Askthefm’s Weblog

What with all of the attention being paid to all things “green” these days, one of the items I see most frequently mentioned are cleaning supplies.  I am not sure if this is because these chemicals have gotten such bad press in the past that they are trying real hard to seem safe and relevant.

Now if you put the words “green cleaning products” into your search engine of choice you will get back a great many sources for these items ranging from Simple Green (http://www.simplegreen.com/), which I recommend by the way, to articles on how to make your own cleaning supplies.

The main reason to even think about this for commercial buildings has to do with indoor air quality and minimizing the residents of a buildings exposure to toxic chemicals and fumes.  Previously the focus was on changing your chemicals out to supposedly safer alternatives.There is however some discussion about the value of making this change as is covered in this Live Science article: (http://www.livescience.com/environment/070806_green_cleaners.html).

The LEED certification guidelines coming out this month steers away from just substituting chemicals to get your credits but is emphasizing a complete approach to green cleaning.  On ENN.com (http://www.enn.com/business/article/37513) there is an article that covers this change. There is also another article on Cleanlink.com that go even more in depth on this issue: (http://www.cleanlink.com/hs/article.asp?id=5609&keywords=green,%20leed).

The current thinking is that you should develop a complete janitorial program with environmentally sensitive cleaning agents, best practices to insure a clean building and energy efficient equipment. The main difference I have found is that with the “green” alternatives in chemicals you have to take a little more time and use a little more elbow grease.  Although “Seventh Generation” (http://www.seventhgeneration.com/) is working to make their products the equivalent in effectiveness .

Lastly as a general rule chemicals that are rated by Green Seal (http://www.greenseal.org/) qualify under the LEED and most other rating services guidelines and generally are of good quality and good value.

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I know that there has been a lot of coverage in the news and on various blogs including my own about all of the new and wiz bang new things you can get for your building to make it more energy efficient. However with all of this concentration on the newest and most high tech a lot of buildings aren’t taking care of the basics to save energy and money!

These basic items are truly low hanging fruit not only easy to do but with return on investment times calculated in months if not days in some cases.

First let’s talk about lighting, plain old fluorescent tubes.  It is estimated that and very large percentage of the total electric load of a commercial building is found in the lighting.  If you haven’t changed out those old T-12 light fixtures or at least modified them to use T-8 bulbs with electronic ballasts, do this first and do it now!  The cost to upgrade is around $100 a fixture which can be recovered in as little as 12 months.

Next on the lighting hit parade is parking lot lighting.  These fixtures tend to be big and expensive to run if you are in retail environment.  It is common for these fixtures to be left on all night and for them to be run by a simple time clock.  There are several suggestions I can offer here.

First is to add to the time clock circuit a photocell.  It works like this.  In the circuit the photo cell is inserted between the time clock and the activation relays.  This dynamically adjusts the on and off times of the system to the ever changing sunst and sunrise times.  Estimated cost $200, ROI 30days.

Also you should look at your lighting plan and see if there are lights that can safely be turned off at closing time.  A photometric analysis may be required for a good set of data to make this decision.  However the savings here could be pretty large as sometimes these light may be up to a 1000 watts each.  After you have determined if any can safely be turned off you will have to do some rewiring of the lighting array, perhaps adding another time clock and photocell. Estimated Cost $1000  ROI 3- 6 months.

Now with all the publicity I hope that you have changed out all of those incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescents or even LED bulbs.  However if you haven’t get started!

Another often overlooked task that helps with the electric bill is air conditioning and heater maintenance. Changing filters and cleaning condenser fins can net as much a 20% efficiency boost for the system.  Also if it is in your capital budget look into changing out your oldest unit with a new higher SEER rated unit.

Lastly tonight I would suggest considering and old solution that hasn’t gotten much good press lately, window tinting.  At least in California you get no credit under Title 24, our energy efficiency code, but that doesn’t mean that if won’t do you some good.  Window tinting has several advantages including lessening heat load on your building by 1-2%, lengthening the life of the textiles in the office spaces and in earthquake prone areas providing some extra security against flying glass.

I hope that these suggestions help you and if you have any questions specifically about the calculations on the ROI or other related questions please drop me a line at the email address below!

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Buildings Magazine has put out the 100 best products for year issue and among them are some flooring products that look pretty darn good and claim to be made completely from recycled materials.

The first up is Sustainable Flooring’s Strandwood Product (http://www.sustainableflooring.com/?index=strandwoven).  Here is the description from the website:

Our Strandwoven wood line encompasses three main products: Aspen, MSB, and Timber, and can be best described as the re-engineering of densified and compressed wood. Our goal is take weed species, post-industiral scraps, and economically–challenged woods, and use a bit of healthy technology to create unmatched aesthetics and superior products.

From the pictures on the website it looks like a good product and should be very durable as well.

Next up is a a product from FritzTile (http://www.fritztile.com/#9877949936143315923) using recycled glass from various bottles and other post consumer glass content.

Both of these products should qualify for LEED and Greenpoint Rated credits and look beautiful doing so.

Now there are other types of flooring that qualify potentially as sustainable options.  Included here would be cork and bamboo flooring.  Of course our earlier manufacturer Sustainable Flooring also offers both of these options (http://www.sustainableflooring.com/index.php?index=home).

Also I have found a great explainer at BuidlingGreen.com for those interested in how bamboo flooring is made. (http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm?fileName=061005c.xml)

It is also interesting that Treehugger.com gives bamboo flooring a less than superior rating from an overall green perspective.  The full article can be found here: (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/09/bamboo_flooring.php).

Cork flooring on the other hand is seemingly mostly ignored by the green rating sites.  It supposedly has high marks in acoustic dampening and abrasion resistance.  However I imagine that it design differences would be limited and as such would be of limited use except in specific situations.

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A few days ago I put forward the information below and as it turns out neither I nor Green Technology Magazine were quite correct. Actually we over-generalized a bit…..

According to Green Technology Magazine there will soon be a green building rating system approved by ANSI (American National Standards Institute).

Excerpt: The only green building rating system that will be accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the National Green Building Standard has been submitted to ANSI for approval and will become the benchmark for green homes, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The standard defines what green practices should be incorporated into home construction on a national scale and how homeowners should maintain and operate their green homes. The rating system ensures uniformity in everything from the size of electrical outlets to testing medical devices. To get to this point, NAHB volunteers and the International Code Council attended four public hearings and considered 3,000 public comments submitted for consideration.

This sounds pretty good and I am interested to see how this really plays out. If ANSI can get behind a rating system, then the other rating systems such as LEED and Greenpoint Rated will probably update their rules to be compatible. It would make trying to get your building evaluated a lot simpler and less expensive.

However I was contacted by Elizabeth Austin from ANSI and in a very nice email shared with me how the ANSI accreditations system functions:

Thank you very much for your recent post, “Green Building Code coming soon!” Articles like this one contribute significantly to overall public awareness of the importance of voluntary consensus standards. On behalf of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and our entire Federation of members, I thank you for your efforts.

I would like to call your attention to some inaccuracies in the source material you referenced from Green Technology Magazine:

The only green building rating system that will be accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the National Green Building Standard has been submitted to ANSI for approval and will become the benchmark for green homes, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

ANSI approves standards as American National Standards (ANS) based on evidence of procedural compliance with the requirements established in the ANSI Essential Requirements: Due process requirements for American National Standards. The hallmarks of the development process associated with a document that is approved as an American National Standard include openness, balance, due process and consensus.

I have highlighted the phrase “the only green building rating system” because in point of fact, more than one standard in a particular area may be approved as an American National Standard. To clarify, ANSI may approve a standard that is sponsored by an ANSI-Accredited Standards Developer, such as NAHBRC, as an American National Standard. The ANSI Board of Standards Review (BSR) makes such decisions based on the evidence presented to it and in accordance with the ANSI Essential Requirements.

I’ve also highlighted the phrase “will be accredited” because approval of a standard submitted to ANSI by an ANSI-Accredited Standards Developer is neither automatic nor guaranteed. The ANSI BSR, in accordance with its procedures, will review each submittal and determine whether the evidence of procedural compliance submitted in support of it demonstrates that consensus has been achieved in accordance with ANSI’s requirements set-forth in the ANSI Essential Requirements. In the case of the draft National Green Building Standard developed by National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), this process is still underway. Further, the term “accredited” relates to the status of the standards developer’s procedures, not to a particular standard.

So I stand corrected but still I am looking forward to the day when one or more accredited national standards regarding a green building code see the light of day!

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It has been brought to my attention by one of my readers that there is an other option for certified Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The program and website are Ecowise Certified and they can be found here:

http://www.ecowisecertified.org/

By their own admission they are a fairly new program and may not yet have a large number of certified providers. The programs look equivalent and should get you the same number of points under the green building certification program of your choice.

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Formaldehyde has been in the news a lot lately especially in regards to the travel trailers used to house refugees from hurricane Katrina. In fact a great story was aired by NPR tonight and can be found here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90957184

The basic facts are that this chemical is in quite a few products that go into buildings and the off gassing issues with newly constructed or remodeled spaces are quite real. Many people who are sensitive to other allergens and chemicals are sensitive to formaldehyde.

Here are some links that will probably scare you, however realize that these are written regarding the employees and situations where this chemical is actually used to manufacture products using formaldehyde.

From OSHA: http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/formaldehyde-factsheet.pdf

From the National Cancer Institute: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/risk/formaldehyde

From the US EPA: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/formalde.html

The good news is that over this last 10 years the technology has improved so that less of this chemical is released into the surrounding environment and in California new regulations go into effect on January 1, 2009 that will further limit what is allowed as a step toward eliminating it as much as possible. The information on these rules can be found here: http://www.arb.ca.gov/toxics/compwood/compwood.htm

The main problems that still exist is that this chemical off-gasses while relatively new and under certain conditions. The new phase still has only one solution, extra ventilation during that period which in my recent experience is from a few days to a couple of weeks. The other situation, which is covered very well in the NPR article listed above is during times of high heat and humidity, like those conditions found in the gulf area. Under these conditions the plywood and particle board would have increased and sustained off-gassing levels. This is the cause of the problem with the FEMA trailers.

The main technique to lessen the transmission levels from the materials we in the building industry normally handle is a simple one, paint. Yes by painting the plywood, strand board and MDF, including the edges we can cut the transmission rate by almost 90% in most cases. Other suggestions on reducing risk in the environment can be found here. http://www.sefalabs.com/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3394 They include some interesting ones for instance permanent press clothing should be washed before being worn as these items represent a potentially large source of formaldehyde in a local area when first used.

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Now that we are in the warmer months, at least out here in California where I live the question of controlling those pests that always seem to invade about now…..

Well if you are trying to get or stay certified under any of those green building programs most award points for integrated pest management (IPM). For instance in the LEED for existing buildings program it is worth 1 point.

So what does this entail and is it worth the effort?

Well from the Buildings.com Website: (http://www.buildings.com/articles/detail.aspx?contentID=6108)

“IPM is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life-cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest-control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.”

The article does a good job of going over the basics, but I would really want to hire an expert in this approach and for this there is a non-profit who provides what else but certification. The rating title is “Green Shield Certified” and the organization’s website can be found here: http://www.greenshieldcertified.org/

There is also a process for you to get your building certified under this program as well. I suppose that this might be a real plus for residential buildings in their marketing and as a method to reduce sensitivity complaints that are often caused by pesticides. Speaking as a person with some of those sensitivities I will be looking up who in my area is rated and seeking proposals tomorrow!

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I have spoken here at some length about various “green” topics and I realized that there is probably some confusion about what the various terms used by manufacturers, advertisers, the news media and the government actually mean. Let’s try and cover some of this ground…..

The terms we are talking about range from Energy Star to recycled content and to sustainably harvested. It is interesting to note that some terms have real legal definitions and some are just used for green washing a product or service.

In order to really determine if you are choosing a green product it is important to at least consider an analysis of the life cycle of the item in question.

Wikipedia on Life Cycle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_cycle_assessment

Urban Environmental Management: Life Cycle Analysis for Cities

I don’t advocate a detailed analysis for every major purchase, but it certainly helps to be familiar with process so you know what things to look for in the promotional literature.

In the April issue of Buildings Magazine there is a very good, if short article on some of the terms and some of the certifications that exist out there:

Buildings Magazine April 2008: It’s Green - Now find out what that really means

The article covers the terms - Recycled Content, Rapidly Renewable Material, Biodegradable, Low or No VOC’s, and Sustainably Harvested. These terms are especially important if you are thinking of pursuing one of the green building certifications out there as these items are all worth points in the various ranking systems. Unfortunately the article is far from comprehensive as it is really aimed at the commercial sector and those looking at the LEED programs.

There are a whole host of other terms that are often used in articles about this topic and sometimes to help define the terms above.

A fairly comprehensive dictionary of terms can be found here:

Planet Pals New Ecology Dictionary: http://www.planetpals.com/ecodictionary.html

This next site is a listing of all kinds of dictionary and glossary sites covering a large range of topics. However the link below takes you to the ecology section. I encourage you to explore the other areas as well.

http://www.glossarist.com/glossaries/science/earth-sciences/ecology.asp

Also:

Ecology.org’s dictionary section:

http://www.ecology.org/biod/library/glos_index.html

Lastly here is EnviroMedia’s Greewashing Index, a site to rate ads and to educate yourself on what the advertisers are really saying:

http://www.greenwashingindex.com/

As always thank you for your interest and please let me know what you think of the content posted here or let me know if there are specific topics you would like covered. Send all notes to: askthefm@gmail.com

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