5 Cool New Products from the Greenbuild 2012 Expo Floor

From high-tech BIPV to smarter plugs for the home, we found lots of great new products at Greenbuild this year.

Lutron's Serena remote-controlled shades install easily and are inexpensive compared to most automated shades.Photo Credit: Lutron

Greenbuild is always a great time to find new products and reconnect with friends and colleagues. It’s a busy, rewarding, and exhausting few days—especially this year, since the trade show was spread across three buildings and a couple of city blocks.

I did a lot of walking, but it was worth the effort. Here are a few of the products I spotted on the expo floor.

Health Product Declaration

One of the most exciting developments rolled out at this year’s Greenbuild is not really a product: the introduction of the Health Product Declaration, an open standard used to promote the transparent disclosure of product ingredients and their health impacts.

Many companies have already signed on to supporting this important initiative, and many had booths at Greenbuild, including ASSA ABLOY, Interface, Prososco, Crossville, InPro, Stego, and Teknion.

BIPV windows from Tropiglas

Tropiglas was displaying its building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) window technology, which uses a polymer layer sandwiched between two panes of glass. When sunlight passes through the first pane, it is captured by the inner layer and directed to the edge of the glass (similar to how optical fibers work), where standard monocrystalline PV cells convert the light to electricity.

The glass is free of visible cells, unlike most current BIPV glazing options, whose cells block part of the view. But the efficiency is only around 4% (35 watts/m², 80% transparency, 90% IR blocking, SHGC< 0.41). The company claims the manufacturing process is similar to that of low-e coatings, so it shouldn’t cost much more to manufacture, but of course, you still have to contend with the other PV components and wiring.

Tropiglas is still looking for glazing partners but expects to have product on the market in 2013.

Energy enhancements for SafePlug products

SafePlug products protect occupants (particularly children) against electrocution and monitor plugs against overloads or discrepancies in the electrical flow that could lead to fires or damage electrical equipment.

The company’s products can now also increase energy efficiency: they control plug loads so that phantom loads are eliminated and occupants can monitor and turn off appliances. The SafePlug Energy Manager (find it in GreenSpec here) installs over standard outlets and comes with an “Energy Server” and “Energy Manager Outlets.” The outlet and server do not require an Internet connection for communication, but the server can be connected to Ethernet or Wi-Fi for remote monitoring.

Aquatec water submetering

The Aquatec submeter from the German company Sika (GreenSpec listed here) can be attached directly to a shower, urinal, or other fixtures to track and display water usage data. That information can then be downloaded via optical sensor or sent wirelessly and accessed remotely via any Internet-connected device.

Aquatex is available in white or clear, so you can see the inner machinations, and in a “split” version, where the mechanism and display are separate for easier installation and viewing.

Climate Wizard evaporative air conditioner

Climate Wizard (see it in GreenSpec here), from the Australian company Seeley International and distributed in the U.S. by L&H Airco, is a refrigerant-free indirect evaporative air conditioner similar to the Coolerado we list in GreenSpec and reviewed for EBN back in 2008.

The Climate Wizard uses fans with energy-efficient electronically commutated motors (ECM) to move air through a heat exchanger that contains both wet and dry channels.

Climate Wizard is a refrigerant-free evaporative air conditioner that provides cool, dry, fresh air along with energy savings.Photo Credit: Seeley International

Heat is transferred across the membrane from the dry to the moist channel, where it is vented into the atmosphere.

The cool, dry, fresh air then passes into the building to provide cooling. Climate Wizard uses 6.6 gallons of water an hour for the 10 kW model (about 2.8 tons cooling); a 15 kW (4.3 tons) version is also available.

Climate Wizard is used primarily in commercial applications, but a residential unit is undergoing testing.

Affordable remote-control shades from Lutron

Lutron rolled out a couple of new products at Greenbuild, including its Sensor Layout and Tuning Service for fine tuning the performance of occupancy and daylight sensors so they work as advertised; and a KOOLBLACK rollershade material that reduces solar heat gain to the level usually only attainable with light-colored fabrics.

But the product that caught my eye was the company’s battery-powered, motorized Serena Remote Controlled Shades. Though not new (they were introduced at the end of 2011), these residential cellular shades are easy to install by a homeowner and can be operated via either infrared (IR) or radiofrequency (RF) controls. They can even be integrated with other lighting controls.

A more sophisticated control system is available in the company’s Sivoia line. These shades are powered by four standard D batteries, which should last three years, according to the company, because of its unique power management technology. Several material and color options are available, including double-cell and room darkening versions that have R-values of 3.6 and 4.3, respectively.

Starting at less than $280, they seem like a bargain in the remote-controlled shade industry.

And more!

There were, of course, a lot more vendors and products at Greenbuild, such as organic, drought-resistant grass with deep roots that requires minimal mowing; onsite water treatment systems that process water for graywater reuse; continuous insulation rainscreen claddings with mineral wool insulation; and more.

Look for those in upcoming blog posts and product reviews.