high-radon counties only) covering heating grilles or turning off the outdoor air to a classroom. Radon-resistant new construction New construction & renovation projects more than $500,000 Radon-resistant new construction Rhode Island (high-radon counties only) Testing All schools In an existing school, changing the Mitigation All schools with elevated radon location of the fresh-air intake or correcting native pressure problems Virginia Testing & disclosure of results All schools with the mechanical system can be expensive and disruptive. That’s why New construction many radon experts are trying to raise Testing West Virginia New construction with elevated Mitigation awareness among architects, mechan- radon ical engineers, and school officials about the importance of radon-resistant With legal information collected by the Environmental Law Institute, this table represents the new construction, or RRNC. Most of the paltry number of state requirements regarding radon in U.S. schools. Among the few states where guidelines for new construction make schools have any obligations at all, only two require a comprehensive program that includes testing, mitigation, and radon-ready new construction. sense—if you think about them—but

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 14 as much as $150,000 to retrofit a me- New EHS Transparency Tool Tarkett and EPEA say their new for- chanical system. Based on Cradle to Cradle mat has advantages, but competing directly with the HPD is not their aim. The asbestos factor Program For Tarkett, “it really started with a Unfortunately, most districts are A new way to report product strategy and a goal of becoming a Cra- unlikely to test radon levels in their ingredients, the Environmental dle to Cradle company” Martel told schools in the first place, and without and Health Statement, puts yet EBN. “The EHS was a natural deriva- policies in place to require RRNC, test- another spin on transparency. tive from the work we’ve been doing ing, or mitigation, that’s unlikely to for the last three years.” By Paula Melton change. “There are school districts that The consulting company concurred, have been very responsible and not Resilient flooring manufacturer telling EBN that “Cradle to Cradle only tested once but tested periodical- Tarkett and the German consulting Quality Statements are a practice ly,” explains Angell, “but there’s a lot company EPEA Internationale Um- established at EPEA for many years. of fear on the part of school officials,” weltforschung GmbH (EPEA) have The statements address the needs of who may be worried about the cost of developed a new product ingredient users to be informed about the im- making a fix. disclosure format called an Environ- pact of purchased ingredients on the mental and Health Statement, or EHS. “Some still remember what it cost to healthiness of products and on the remove asbestos,” Kladder says, refer- The new tool, which draws on as- resource recoverability after use.” The ring to the mitigation fiasco that some pects of the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) spokesperson added, “The EHS is a districts have been dealing with since standard, aims to give designers and new form of quality statement.” the 1980s. He has reassuring words specifiers a clear view into product Most companies using the tool will for these administrators: “We’re not ingredients and other environmental probably also be pursuing C2C certifi- talking anywhere near those kinds of attributes; it will also track the C2C cation. dollars and cents. Maintenance crews product optimization process, accord- can typically do this.” ing to Diane Martel, vice president of What’s in the EHS environmental planning and strategy The burden of voluntary testing and at Tarkett. The company plans to pro- That said, certain features distinguish mitigation shouldn’t fall on school dis- duce an EHS for each of its products the EHS, and its creators are likely tricts, though, argues Field. “The U.S. in 2014, although it has not yet de- to seek recognition for it in LEED v4, EPA, Congress, and the various states cided whether to publish them on its which currently references the HPD where high radon levels occur surely website. (The company has shared a format and its underlying Green- could be more aggressive in taking sample with EBN for publication.) Screen methodology alongside C2C steps to reduce radon in schools and in a new product ingredient credit daycares,” he told EBN. Field has com- EPEA, founded by chemist and (MRc4: Building Product Disclosure & pared going to school in a classroom original C2C co-developer Michael Optimization—Material Ingredients). with elevated radon levels to smoking Braungart, Ph.D., told EBN that more a few cigarettes every day—something of its client companies would be using “The EHS integrates product safety the government, teachers, and parents the EHS soon. (EPEA helps companies during production, installation, and certainly wouldn’t want kids doing on evaluate and optimize their products use” rather than simply listing in- their watch. according to the C2C framework, but gredients, notes EPEA. (This critique Braungart is no longer directly in- of the HPD, similar to one made by With policymakers slow to act and volved with the development of the the Resilient Floor Covering Insti- schools skittish, architects and me- standard, which is now managed by a tute, ignores the “notes” section of chanical engineers may need to play third-party nonprofit group, the C2C the document, which is similar to the the role of educators when they work Product Innovation Institute.) EHS’s “Comment on Rating” column.) on school construction and renovation “It gives a comprehensive overview projects—but first, they must educate Why another tool? of a product from a C2C point of view themselves about the risks, which are that is easily understandable also for real even in a school with a well-de- The announcement comes on the heels people who are not dealing with toxi- signed ventilation system. of the resilient flooring industry’s cological assessments every day.” Product Transparency Declaration Greater awareness of radon in com- (PTD) rollout—an explicit response In addition to an ingredient list, haz- mercial buildings, and especially in to growing demand for the Health ard warnings, and notes about each buildings occupied by children and Product Declaration (HPD), which component, the EHS includes informa- teenagers, is at least as important as the Resilient Floor Covering Institute tion about water and energy consump- other air-quality issues. believes to be flawed. tion, waste, indoor air quality, recy- clability and recycling, and product certifications. The “environmental” sections of the EHS don’t follow ISO

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 15 standards for life-cycle assessments the EHS, “not only hazards of single documentation for all its products in (LCA) and aren’t a replacement for chemicals are considered, but the 2014, though it’s unclear whether the them, notes Martel, who says Tarkett product safety during installation and EHS will be public or only available will continue to release LCA-based use” as well as opportunities to use upon request.) environmental product declarations the material again. These sentiments, Transparency about only certain as- for its products. which the HPD Collaborative con- pects of C2C rather than the program’s tends are a red herring in relation to full five-part assessment. (The Social GreenScreen vs. C2C the HPD format, echo those expressed Fairness category is left out altogeth- by the developers of the PTD and Perhaps the most substantive differ- er, while the other categories don’t continue a longstanding argument ence between the EHS and the HPD provide rigorous quantification of the over “hazard-based” and “risk-based” is the chemical screening system that assessment.) methodologies for making material underlies each. EHS references the decisions. (See “Vinyl Group Launches C2C 3.0 Material Health Assessment Marketing language that suggests en- Reporting Label for Toxic Chemicals.”) Methodology, whereas the HPD ref- vironmental preferability. (For exam- erences the GreenScreen List Transla- Designers underwhelmed ple, the ingredient-disclosure section tor. The main difference between the is titled “Good Materials” even if there two is not the chemicals of concern Several architects and others in the are carcinogens and other chemicals of involved—both draw from multiple design community whom EBN spoke concern in the product.) lists of toxic chemicals from govern- with expressed reservations about Good enough for LEED? ments and health advocates around the new format but refused to go on the globe, though the HPD references record with their critiques, citing a de- But Brendan Owens, vice president for about 10 more than C2C does—but sire to be welcoming of a new entrant LEED technical development at the C2C’s risk-assessment process also into the transparency field. However, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), takes into account likely exposure some general concerns they raised are felt it was too soon to judge the new pathways throughout the product’s plain to see: format. life cycle. This means certain toxic Tarkett’s release of an EHS only for a ingredients don’t disqualify products “I am excited that we can have an linoleum product rather than for its from C2C certification. informed conversation about the more commonly known, and po- detailed merits of more than one “In an HPD, the product ingredients tentially more toxic, vinyl products. transparency program,” he told EBN. are screened for chemicals of concern (The company has since released a “I think Tarkett should be appropri- and health warning listings,” says rubber-flooring EHS to EBN, and, as ately held out as a leader because they an EPEA spokesperson. But with mentioned, is planning to complete stepped out and said, ‘We’re going to do something.’” He maintains that “bashing” the program before it’s Excerpt from EHS for Rubber Tile had a chance to develop further isn’t productive. Still, Owens explained, it might be a while before the EHS can be consid- ered for inclusion in LEED version 4. Although USGBC gave itself flexibil- ity in the new rating system to add programs that meet credit intent, it doesn’t plan to start vetting new stan- dards till mid-2014 at the earliest—af- ter first developing a process for doing so. Meanwhile, products that have earned certain levels of C2C certification can already contribute to material disclo- sure and optimization credits in LEED v4 without publishing any product ingredients or hazards. USGBC has hinted that the C2C program will need Source: Tarkett to encourage greater transparency in As seen on the first page of this new disclosure tool, product ingredients and certain hazard the future in order to remain a part of information appear. For this product, more than 2% of the ingredients are unknown, but EPEA says it will encourage manufacturers to disclose all hazards down to 100 parts per million. LEED. If developed further and picked up by other manufacturers, a tool like

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 16 the EHS could provide the transpar- To date, three LEED for Core and Shell the 50 homes studied had both south- ency some of C2C’s critics have been projects have also received pre-cer- and west-facing panels. seeking since the program’s inception. tification under v4. Numerous New The grid-stabilizing benefits may give Construction (LEED-NC) projects utilities more rationale to offer rebates are in the same v4 beta program that to customers with west-facing sys- NEWSBRIEFS allowed such early certification under tems, but research to analyze whether the new rating system, but these proj- these benefits outweigh increased First LEED v4 Projects Certi- ects take longer to complete. pressure on the grid during other sea- fied sons is still in development. LEED v4 was just launched, West-Facing Solar Panels but a commercial interiors Take Heat off Grid in Sum- project and an existing build- Plumbing and Pipe-Fitting ing are already gleaming with mer Union Welcomes Green Gold and Silver through the Flying in the face of conven- Training beta program. tion, new research suggests Labor unions are beginning to By Paula Melton pointing solar panels west may be more effective—at least seek sustainability education Just days after the official launch of during summer in Texas. for a “competitive edge,” and LEED v4 at Greenbuild 2013, two proj- Urban Green Council is happy ects have already achieved certifica- By Candace Pearson to comply. tion: the Haworth Organic Showroom A recent study conducted by the Pecan By Candace Pearson in Beijing (certified Gold under LEED Street Research Institute found that in- New York’s Urban Green Council has for Commercial Interiors, or LEED-CI) stalling west-facing photovoltaic (PV) joined forces with a national labor and 1800 K Street in Washington, D.C. panels at a trial site in Texas generated union to provide training in sustain- (certified Silver under LEED for Exist- more energy and more effectively re- able practices to thousands of plumb- ing Buildings: Operations & Mainte- duced peak demand over the summer ers, pipe fitters, sprinkler fitters, and nance, or LEED-EBOM). than south-facing panels. HVAC technicians. Housed in the LEED Platinum The report acknowledges that Members of the United Association of Parkview Green, the Haworth Beijing south-facing solar will produce more Journeymen and Apprentices of the showroom features 60% reclaimed total energy over the course of a year, Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry materials, according to the furniture but during Texas’s long summer days, (UA) will receive Urban Green Coun- manufacturer. LEDs helped the project results show west-facing systems cil’s Green Professional Building Skills decrease modeled energy consump- generated 4% more electricity per day Training (GPRO) program, which tion 59%, and onsite graywater treat- than comparable south-facing systems. ment helped reduce modeled potable includes material on technologies such water consumption 53%, compared In addition, west-facing systems better as condensing boilers, solar thermal with code baselines. The project met peak demand by harnessing the systems, and onsite graywater and earned 71 out of 110 points. sun’s afternoon rays when cooling blackwater recycling systems. “We’re loads were high; west-facing systems seeing how sustainability is rapidly With an Energy Star rating of 81 generated 49% more electricity during becoming a necessity in all types of (meaning it performs better on ener- peak demand hours than south-facing buildings” said William Hite, presi- gy and water measures than 81% of systems. This allowed more energy to dent of UA. “GPRO training will give similar buildings in the U.S.), 1800 K be utilized onsite instead of sold back our members a competitive edge as Street is owned by Deutsche Asset & to the grid. Homes with west-facing our trade evolves.” Wealth Management and managed by systems utilized 75% (18.78 kWh) of The trainings should also bring Transwestern. The building achieved their PV-generated electricity, while environmental benefits since systems LEED-EBOM Gold under LEED 2009 58% (13.43 kWh) was utilized in designed for efficiency only perform simultaneously, earning 64 points un- homes with south-facing systems. der the older system and 52 under the well if they are installed correctly and newer one. “The new LEED v4 rating The study did not look at solar panels maintained. In fact, if enough con- system holds buildings to higher stan- installed to track the sun across the tractors, trades, operators, and service dards, and we are excited to see how sky, which are less common on homes workers onsite have GPRO certificates, much building sustainability improves that have roof space but small yards. a building project can earn a LEED with these new guidelines,” stated Also, the decreasing cost of panels pilot credit. Transwestern’s Allan Skodowski in a means that simply adding more panels According to Urban Green Council, press release. is typically more cost-effective than GPRO will soon be made available to roof-mounted systems, due to the cost other building trade unions through of tracking equipment. In fact, 13 of

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 17 the Building Trades Academy of AFL- Solar Homes Slapped with na Public had first requested a much CIO. Fee by Arizona Utility larger fee—$50 or more a month—that would have effectively eliminated The usage fee for grid-tied res- the financial incentive to install solar ASHRAE Drafts Energy Stan- idential solar systems has both panels. dard for Data Centers utilities and environmental groups watching the impact on Standard 90.4P for data centers installations. Group Seeks to Bring DC will be performance-based and Power to Homes won’t require any modeling By Candace Pearson tools. In what could become a trend, an Ar- The EMerge Alliance is in the beginning stages of creating By Candace Pearson izona utility will soon begin charging a monthly fee to homeowners with a direct-current power stan- Data centers have been running into net-metered solar systems—solar pho- dard to help homeowners save roadblocks attempting to prove com- tovoltaic systems that feed electricity energy. pliance to ASHRAE’s general energy back into the grid. By Candace Pearson standard, so ASHRAE is responding by developing Standard 90.4P—a Arizona’s largest utility, the Arizona EMerge Alliance has expanded its separate standard for data centers that Public Service Co., will charge a $0.70 efforts to advance direct-current (DC) does not require modeling tools. per kilowatt fee to homeowners with power distribution by launching a solar systems installed or contracted new initiative to develop a residential Until now, data centers had been after December 31, 2013. A homeown- standard. included in ASHRAE Standard 90.1- er with a typical 70-kilowatt solar 2013, the energy standard for most system will pay $4.90 a month. As the solar market expands and more buildings (aside from low-rise res- electronics fill our homes, utilizing DC idential). However, demonstrating The fee was authorized in November power could bring increased energy compliance with the energy costs 2013 by the Arizona Corporation Com- savings and grid independence. Solar budget section was difficult, according mission, which found that costs of panels charge consumer electronics, to ASHRAE, because current indus- maintaining the grid for net-metered appliances, LEDs, and electric vehi- try modeling tools cannot accurately solar systems were unfairly being cles more efficiently if they don’t have model data centers’ complex HVAC shifted to homeowners without pan- to convert to AC power. “We have and power distribution designs. In els. Nearly 1,000 protesters attended seen the sustainability, flexibility, and addition, changing IT technology the hearing, arguing that homeowners reliability advantages that DC pow- and emerging cooling strategies have installing solar have reduced demand er provides to commercial building repeatedly transformed data center on the grid and that penalizing them spaces,” says EMerge Alliance chair- design, causing some to view the pre- isn’t fair. man Brian Patterson, “and it’s time scriptive measures in 90.1 as inflexible. Now, more utilities are poised to to extend these benefits to homes and small businesses.” The new standard will have perfor- follow suit; California has already mance approaches for heating, ventila- approved leveraging fees up to $10 a The group hopes to develop a resi- tion, and air conditioning, and power month, and the American Legislative dential DC power standard—as it has distribution based on a measure of Exchange Council (ALEC), an organi- done for data centers—by creating power usage effectiveness (PUE), zation known for drafting legislative guidelines for how to integrate DC which can be determined by using a templates used to enact conservative with existing AC systems. set of formulas. Interior lighting allow- state and federal policies, plans to ance is calculated using the building push for more of the same type of area. Prescriptive measures in Stan- enabling legislation. John Eick, the PVC Particles Make Marine dard 90.1 still apply to the building legislative analyst for ALEC’s energy, Worms Lose Their Appetite envelope and water heating systems, environment, and agriculture program but a mechanical trade-off option is told The Guardian, “As it stands now, A study suggests plastic de- available for the building envelope. those direct-generation customers are bris in the sea slows the rate at Overall, compliance with the standard essentially free riders on the system. which lugworms can process will be based on predictive calcu- They are not paying for the infrastruc- sediment, which could affect lations and is not meant to require ture they are using.” marine diversity. modeling tools. Other organizations warn the push By Candace Pearson Standard 90.4P will be open for public is less about grid maintenance costs review until December 30, 2013. and more about trying to cripple the A study published in the journal Cur- growth of renewable energy. The rent Biology found that microscopic Sierra Club cites the fact that Arizo- pieces of plastic litter prevalent in the

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 18 ocean can slow digestion in an import- ant species of marine worms. Shaded Window Area by Direction of the Sun Researchers exposed Arenicola marina worms, commonly known as lug- worms, to microscopic unplasticized PVC (uPVC) at concentrations known to exist in oceanic contamination hotspots. Those that were exposed to sediment with 5% uPVC by weight took 1.5 times longer to expel waste, reduced their feeding activity by approximately 25%, and had up to 50% less energy reserves compared to a control group. The researchers assert that the prolonged digestion Source: Urban Green Council times “imply that microplastics, which are of low nutritional value, are being Researchers found the amount of window area covered by shades or blinds hovered around 59%, whether the sun was angled at the windows or not. This suggests tenants leave the blinds down for retained and subjected to extensive other reasons, such as privacy. digestion, at an energetic cost.” These aren’t just a group of constipat- Council, researchers focused on 55 rethink all that glass that just ends up ed sea worms. At a density of 85 indi- residential and commercial buildings as an inconvenience. viduals per m2—typical of a tidal-flat dispersed through Manhattan, Brook- habitat—lugworms are estimated to lyn, and Queens. Over three months, process 400 cm3 of sediment annu- they collected photos of the exposed Coastal Wetlands Disap- ally. In a place where lugworms are sides of each building and took note of pearing Faster Than Before a keystone species, like Wadden Sea, the direction that the windows faced an intertidal zone in the North Sea, and the time of day that they were The U.S. coastal wetland sta- reduced feeding activity to the degree photographed. tus report looks dreary, with huge freshwater and saltwater observed in the study would result in The researchers found that, on aver- 130 m3 less sediment reworked and losses, while re-establishment age, blinds or shades covered 59% of programs fall behind. oxygenated per year, a process crucial these buildings’ window area, and to maintaining marine diversity. more than 75% of buildings had more By Candace Pearson The researchers call for policymakers than half of the window area covered. Within five years, the United States to reconsider how PVC, polystyrene, Furthermore, tenants weren’t open- lost more than 360,000 acres of coastal polyurethane, and polycarbonate de- ing or closing the blinds based on the wetlands, according to a federal study, bris is classified in terms of hazard. time of day: approximately the same fraction of window area was covered revealing restoration and re-establish- regardless of the position of the sun. ment programs are barely making a dent when pitted against land devel- Tenants Drawing the Blinds Buildings in the study were selected opment, sea-level rise, and violent in Their Glass Buildings based on whether they were easily storms. photographed from the street, and re- New Yorkers may choose a searchers only ended up with around A status report conducted by the U.S. glass condo or corner office 107 photos, but what they found Department of the Interior’s Fish and for the views, but a new study seems to have a shade of truth. The Wildlife Service and the National Oce- shows that once they get there, windows that tenants pay a high price anic and Atmospheric Administration they’re drawing the blinds. for often end up covered for reasons found approximately 80,000 acres of freshwater and saltwater wetlands in By Candace Pearson other than getting too much light; researchers suggest “perhaps it’s pri- coastal watersheds disappeared each A recent report titled “Seduced by the vacy, or the inconvenience of raising year between 2004 and 2009—a 25% View” makes the case that all those them once they are lowered.” increase from the acres lost per year in floor-to-ceiling windows that New the previous survey. An estimated 71% Yorkers pay for with higher rents and Considering all the well-documented of wetland losses were in the coastal energy bills usually end up covered by drawbacks of over-glazing—from watersheds of the Gulf of Mexico. blinds. increasing heating and cooling loads to causing bird fatalities—the Urban The report attributes much of the loss- In a small, rather anecdotal, study con- Green Council says it may be time to es to severe storms and land develop- ducted by New York’s Urban Green ment. Saltwater wetlands in the Gulf were severely inundated and eroded

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 19 LEED for Neighborhood Development Coastal Wetland Gains and Losses by Region (LEED-ND) 2009; the community is located directly adjacent to the fourth-busiest train stop in Philadel- phia, providing easy access to the city center; bicycle storage and a car-share program are also available to tenants. Other services, such as a fitness center, technology center, and medical clinic, are located onsite.

Utility Fined for Eagle Deaths Linked to Wind Tur- bines A $1 million fine against Duke Energy reveals that none of the Source: U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA wind utilities have a federal The Great Lakes was the only region studied that experienced a net gain of coastal wetland area permit to cover protected-bird between 2004 and 2009. Researchers say there is a desperate need for more re-establishment programs. fatalities. By Candace Pearson by hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike. first neighborhood certified LEED In contrast, 37% of freshwater wetland Platinum. For the first time, a wind energy that was lost to upland was driven facility has been prosecuted for killing The Asociación Puertorriqueños en by urban and rural development, and protected birds. Having reached a Marcha (APM), a Latino communi- human populations in coastal counties settlement agreement, Duke Energy ty development organization, and continue to grow. Renewables is to pay $1 million in Jonathan Rose Companies, one of the fines for 14 golden eagles and 149 oth- The report did find evidence of re-es- developers behind New York’s Via er protected birds killed between 2009 tablishment programs making some Verde, collaborated to create Paseo and 2013 by two of its wind farms headway. For example, freshwater Verde—a mixed-use neighborhood outside Casper, Wyoming. wetland area from agricultural lands with 120 rental units and 30,000 ft2 of increased by 50,230 acres, and wet- ground-floor retail and community Although research shows that house- lands from “other uplands” increased space. hold and feral cats are far more by 15,290 acres. However, some of culpable for harming bird popula- The $31.3 million complex qualified these figures may include forested tions, wind turbines are especially for a low-interest loan through a state wetlands that were cleared for silvi- hazardous for eagles—many of which initiative called EnergyWorks, ac- culture, and they still reflect a lack of are federally protected—because cording to GreenSource Magazine, by re-establishment programs in coastal eagles do not look up as they hunt reducing projected energy use 27% watersheds compared to the nation as their prey on the ground. Under the compared to a similar a whole. baseline project. In addition to high-per- Paseo Verde in Philly First to formance appliances, each apartment has an Achieve LEED-ND Platinum individually metered Maximizing mixed use and gas-fired heating and transportation connections cooling unit that can helped this Philadelphia proj- be controlled by the ect score the most points since tenant. The projected LEED for Neighborhood De- annual purchased velopment’s creation. energy use is 40 kBtu/ ft2. By Candace Pearson Paseo Verde scored a A transit-oriented complex in Philadel- high 24 out of 27 for Photo: Paseo Verde phia for low- and moderate- income smart location and Paseo Verde’s four apartment buildings are clad in fiber-cement panels linkages, an import- with swatches of color. Green roofs over the brick base between the residents has become the country’s buildings provides useable outdoor space. ant credit category in

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 20 Migratory Bird Treaty Act, companies “economically feasible are required to have a federal permit and technically prac- to kill protected birds, but as of yet, no ticable,” according to wind energy facilities have obtained a White House mem- a permit, according to the Associated orandum; however, Press—and, until now, no wind facility installing renewable had been prosecuted. energy onsite and retaining renewable The court found that Duke Energy energy certificates is failed to build its wind turbines in a recommended over way that would prevent avian deaths. purchasing certificates. The penalty follows other success- ful litigation against companies that In addition to the have been fined for environmental boost for renew- harm—BP was fined $100 million ables, the order also after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, holds significance for Photo: Jeremy Bittermann and PacifiCorp paid more than $10.5 energy-management Obama’s executive order directs federal agencies to pursue onsite million in 2009 for electrocuting 232 practices. Federal renewable energy projects like the solar roof on the Edith Green-Wendell eagles along power lines—but it may agencies are directed Wyatt Federal Building in Portland, Oregon. be precedent-setting relative to wind to install energy and energy. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife water meters on their buildings and molecules passed on during pregnan- Service is now investigating 18 other to enter monthly performance data cy. bird-death cases involving wind tur- into the U.S. Environmental Protec- Michael Skinner, Ph.D., and his re- bines, and more have been referred to tion Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio search team have been exposing rats the Department of Justice. Manager. Annual benchmarks must be to chemicals, including Bisphenol-A disclosed to the public through the De- Once a wind facility is constructed, it (BPA), pesticides like vinclozolin and partment of Energy’s tracking website, is difficult to minimize bird fatalities methoxychlor, and industrial chemi- and participation in demand-response short of closing down. For now, Duke cals such as dioxin. Again and again, programs must be considered. Energy has committed to installing diseases associated with each chemical radar technology and employing field These measures drew praise from Rick surfaced in rats that were four and five biologists who will pause the turbines Fedrizzi, president of the U.S. Green generations down the line from the when eagles are in the vicinity. Building Council, who commended subject exposed. Obama for “insisting on integrating The researchers credit this “transgen- smarter energy-management best erational” inheritance not to mutated Feds to Raise Renewable practices across the federal govern- genes but rather to altered methyl Energy Use and Install More ment” and “accelerating innovative groups that change the ability of a Meters energy-efficiency initiatives.” gene to function. The methyl groups are passed on in utero when they latch Behind Obama’s executive or- onto DNA in a fetus’s germ-line cells, der to nearly triple renewables Toxic Chemicals Can Be which eventually become its eggs or used by federal agencies also Inherited in Utero sperm. lie new requirements for ener- The implications for toxicology are gy metering and disclosure. Researchers are finding even if toxic chemicals don’t persist, significant. The studies concretely link By Candace Pearson their effects on DNA function environmental exposure to predis- posing animals for diseases such as A recent executive order issued by might—for up to five genera- tions. cancer, infertility, and obesity that are President Obama directs every federal often purely attributed to genetics. agency to source 20% of its electricity By Candace Pearson Exposure levels in humans, espe- from renewable energy by 2020 and A growing body of research from cially during pregnancy, may have institute new energy-metering and to be re-evaluated. The findings also reporting practices. Washington State University finds that exposing rats to toxic substances suggest that current chemical risk The target currently in place instructs predisposes their offspring even five assessments may be missing part of government agencies to source 7.5% of generations later to serious diseases. the picture by accounting only for their electricity from renewable sourc- But the substances studied are not first-generation effects. es, but the new order aims to nearly mutagens, which affect DNA directly; triple that share within the next seven rather, the research shows the inher- years. Agencies are held to the 20% ited effects are due to simple methyl goal to the extent that measures are

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 21 BACKPAGE PRIMER An open and transparent appeals building world, nonprofit trade associ- process ations often put aside rivalries to reach Imperfect Consensus in agreement on technical details; this In addition, ANSI requires attempted keeps the standard from benefitting Green Building Standards harmonization among similar stan- just one company. Business rivals find common dards, with the idea that true consen- ground through ANSI, ISO, sus should result in a single standard Despite some attempts at harmoniza- and other frameworks—but for a given category. In the case of the tion, the green building community the process isn’t perfect. Edison screw, harmonization made still must navigate through a confus- things simpler not only for light-bulb ing tangle of competing systems and If you’ve ever screwed an LED re- makers but also for fixture manufac- protocols, from eco-labels to model- placement bulb into the same fixture turers and for anyone who owns a ing tools to entire sustainable design that used to hold an incandescent, you desk lamp. standards. can thank Thomas Edison, who in- There was just one problem with the Nowhere do the limitations of for- vented not only the incandescent bulb Edison screw. It originally achieved mal consensus come into focus more but also the “Edison screw.” It quickly its “consensus” status while being a clearly than in the rivalry between became an international standard in licensed technology that other manu- the LEED rating systems and Green the early 20th century. facturers had to buy the rights to. Globes. Standards can make our lives easier, In theory, the ANSI process should Although LEED involves a public but even something as simple as light- prevent narrow interests from profit- development process, with the U.S. bulb threads can lead to patent and ing from standardization. In the green Green Building Council (USGBC) licensing wars, along with industry fielding hundreds of in-fighting over miniscule thousands of comments, technical specs. To set The Edison Screw supporters of Green Globes some ground rules, orga- have criticized USGBC for nizations turn to nonprofit not developing the system groups like ISO and ANSI, through a framework like which are supposed to ANSI or ISO (see “Stan- help competing industry dards for Standards” for players achieve consensus more about leadership on details that help make standard development). the marketplace work more efficiently—by limiting the Meanwhile, despite the different types of screw bas- ANSI standard on which es for lamps, for example. Green Globes is loosely based, that system has In the U.S., ANSI’s “Es- historically involved far sential Requirements” fewer stakeholders, and the document and the National final standard (like most Technology Transfer and ANSI standards, but unlike Advancement Act of 1995 LEED) isn’t available to help define consensus, the read for free. tenets of which include: Both LEED and Green Openness to all parties that Globes are considered have a material interest in consensus standards by the the standard U.S. government, which A balance of interests is required to reference among these parties so that such standards to conduct no group can dominate the its everyday business, but discussion, push a narrow the discrepancy between agenda, or “standardize” the two ways of achieving its own patented or trade- “consensus” demonstrates marked technologies the limitations of the term.

An open and transparent Source: Virtual Valve Museum process for developing the It is easy for standards developers to get caught up in miniscule details of standard, achieving consen- seemingly simple technical specs. The difficulty of achieving consensus increases sus, and voting with complexity.

Environmental Building News • January 2014 p. 22