BackPage Primers
Weighting Environmental Impact Categories
Life-cycle assessments (LCAs) score products or design options across a series of environmental impact categories. To compare two products with different impact profiles, it becomes necessary to weight those categories, a difficult process.
Environmental Building News—January 1, 2009
Defining Recycled Content
Accepted definitions bring some clarity to the term "recycled content," but still leave gray areas that are open to interpretation by product manufacturers.
Environmental Building News—December 1, 2008
Reducing Heat Flow Through Windows
Bringing daylight into a building through windows usually means a loss of heat; low-emissivity coatings, multiple panes, and gas fills can make windows more energy-efficient.
Environmental Building News—November 1, 2008
Foam-in-Place Polyurethane Insulation
Sprayed polyurethane foam offers several advantages over other forms of insulation, including R-value and airtightness. Installation, R-value, and ozone safety vary with the type of foam used.
Environmental Building News—October 1, 2008
Vapor Retarders and Air Barriers: Managing Moisture in Building Envelopes
Air barriers, which prevent air leakage, and vapor retarders, which control moisture diffusion, are both important for controlling moisture in a building envelope.
Environmental Building News—September 1, 2008
All About Formaldehyde
A naturally occurring organic compound used in binders for composite wood products, among other things, formaldehyde can create serious health problems in those exposed to high concentrations.
Environmental Building News—August 1, 2008
Comparing Fuel Costs
One would think comparing the costs of different heating fuels would be simple, but figuring out the amount heat available in a given quantity of fuel—and the associated cost—can be tricky.
Environmental Building News—July 1, 2008
CO2 and Other Greenhouse Gases
The family of greenhouse gases extends beyond CO2, with each gas contributing to global warming to some degree.
Environmental Building News—June 17, 2008
Life-Cycle Assessment: Tracing a Product's Impacts
Life-cycle assessment—accounting for all of the environmental impacts of a product from its manufacture to its disposal—is a simple concept, but using it to compare products in practice can be difficult.
Environmental Building News—June 1, 2008
Evaporative Coolers
As water evaporates, it absorbs heat. Direct and indirect evaporative coolers use this property to cool homes efficiently.
Environmental Building News—May 1, 2008
