Heating (House, Water)
Water Heating
Water-Efficient Features
Fixtures and appliances such as low-flow showerheads, faucets, and toilets, and ENERGY STAR dishwashers and washing machines all conserve water. Programmed, low-volume irrigation systems, rainwater collection systems, wastewater treatment systems, and hot water recirculation systems also save water.
Heating and Cooling
Indoor Air Quality Features
The heating, air conditioning and ventilation system (HVAC) must be appropriately sized for an efficient and properly ventilated home. Fans in the kitchen and bathrooms should cycle fresh air inside, and release stale air.
1) Olsen Airco:
“The UltraMax 4 line of furnaces is designed for maximum performance, comfort and energy savings. If your furnace is 25 years old or older, chances are that it is only 55% or 65% efficient. With up to 95% AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) the UltraMax 4 delivers savings and peace-of-mind to families looking for maximum efficiency for every energy dollar they spend. High-quality components make the Ultra Max 4 a sound investment that will help you sleep at night. Every component has to pass extensive testing, often simulating 20 years of operation, before it can be approved for use. The Ultra Max 4 is designed to interface with additional home comfort products (air conditioner, electronic air cleaner and humidifier) through simple plug-in connections to the integrated furnace control board.”
2) Bryant:
“Bryant® heat pumps are air conditioners that can also heat your home. The rock-solid Bryant Evolution Series heat pump offers Bryant's highest efficiency performance and most comfort options, and our Preferred™ Series and Legacy™ Line products provide economical comfort. Remember, the higher the SEER and HSPF ratings, the more cost-savings you can realize. Plus, you can add a Bryant gas furnace and enjoy hybrid heating. As an ENERGY STAR® partner, Bryant has determined that the Evolution System Plus 90i gas furnace meets the ENERGY STAR® guidelines for energy efficiency.
Evolution® System: Plus 90i™ and Plus 95i™ Gas Furnaces. The Evolution 96 Gas Furnace from Bryant combines top-of-the-line performance with bottom-line energy savings. Its up to 96% AFUE, combined with our Evolution® System Control, brings home reliable, economical heating comfort.”
3) Amana:
“AMV9 Gas Furnace, Up to 95% AFUE Performance. Two-Stage, Variable-Speed
This furnace is covered by what we consider to be one of the best warranties in the indoor home comfort industry. If the heat exchanger ever fails to the original, registered, homeowner we will provide a new furnace. This furnace also has a 10-Year Parts Limited Warranty* on all functional parts. For a full description of all warranties applicable to this product, please click on the consumer brochure or product warranty links below.
Product Features:
Patented Million Air™ Stainless Steel Dual-Diameter Tubular Heat Exchanger
Efficient,Quiet Variable-Speed Circulator Motor
SureStart™ Silicon Nitride Igniter with Patented Adaptive Learning
Electronic Control Board with Self-Diagnostics
Auto-Comfort Mode for Enhanced Dehumidification
Run-Tested at Factory Prior to Shipment
Simply stated, we consider this gas furnace to be the best you will find in the heating industry. This gas furnace has an AFUE rating of 95% which means that 95 cents of every $1.00 of heating energy expense warms your home. Also, ENERGY STAR rated.
Lighting
First, one should try to utilize as much natural sunlight as possible. Building the house and orienting it so it would get the most daylight through its windows, and possibly adding skylights or sun-tunnels would also help. For artificial lighting, ENERGY STAR fixtures are always the best option. There are many types of fluorescent fixtures available that will reduce the amount of energy used and save the homeowner money over the time that they are used. Dimmer switches and occupancy sensors are also good options for various other uses.
GE Lighting provides lots of ENERGY STAR rated light bulbs and very efficient Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. They have an entire “Ecolux” line of light bulbs that are the most environmentally friendly. Also, Ecolux T12 and T8 fluorescent lamps pass the EPA Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Test (TCLP) due to their non-leachable mercury form.
Sylvania has lighting options that are energy efficient as well. Their light bulbs help to drastically reduce power consumption and also pass the Federal TCLP test for hazardous waste. Their products last longer than standard lamps. Less frequent lamp replacements lead to maintenance savings.
Our compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs bring all the advantages of fluorescent lighting to regular incandescent sockets. They use up to 75% less energy and last up to 10 times longer. With a variety of wattages, shapes and sizes, these bulbs are the perfect for hard-to-reach areas. They use 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent light bulbs, and last up to 10 times longer. Replacing a 60-watt incandescent with a 13-watt CFL can save you at least $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb. Second, CFLs offer convenience, because they last longer, and come in different sizes and shapes to fit almost any fixture. In addition, CFLs produce about 70% less heat than standard incandescent bulbs, so they're safer to operate and can help cut energy costs associated with home cooling.
There are various retailers all across Michigan that carry GE products.
Paint
From the Pittsburgh Paints website:
While there is no formal definition of what makes paint green, two types of standards are typically used in determining what paints should be used in green building:
• United StatesGreenBuilding Council's (USGBC) LEED® Rating System
• Government Regulations
Each of these standards focus on the level of volatile organic compounds (VOC) content found in paint.
What are VOCs?
• Organic solvents found in paint are among many compounds that fall into this category.
• As paint dries, organic solvents evaporate and combine with nitrogen oxides and sunlight to create ground-level ozone or smog.
• PPG was one of the pioneers in the paint industry in developing new performance standards for zero and low VOC products.
1) Pittsburgh Paints now sells a zero-VOC interior latex paint line, Pure Performance. The paint can be tinted to any Pittsburgh Paints color, which add a small amount of VOCs. Pure Performance is the first paint certified under the Green Seal standard. They offer products that meet the most stringent environmental standards which require either zero or low VOC coatings.
“Pittsburgh® Paints Pure Performance® was the first national brand paint to receive Green Seal® Class A certification for meeting environmental standards. Pure Performance® contains zero volatile organic compounds (VOC), eliminating detrimental impact on air quality. This very low odor paint allows you to paint by day and occupy the room by night. This environmentally friendly paint is ideal for green building projects!”
Pittsburgh Paints has VOC data on their website for all of their paints available for commercial and residential use.
There are Pittsburgh Paints retailers in and around Detroit
2) Sherwin-Williams has designated a “Green Sure” label for their most environmentally green products. On their website, they elaborate:
“•We use sustainable raw materials, like soy and sunflower oil in our paints.
•We've reduced the amount of solvent in our formulations, so the vapors being emitted into the atmosphere are more environmentally friendly.
•New techniques in our manufacturing processes have helped produce less waste and we've implemented energy efficient methods in our plants.
•We've streamlined national distribution processes, helping to conserve fuel, energy and other natural resources.
•We've formulated many of our coatings to clean easily and to resist mildew and harmful bacteria improving the indoor and outdoor environments.
To help you easily identify our green coatings we have introduced the GreenSure™ designation for our environmentally friendly products. Our Greensure products offer maximum performance, long-term durability and the highest indoor air quality ratings.
Duration Home® and Harmony® carry the GreenSure logo designation and both have earned the Good Housekeeping Seal - proof that you can enjoy a beautiful room while still respecting nature's beauty. Our products that carry the GreenSure designation offer maximum performance, long-term durability and were designed and manufactured taking steps to reduce environmental impact and to meet or exceed the most stringent regulatory requirements.”
They also have data as well as MSDS’s for their paints.
There are also retailers in and around Detroit.
3) Benjamin Moore has Pristine(R) Eco-Spec(TM), which is a zero-VOC 100% acrylic latex interior paint geared toward the professional contractor market. There is more information on their website:
“Benjamin Moore manages its long standing commitment to Planet Earth through Coatings Care® -- defined codes of conduct to ensure that the impact of our business activities on the environment are the most minimal. These codes cover the formulation, manufacture, distribution and application of all our products.
Our environmental commitment begins with research and development. The commitment to finding new, breakthrough technologies and superior raw materials is a constant. The end result: the creation of a balanced product portfolio of premium coatings that delivers best-in-class performance while meeting or exceeding even the most stringent environmental regulations; our products range from the most durable, performance-oriented paints to those certified by GreenGuard® and Green Seal®, and achieve LEED® credit.
Our goal: to support our customers in making the right specification decision for every project, every client. When it comes to safeguarding the environment, Benjamin Moore believes that together – citizens, government, private companies, caring organizations – we can all make a difference and ensure that future generations enjoy our beautiful home of Planet Earth.
Benjamin Moore removed lead as an ingredient in its architectural coatings nearly a decade before the federal requirements, and remove mercury in its formulations more than two decades before being mandated by the law. We support many environmental conservation programs including The Wildlife Habitat Council, The National Audubon Society, The Raptor Trust and CLEARCorp just to name a few. Our Flanders NJ, Pell City AL, and JohnstownNY facilities encompass 153 acres and have been certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council as protected wildlife habitats.”
They also have VOC information available online.
There are retailers around Detroit
Flooring
1) (Hardwood)
EcoTimber has high quality bamboo, certified sustainably, harvested, rustic, and antique wood flooring. “Since 1992, EcoTimber has promoted forest conservation worldwide by selling sustainably harvested and reclaimed wood products. EcoTimber offers a wide range of gorgeous, domestic and exotic hardwood and bamboo flooring including prefinished engineered and floating floors. We provide bamboo flooring and hardwood flooring products to suit virtually every taste, all of which meet the highest environmental and health standards. The wood in these floors is 100% FSC-certified from well-managed forests, and engineered with a formaldehyde-free, zero-VOC adhesive. EcoTimber bamboo flooring is made from bamboo plantations — not from wild habitats. Bamboo is a highly renewable resource, harvestable only five to six years after being planted. The award-winning quality of EcoTimber's Bamboo products is unparalleled. EcoTimber's installation sundries include a VOC-free, non-toxic, water-free, high performance installation adhesive and a quality underlayment pad featuring 92% recycled content.”
Retailers in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti
2) Carpet
Mohawk has an innovative new carpet that uses recycled material. “Mohawk leads innovation in sustainable flooring with SmartStrand® carpet with DuPont™ Sorona® renewably sourced polymer. In a partnership with DuPont, this carpet exclusively offers fiber made with Bio-PDO™ (the key Sorona® ingredient), which is produced from corn sugar. By utilizing this new ingredient, 37 percent of Sorona® is being made from renewable resources. This carpet is environmentally smart because:
• The production of Sorona® polymer requires 30 percent less energy than the production of an equal amount of nylon.
• Greenhouse gas emissions from the production of Sorona® are 63 percent lower than nylon manufacturing.
• This energy reduction results in approximately one gallon of gasoline saved per every seven square yards of carpet.
The superior stain resistance of SmartStrand® carpet is engineered into the fiber and will never wear or wash off, meaning consumers will never need to retreat the carpet with stain protectors after steam cleaning. This engineered-in stain resistance reaches new levels of protection, allowing tough stains such as mustard, red wine, and cherry Kool-Aid® to be removed simply with warm water and a mild detergent, or with Mohawk FloorCare™ Essentials. The fiber even resists discoloration from bleach.”
Retailers around the Detroit area.
3) Tile
Amtico international has PVC-free tile solutions. “Stratica is our ground-breaking PVC-free range of sustainable floors, developed in response to demand for healthier indoor environments particularly from Healthcare and Education sectors. As well as having all the benefits of an Amtico floor, such as being quiet underfoot, Stratica is specifically manufactured without chlorine or plasticizers and has extremely low level VOC emissions. It is kept looking beautiful with little impact on the environment, requiring no sealers of dressings, and no harmful chemicals to maintain it.”
“PVC is also readily recyclable. We are constantly working to improve our processes to minimize waste and increase the use of recycled materials. Almost 100% of our post-production material is recycled back into the 2 base layers of our products, reducing our need for virgin PVC. In the US, up to 60% of one of these base layers is now produced from reclaimed post-industrial PVC waste, further reducing our need for virgin PVC. This is something we’re researching at the moment with a view to introducing in the UK. Although not all of our waste PVC can be recycled within our production process, we make every effort to ensure it can be re-used outside of our business in low-grade plastics, such as traffic cones and plant pots.”
There are various retailers around Detroit.
For all of the choices made, I chose more well-known and established companies. They have had more time and money to invest into their “green” products, and also have good reputations. They typically have many retailers, most of which are not only within a 100 mile radius of Detroit, but a 20 mile radius. I also believe that they would be more likely to offer their goods for the model home.