Also there has to a procedure to be followed in course of product selection. And if analyzed, yes there is. Beneath is mentioned the three key steps of product selection.
Product selection can begin after the establishment of project-specific environmental goals. The environmental assessment process for building products involves three basic steps.
1. Research 2. Evaluation 3. Selection
Research This step involves gathering all technical information to be evaluated, including manufacturers information such as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) test data, product warranties, source material characteristics, recycled content data, environmental statements, and durability information. In addition, this step may involve researching other environmental issues, building codes, government regulations, building industry articles, model green building product specifications, and other sources of product data. Research helps identify the full range of the projects building material options.
Evaluation This step involves confirmation of the technical information, as well as filling in information gaps. For example, the evaluator may request product certifications from manufacturers to help sort out possible exaggerated environmental product claims. Evaluation and assessment is relatively simple when comparing similar types of building materials using the environmental criteria. For example, a recycled content assessment between various manufacturers of medium density fiberboard is a relatively straightforward "apples to apples" comparison. However, the evaluation process is more complex when comparing different products with the same function. Then it may become necessary to process both descriptive and quantitative forms of data.
A life cycle assessment (LCA) is an evaluation of the relative "greenness" of building materials and products. LCA addresses the impacts of a product through all of its life stages. Although rather simple in principle, this approach has been difficult and expensive in actual practice (although this appears to be changing).
One tool that uses the LCA methodology is BEES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) software. It allows users to balance the environmental and economic performance of building products. The National Institute of Standards and Technologys Building and Fire Research Laboratory developed the software.
Selection This step often involves the use of an evaluation matrix for scoring the project-specific environmental criteria. The total score of each product evaluation will indicate the product with the highest environmental attributes. Individual criteria included in the rating system can be weighed to accommodate project-specific goals and objectives.
After having selected the required material, the next step has to be its implementation. But for implementation, you first need to know which are the materials that fit in the green. However there are innumerable such products that are used as per the choice and availability of the constructor.
Below are mentioned some of the important products that find place in the almost every constructor diary. Try the links to explore them in details.
- Flyash
- Low-VAC paints
- Green roofs
- Recycled Matter
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