Avoiding the Landfill: The Recycling of Vinyl Roof Membranes May 15, 2008 With its European counterparts blazing the trail, the North American vinyl (PVC) roofing industry has entered a new phase in its commitment to environmental sustainability through recycling. Because thermoplastic single-ply vinyl membrane can be heated and re-formed repeatedly over its lifespan, it has long been an industry best practice to recover production trimmings and scrap […] Read More
Proof Positive: Measuring Air Barrier Performance With the ASTM E 2357 standards May 15, 2008 Today, no commercial building design is complete without a continuous air barrier. Pre vent – ing air leakage is a critical factor in creating energy-efficient and healthy structures. Indeed, preventing air leakage can generate energy savings of up to 39%, according to a recent study by the Na – tional Institute of Stan – dards […] Read More
Integrating Photovoltaics Onto Building Envelope Surfaces May 15, 2008 INTRODUCTION Over much of the past 30 years, the standard for solar technology installed on buildings has been rack-mounted, silicon crystalline-based solar panels. Today, a new type of technology called thin-film photovoltaics is ready to change the way solar collectors are installed on buildings. This paper gives a broad overview of both the old and […] Read More
Energy Efficiency: More Than a Simple Black and White Issue May 15, 2008 The days when heating and cooling costs were a relatively insignificant line item on a building owner’s budget are long gone. Oil prices, though blessedly lower at this writing, remain extremely unstable. Natural gas and coal prices are also on the rise. All of these increases and instability have led to higher heating and cooling […] Read More
Transpired Solar Collector Walls: Use Solar, Save Green May 15, 2008 As green building practices become more important — not only for environmental reasons, but also for cost savings and tax credits — new products supporting this philosophy are popping up everywhere. This wealth of product information and “greenwash” can be tedious for the building professional to sort through. The transpired solar collector, however, is one […] Read More
More Than Meets the Eye: The Evolution of Curtain Walls Provides Many Benefits to Buildings May 15, 2008 High-security and government buildings need not look like concrete bunkers where workers toil in windowless offices. On the contrary, it may be even more important than ever to ensure these highstress workplaces benefit from the health and productivity attributed to natural light and outside views. In a study presented at the American Council for an […] Read More
The Greening Of The Rooftop: What The Green Movement Means For Roofing And The Building Envelope May 15, 2008 THE GREENING OF THE ROOFTOP: WHAT THE GREEN MOVEMENT MEANS FOR ROOFING AND THE BUILDING ENVELOPE JAMES L. HOFF TEGNOS RESEARCH, INC., CARMEL, IN S Y M P O S I U M O N B U I L D I N G E N V E L O P E T E C H […] Read More
Rainscreen Walls: Long-Term Performance and Field Monitoring In Coastal British Columbia May 15, 2008 RAINSCREEN WALLS: LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE AND FIELD MONITORING IN COASTAL BRITISH COLUMBIA GRAHAM FINCH; BRIAN HUBBS, PENG; AND MARCUS J. DELL, PENG RDH BUILDING ENGINEERING INC., VANCOUVER, BC S Y M P O S I U M O N B U I L D I N G E N V E L O P E T […] Read More
Rooftop Gardens – What Can We Do About the New Fire and Wind Code Requirements May 15, 2008 THE GREEN REVOLUTION The green revolution is over. A new paradigm exists. We are very much beyond the revolutionary phase of dramatic change in roofing practice. One revolution began in 1980. The “army” had been building for several years, but in 1980 the use of nonasphaltic systems exceeded 2% of the market for the first […] Read More
Are Ballasted Roof Systems Cool? May 15, 2008 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A combined experimental and analytical study was initiated to quantify the energy savings of ballasted roofing systems and to compare their thermal performance to that of cool roof membranes. The experimental design was structured to evaluate how a mass of three different stone ballast weights and one paver ballast affected heat flux into […] Read More
