Philadelphia, Nov. 21 -- BuildingGreen, publisher of GreenSpec and Environmental Building News, announced the winners of its annual award for the most innovative green building products. The 10 winners include dimension stone that’s made from quarry waste, an engineered wood product that is partly sourced from trees killed by the mountain pine beetle, and a commercial composting system.
“The products we’re recognizing this year are remarkable in their diversity and innovation,” said Alex Wilson, founder of BuildingGreen, noting they are helping create more sustainable buildings throughout North America.
Now its 12th year, the BuildingGreen Top-10 list was announced at the Greenbuild Conference and Expo. The residential and commercial products and materials were selected by the BuildingGreen editors from the hundreds of new and innovative products they reviewed during the past 12 months.
Wilson said that a big driver of innovative green products continues to be the LEED rating system, and this year’s launch of the newest version, LEED v4, marks an even stronger focus on safe materials and product transparency.
The BuildingGreen Top-10 Products for 2014 are:
- Earth Measure from Coldspring
(CSI 04 42 00: Exterior Stone Cladding)
This product is made from recycled locally sourced stone. - CrossLam Cross Laminated Timber from Structurlam Products
(CSI 06 11 13: Engineered Wood Framing Products)
Made from fast-growing softwood, it can be used in place of steel or precast concrete. - ComfortBoard Mineral Wool Board Insulation from Roxul
(CSI 07 21 13: Board Insulation)
This insulation is fire-resistant and has no harmful blowing agents. It can be used anywhere traditional rigid board is installed, except below grade under concrete slab. - ERC 50 Modernization Façade from Schüco
(CSI 08 44 00: Curtain Wall and Glazed Assemblies)
This new façade for an existing includes thermally broken aluminum frames and mineral wool insulation. - PoE Access Control Locks from Assa Abloy Group, Corbin Russwin and Sargent brands
(CSI 08 71 00: Door Hardware)
Door openings are controlled by Ethernet cable to dramatically reduce energy usage. - Kinetex Textile Composite Flooring from J+J Flooring Group
(CSI 09 68 13: Tile Carpeting)
Made from 60 percent recycled content, the flooring is bonded thermally, so it doesn’t contain adhesives. It’s thinner than carpet, highly durable, and low maintenance. - Earth Flow Composting System from Green Mountain Technologies
(CSI 11 82 29: Composting Equipment) t
It’s for use by large restaurants, universities, and prisons. The systems, which can handle 300 to 3,000 pounds of waste per day, include sophisticated pest and odor control. - CO2 Refrigerant Heat Pumps from Mayekawa USA MYCOM
(CSI 23 81 44: Heat Pumps)
The heat pumps use transcritical refrigerant so there is an incomplete phase change, and they can produce water temperatures of 194 degrees F. Residential versions will be available in a few years, Wilson told attendees. - Sunny Boy 3000TL-US, 4000TL-US and 5000TL-US Inverters from SMA America
(CSI 26 37 00: Alternative Energy Balance of Systems Components)
These inverters provide emergency power access when the grid is down, but the sun is shining. They can charge cellphones, wireless routers, cable modems, and refrigerators. No batteries are required. - Vivid MR16 LED from Soraa
(CSI 26 51 16: LED Replacement Lamps)
This lamp sacrifices some efficiency, but produces spectacular color rendering, according to BuildingGreen. It’s a reasonably priced retrofit bulb for commercial use that lasts up to 25,000 hours.
Learn more about markets featured in this article: Philadelphia, PA.
