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Eco-Friendly
Green building is as much about design strategy as about selecting green materials.
Integrated design - thinking about how a building works as a system and designing that system to be environmentally-friendly - is a key part of green building. Certain products, particularly those that deal with energy, are not inherently green but can used in ways that enhance the environmental performance of a building. For example, a triple pane, low-E window may not be green in terms of some of its material components or manufacturing process, but if used strategically it can reduce energy use by maximizing the collection of winter sunlight and blocking out the summer sun. Some design considerations that will help you choose the right materials include building orientation, use patterns, durability, and local availability.
There is no perfect green material. Trade offs are inevitable!
Building materials have multiple impacts on the environment, both positive and negative. One common way to assess these impacts is through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which considers the full range of a product's environmental impacts, from resource extraction to manufacture and then through installation and ultimate disposal. This type of analysis allows for comprehensive and multidimensional product comparisons.
Recycling
One billion pounds recycled in just one year
Vinyl can be reprocessed and recycled repeatedly. Scrap is routinely recycled directly back into vinyl products, making it a resource-efficient operation. In fact, 99 percent of the vinyl used by processors goes into a finished product.
A comprehensive study of vinyl recycling completed in 1999 found that more than 1 billion pounds of material were recovered in 1997 and recycled into useful products. Twenty million pounds of that were recycled at the post-consumer level.
Successful vinyl scrap buy-back programs initiated by window manufacturers have led to the diversion of more than 8 million pounds of window profile waste from landfills annually. Manufacturers also have produced window frames containing up to 25 percent recycled content.
Vinyl windows are so durable that the vast majority of them installed over the past 25 years are still in use and therefore not candidates for end-of-life or post-consumer recycling. When that time comes, however, vinyl windows - like all vinyl - can be recycled. As with any building product, the key to post-consumer vinyl window recycling is to find a cost-effective way to collect, separate, process and transport used materials to a manufacturer for use in new products.
Inherently fire retardant, meeting stringent fire requirements
Vinyl window products, which are based on a naturally fire retardant polymer, have excellent fire performance qualities. Vinyl is self-extinguishing when a flame source is removed.
In addition, vinyl windows are able to meet building codes for ignitability, flammability, heat release, burning rate, flame spread and smoke density, according to John A. Sharry, former fire chief and past chairman of the National Fire Protection Association Committee on Fire Fighter Occupational Safety and Health. Certain vinyl formulations are able to meet the stringent National Electrical Code of the National Fire Protection Association for insulating electrical and data cables.
Most fire scientists recognize that the largest hazards in a fire are heat and carbon monoxide, an odor-less asphyxiant gas produced in abundance by all organic materials, natural and synthetic. The contribution of the combustion products from vinyl windows to the overall toxic threat of fires containing many types of combustibles is insignificant.
Made of plentiful natural resources
The leading component in the production of vinyl is common salt, an abundant and inert natural resource. More than half of vinyl resin is derived from salt, and natural gas or petroleum makes up the balance. Worldwide, vinyl production accounts for less than 0.3 percent of all annual oil and gas consumption and about 10 percent of annual salt consumption.
Environmental benefits across product life cycle
A study by life cycle assessment experts Greg Norris and Peter Yost2 shows the use phase is the most important in terms of a material's life cycle impact, and counterbalances over time the environmental impact stemming from a product's manufacture. The material vinyl, because of energy efficiency, thermal-insulating value, low contribution to greenhouse gases, easy maintenance and superior durability of products made from it, provides excellent life cycle benefits.
A study conducted by Franklin Associates shows that vinyl windows require only one-third as much energy to manufacture as aluminum windows. That study also found that using vinyl over aluminum or steel window frames saves the United States nearly 2 trillion BTUs of energy per year - enough to meet the yearly electrical needs of 20,000 single-family homes.
