I was at the 2012 Green Build Conference and trade show (http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/expo/for-attendees) this afternoon, looking for products that will help me create longer-lasting, more energy- and resource-efficient—in a word better—buildings. Better homes for my clients, better construction projects for the contractors, easier-going on the planet. (It is, after all, the only planet we’ve got).
My goal in searching out new products/systems is, install once and because the best was in the specifications, the callbacks just don’t happen. Let the other designers and contractors deal with callbacks. Our goal is to never have them. Among the questions I ask: How long has this particular product been in installed use? How many installations have you sold? What sorts of certifications can you provide? What is its installed cost ratio compared with current industry standard?
The expo floor itself was mammoth, more booths than I recall having seen at any construction industry trade show here in San Francisco. Usually I can cruise the floor, find and stop to learn about the products that will be useful to me and my clients, and be gone in an hour or so. Today, three hours later (and I am highly efficient and targeted toward what it is I need) I finally made the last important contact that I had in mind and hit the road.
The most exciting product of the day? Unico low-diameter FAU systems. (http://www.unicosystem.com/Home/LandingPages/InteractiveHouseMedia.aspx) high-velocity This is a unified system, so your HVAC installer may be resistant at first, but the installed-costs are comparable (according the rep on hand), and the long term savings remarkable. My suggestion: visit their website, give them a call, let them sell you on it as they did me. They work with first-time installers to get the system in right.
Or maybe it was the puncture-proof underslab vapor barrier that sidesteps all the conflicting information about where does it go and how do you keep it intact while your workers lay the rebar grid? Try Raven Industries VaporBlock 10 (http://ravenefd.com/products/vaporblock/)
Paint-on sound reduction for existing or new gyp board walls? Low to zero VOC paints? Reflective exterior paint solutions that reflect up to 30% of the sun’s heat? A duct-sealing system that fixes only the leaks, done-in-a-day with before-and-after leakage readouts that give the proof.
Ya gotta be a geek about this stuff. More on all these issues in future posts.
I would suggest that for all those east-coast homes that just took a beating, since you may have to rebuild some of your systems and may have FEMA money to work with, why not look into rebuilding to a standard that will work to the highest level, if the costs are comparable? Ask them my questions for yourself, or ask your own, see if you are satisfied with the answers.
Disclaimer: Just because I recommend something here does not mean I warrant any product or system to operate as indicated. You make the contact, talk to their reps, get the pitches for yourself, and then decided whether you want to have the best, most efficient projects under your name, or if maybe someone else should take that on.
Green Building: Design Guidelines for a Changing World 