Comments on: What Are the Best Green Building Products?

By: Debbie

Debbie — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:16:03 +0000

energy conservation is the
energy conservation is the biggest green product.

when a homeowner calls me & says I want to build green..I almost cringe.

there are so many products that claim to be green, but the only green thing about them is the extra green you spend to get them.

I read an article by Joe L. about greenwashing & how labels can be misLEEDing. I'm in total agreement.

building an efficient house that has a small carbon footprint and is affordable for the homowner to build and live in for the next 50 years..thats what it is all about..in my pov.

sizing the hvac instead of bigger is better, improving the building envelope, reducing duct leakage..same products..better application.

just my two cents worth!

good article.

By: Allison Bailes

Allison Bailes — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:28:33 +0000

Nate A.:
Nate A.: Moldy soffits. Yum!

Tom M.: I do like structural insulated panels (SIPs). I built a house out of them. But the message of this article applies to them as well. I've heard of bad SIP installations, too.

Steve K.: Thanks! Green building products are certainly important; they just need to be incorporated properly with good processes.

Ken B.: Check out the articles I wrote about the composting toilet and greywater system I put in the house I built. There's a whole lot going on in Texas. If you just google 'HERS Texas' or 'green building Texas' or something similar, you'll find a lot of links.

T.C. Feick: Thanks. That's a great point about how to analyze products with Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and toxicity. I haven't covered that yet here, so it's on my list now.

By: T.C. Feick

T.C. Feick — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:07:26 +0000

Thanks Allison. I am a
Thanks Allison. I am a building materials supplier often called on to help with materials selection on green homes. I think that your blog touches upon the biggest problem in an owner meeting their sustainability goals; over emphasis on prouct, not performance of the system. I spend a lot of time educating builders and owners on how to assess a specific product. Ultimately the problem is with the process, not the products. Rather than picking products, one should choose their performance goals and fit a product to that. Also, assessing products on an attribute or a couple of attributes often misses the mark. when it comes down to it, the only two things we need to assess is a LCA for total energy, and toxicity measured for individual health and toxicity of the manufacturing process. When I started looking at products in this way I had to come to the realization that most of the products I make my living selling are not the best choices for a green home, even if their performance may be stellar.

By: Ken Bailes

Ken Bailes — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 16:23:12 +0000

Thanks! I've been waiting for
Thanks! I've been waiting for an article like this. I am also wondering about best composting toilets I've been looking at Sunmar. For solar, Westinghouse seems easiest for D-I-Y people. Now if you are in Louisiana unless they have changed their sanitation code within the last decade, this State has no definition of Greywater. Everything must be captured/processed, etc. Now for the big question to any and all? I'm in initial stages of research about building reasonably green for lower income. If Habitat for Humanity will work wth me great, if not I am looking at the feasibility of moving forward with my own Non-Profit in Texas. Will be Building green energy efficient homes with Solor to handle at least 50% minimum needs of the home owners. So if any body has any info/contacts/organizations about green building in the State of Texas Please let me know? Just reply and I will get the email, Thanks to EV, and to all!

By: Steve Konstantino

Steve Konstantino — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 21:59:23 +0000

Allison – Right on! I have
Allison – Right on! I have been in the Green Building Product business for years and I agree that the envelope and energy saving measures should be done before investing in products and systems.

By: Tom Moore

Tom Moore — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 18:55:18 +0000

You don't have to "spray
You don't have to "spray and pray" if you build with SIPs. SIPs give you a consistent R value and a tight building envelope. EPS SIPs, in particular are completely recyclable. You can't say that for spray foam.

By: Nate Adams

Nate Adams — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:54:59 +0000

Hear, hear! As a building
Hear, hear! As a building shell guy, thanks for #3. I hate seeing the results of 'spray and pray' or 'blow and go' that happen in the insulation industry. I call myself a home performance guy instead. The installation makes ALL the difference. Just ask one of my customers who had his soffits filled by a cheap guy and now has mold.