Green Florida: New Green Products

Decker Ross of Decker Ross Interiors recently worked with JMC Communities of St. Petersburg and Coral Hospitality of Naples on the Sandpearl Resort, where, she says, a number of green features were incorporated. The Clearwater Beach resort earned a “Florida Green Lodging” designation through a program run by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Lately, Decker Ross has been getting calls from other green-minded clients, which is why she’s taking classes to become a LEED Accredited Professional, a designation that shows she’s knowledgeble about eco-friendly design principles and about the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system.

These days, it really is getting easier for home-owners to be green as an increasing number of local professionals educate themselves on green standards, and as the marketplace offers new and improved products that conserve water and cut energy use, protect air quality and make use of recycled content or rapidly renewable materials.

Energy efficiency is driving the move toward greener homes, says Corey Watson, product specialist at EcoTechnologies.

“Installing energy-efficient products in your home is like making an investment in your future,” Watson says. “You can save on utility bills every month and, in time, products such as a solar water heater will pay for themselves.”

But products with other environmentally sound features may peak your interest as well.
BuildingGreen LLC, publisher of Environmental Building News, prints an annual GreenSpec Directory, which lists more than 2,000 products that have passed a set of environmental criteria set by the editors. Then, each year the magazine’s staff picks the most exciting products from the directory.

This year intriguing picks include several interior products that have multiple environmental attributes, including a formaldehyde-free bamboo flooring and a wood finish made from a by-product of cheesemaking—yes, cheesemaking.

“Our selections represent a wide range of product types in many different application areas,” says BuildingGreen President Alex Wilson.

Let’s take a look at the company’s Top Ten Green Building Products for 2008:

> Integrity Block. This compacted-earth block, which can be used in place of concrete, is made with pre-consumer recycled content and requires 40 percent less energy to manufacture. Plus, it costs no more than standard concrete block. www.integrityblock.com

> Safe ‘N Sound Emerald Doors. A line of solid-core interior doors from Masonite features DorCor, a low-density core made from rapidly renewable wheat straw. The doors are manufactured without urea formaldehyde and are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which certifies products from responsibly managed forests. www.masonite.com

> PlybooPure Bamboo Flooring. Bamboo is a rapidly renewable grass, which makes it more environmentally friendly than many other flooring choices. But one of the down sides has been the use of formaldehyde in the manufacturing process. Now Smith & Fong is producing the first bamboo flooring to be certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council. It’s made without formaldehyde and the company uses no irrigation, pesticides or fertilizers to grow its bamboo. www.plyboo.com

> Natura Paint. Most paints contain volatile organic compounds, which can have adverse health effects. Benjamin Moore’s new line of zero-VOC paints and primers is available in all the manufacturer’s colors and a wide range of sheens. The company promises easy application and outstanding durability, and says the paint is highly washable within days of its application.
www.benjaminmoore.com

> PolyWhey Floor Finish. This wood flooring product by Vermont Natural Coatings is an environmentally smart alternative to traditional polyurethane. It’s a clear, durable topcoat seal that uses recycled whey protein—a byproduct of cheese making—as a bonding agent. It’s available in semi-gloss and satin finishes. www.vermontnaturalcoatings.com

> O Ecotextiles Natural-Fiber Fabrics. This fabric collection from Seattle-based
O Ecotextiles is made from 100 percent organic cotton or other sustainably grown fibers such as hemp, silk and bamboo. The company, founded by two sisters, says its mission is to produce luxurious fabrics in ways that are nontoxic, ethical and sustainable. Manufacturing processes, too, are more environmentally friendly than for typical textiles, and the final products contain no toxic chemical residues. www.oecotextiles.com

> Matrix Total Home System. NTI’s Matrix incorporates a condensing water heater, furnace and boiler and heat recovery ventilator—which is pre-configured for air conditioning—into a single unit. The family-owned Canadian company, which manufactures hydronic heating equipment and furnaces, says the Matrix system is 60 percent more efficient in heat recovery and 30 percent more efficient in water heating than a conventional natural gas furnace and water heater. www.nythermal.com

> SunCache Solar Water Heating System. The SunCache integral-collector-storage solar water heater from Harpiris Energy uses a roof-mounted polyethylene panel and a copper heat exchanger to preheat water. The low-cost, passive system captures heat in 50 gallons of non-circulating water stored in the unpressurized rooftop panel. SunCache is affordable and easy to install, although it’s only intended for use in warm climates. www.harpiris.com

> Agilewaves Resource Monitor. A California-based company, Agilewaves has developed a Web-based system that monitors electric, gas and water usage in real-time while automatically calculating carbon footprint. This enables home and business owners to track performance, manage and control resource consumption, reduce environmental impacts and save money. www.agilewaves.com

> Rainwater HOG Tank. Water is becoming an ever-more precious commodity in Florida, so we need to conserve and protect this resource. This convenient modular rainwater storage tank holds nearly 50 gallons of water that can be used for irrigation, toilets, gardening or laundry. The tank can be installed horizontally or vertically, making it perfect for tight spaces. The Australian company, which has an office in Corte Madera, California, says the modules can be placed in your home, fixed to the side of a structure, set under a deck or along a fence or installed in series. www.rainwaterhog.com