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"I think people are surprised to see that many of the products that they use or have been using are GREENGUARD certified," says Briggs. "The insulation industry was one of the first to really embrace GREENGUARD emissions testing because of the reputation that insulation products contributed to indoor air pollution. In many cases, the products that we test meet the emissions criteria without having to alter product formulations. In some cases, a manufacturer will have to re-engineer or re-formulate their product to meet the criteria. As more manufacturers have become aware of emissions, they are performing in-house quality control and independent testing to verify that their products do not contribute to indoor air pollution."
| | | | |  | |  | | | | | | Air Leaks: What's Your Number?
Get an idea of where you stand before, or after, you take on your home's air leaks. Here's a rough rating of air "leakiness" for homes and typical amounts seen in the experiences of certified consultant Doug Maas of A Closer Look Home Inspections, Inc., Hortonville, Wis. CFM numbers will vary greatly depending on the square footage of the home, says Maas.
CFM Ratings
- 500 CFM or less – Excellent
- 500-1000 CFM - Good
- 1000-1500 CFM - Fair
- 1500 or more CFM - Poor
Typical CFM data
- An old farmhouse: 4500 to 6500 CFM
- A three-bedroom ranch built in the 1980s: 1800-3500 CFM
- Average home today by builder not aiming for energy efficiency: 1500 CFM or more
- Homes built today for energy efficiency: less than 500 CFM
Curious about your home and want to do a simple check? The U.S. Department of Energy offers this suggestion.
- Pick a cool, very windy day.
- Turn off your furnace.
- Shut all windows and doors.
- Turn on all exhaust fans that blow air outside, such as bathroom fans, to depressurize your home.
- Light an incense stick.
- Pass it around the edges of common leaks such as recessed lights, attic hatches, mail chutes, door frames, electrical outlets and switches.
- Watch the smoke trail. If it is sucked out of or blown into the room, there's an air leak that may need caulking, sealing or weatherstripping.
| | | | | | | | | | | | Innovative Options
One example of a GREENGUARD-certified product is BioBased Insulation's BioBased 1701, the first water-blown, closed-cell spray foam insulation to be introduced since spray polyurethane technology first emerged in the mid-1970s.
Jennifer Wilson, brand manager for BioBased Insulation, says the product is just one from a company solely focused on developing greener alternatives. She says the soy-based polyol, which becomes a thermoset plastic, has no food value, allows no mold growth, gives a good air seal and lasts for the life of the structure. Since it is water blown, it gets away from the ozone-depleting chemically blown options. It also reduces the dependence on foreign oil and supports farmers with its soybean base.
Another GREENGUARD-certified product is the OSI® GreenSeries™ Acrylic Urethane Indoor/Outdoor Sealant developed by Henkel Corp. of Avon, Ohio. Henkel's Scott Jackson, senior product manager, construction adhesives, and Michael Terhardt, director of construction adhesives, say the sealant is part of a seven-item assortment of adhesives and sealants that deliver high-performance solutions for green building.
"Primarily targeted to professional builders and remodelers, all OSI GreenSeries products have significantly lower VOCs and are a more environmentally friendly solution compared to traditional products used today," says Jackson. "In order to ensure our products meet the most stringent 'green' guidelines," says Terhardt, "we have also partnered with GREENGUARD as our third party institute to certify our products as green."
According to GEI's Spriggs, "As the concept of 'green' has become more popular, we have certainly seen more greenwashing in the marketplace. To help consumers navigate the various green claims that manufacturers and companies are making, it is important to look at programs such as GREENGUARD that offer third-party certification—the scientific process by which a product is reviewed by a reputable, unbiased third party to verify that criteria, claims or standards are being met. It is also important for consumers to understand what it means to be sustainable and to select the attribute(s) they believe are important when considering/evaluating the 'green' characteristics of a product. Recyclability, recycled content, energy efficiency, water conservation, chemical content, chemical emissions, [the] draw from natural resources, conservation of raw materials, durability, life cycle analysis, carbon footprint...these are among the categories that can be used to determine sustainability."
By using third-party-certified green products in insulating and sealing, consumers have a good start in creating a home environment that is not only safe, healthy and comfortable but helps the larger environment as well.
Read other Green Homes Special Series articles here.
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Text by Maureen Blaney Flietner
© 2008 Bob Vila
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