BuildingGreen has announced its annual Top-10 Products list for 2015.
The awards recognize products that BuildingGreen, the publisher of Environmental Building News, says are “fundamental transformations to ‘business as usual’ in the design and construction industry.”
Here’s the list as described by BuildingGreen:
- Elka Home furnishings. The company manufactures sofas and chairs from materials such as natural latex and certified organic fabrics that require no chemical flame retardants.
- FocalPoint bioretention system. The high flow-rate system is designed to offer stormwater filtering on a very small footprint, ideal for urban areas where there isn’t enough room to put conventional swales.
- Prosoco Cat 5 Air Barrier System. The Cat 5 system includes a fluid-applied air barrier, flashing and filler, all based on chemistry that has no solvents or isocyanurates, and no phthalate plasticizers. BuildingGreen called the system one of the best in its class.
- Clean Energy Collective. The collective develops photovoltaic facilities around the U.S. to give people access to PV electricity when they couldn’t otherwise afford the panels, or have room to install them.
- Cascadia Clip thermal spacers. These fiberglass spacers allow the installation of siding over insulation that’s applied to the outside of a building. They come in several sizes to handle insulation thicknesses from 2 inches to 6 inches.
- Marvin Passivhaus Windows. Although not the first U.S. manufacturer to offer certified windows, Marvin was the first major U.S. maker to win certification from the Passive House Institute U.S. The aluminum-clad windows are made from wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
- Johns Manville. Its ENRGY 3.E polyiso insulation is made without halogenated flame retardants. The company says the roofing insulation meets Class A fire-rating requirements and has a higher R-value and compressive strength than its standard polyiso.
- USAI Lighting. USAI’s Color Select technology gives building occupants control over the color and intensity of interior lighting, with color temperatures ranging from a warm 2200K to a very cool 6000K. Lights can be dimmed to 0.1 percent.
- KI furniture. Beginning next year, the commercial furniture manufacturer will offer two chair lines made from a type of plastic called AirCarbon, whose raw ingredients come from agricultural methane rather than petroleum.
- Multistack. Multistack’s MagLev chillers for cooling big commercial buildings use compressors whose shafts are supported by magnetic levitation, sharply reducing friction and increasing efficiency. The compressors require very little maintenance, and don’t need lubricating oil.
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