Sustainability

Out of the Red List & On to the A-List: HFR-Free Formawall Panels
Panel Discussion
Out of the Red List & On to the A-List: HFR-Free Formawall Panels
September 1, 2021 at 3:01 pm 0

 

Sustainability isn’t just about being green and energy-efficient anymore. It’s a matter of responsibility and transparency in every part of building materials, from mining and manufacturing to delivery, installation and actual product life. As more and more chemicals are identified as being potentially toxic, carcinogenic, or otherwise hazardous to health or the environment, today’s customers demand to know what’s in their building materials.

Full Transparency

That’s why the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) developed the Red List, a comprehensive listing of hazardous chemicals which manufacturers, construction companies, designers and architects should avoid. Though there are no laws eliminating Red List chemicals yet, now is the time to get ahead of the ball.

As CENTRIA Product Manager Julie Schessler pointed out, “Educational facilities and large corporations tend to be more focused on environmental impact these days. A lot of corporations and institutions have environmental plans and commitments to decrease their carbon emissions contribution to pollution over the next five, ten or twenty years.” This trend towards healthy environments includes Red List chemicals, because they can be hazardous to the health of people within buildings or the environment outside them. End-users and customers are likely to demand Red List-free materials long before legal mandates require it.

The Red List

While it includes well-known and obvious hazards like asbestos, BPA, lead and mercury, the Red List also extends all the way to more common and ubiquitous compounds and chemicals, like PVC, wood treatments and VOCs. The list details more than 800 chemicals to be avoided, but it’s also subject to ongoing additions, deletions, and changes. These are the current umbrella categories:

The Red List

Alkylphenols and Related Compounds

Antimicrobials (marketed with a health claim)

Asbestos Compounds

Bisphenol A (BPA) and Structural Analogues

California-Banned Solvents

Chlorinated Polyethylene (CPE) and Chlorosulfonated Polyethlene

Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride (CPVC)

Chlorobenzenes

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Chloroprene (Neoprene)

Chlorosulfonated Polyethylene (CSPE)

Chromium VI

Creosote

Formaldehyde (added)

Halogenated Flame Retardants (HFRs)

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)

Organotin Compounds

Pentachlorophenol Alkylphenols

Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs)

Petrochemical Fertilizers and Pesticides

Phthalates (Orthophthalates)

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

Polyvinylidene Chloride (PVDC)

Short-Chain and Medium-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins

Toxic Heavy Metals

Arsenic

Cadmium

Chromium

Lead (added)

Mercury

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Wet-Applied Products

Wood Treatments Containing Creosote, Arsenic or Pentachlorophenol

 

Our Green Commitment

At CENTRIA, we’ve long been committed to sustainable building practices and materials, and have kept a close eye on the Red List and any materials we use that may contain Red List chemicals. Luckily, metal construction is mostly free from Red-Listed substances. However, when it’s possible to reduce or eliminate Red List chemicals from our products – such as halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) – we strive to do so.

HFR 101

Halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) are added to building products throughout the construction materials industry to inhibit ignition or flame spread in the event of a fire. But they’re also known to contain chlorine and bromine – classified as persistent bioaccumulative toxins, which can accumulate in organisms and the building environment, possibly posing health risks. So we endeavored to replace HFRs from our Formawall Dimension Series products. Launched more than 20 years, Formawall previously used HFRs in its insulating foam core to reduce fire spread risk, but CENTRIA wanted to push the envelope further and find a healthier, more sustainable alternative. This was a voluntary decision, and we were the first in the industry to take it on.

New & Improved

In 2018, we successfully re-introduced the Foam Formawall Dimension Series – free from any Red List chemicals in the panel itself, including HFRs. But can an HFR-free foam still perform well in fire tests? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” The new formulation not only meets National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 285, but surpasses it in every assembly configuration, including both steel stud and steel tube construction. It also meets FM 4882 certification at the highest level for smoke-sensitive environments. “Clean room grade is the highest grade that you can achieve,” said Schessler, “and that's what Formawall achieved.”

 

Better Than Ever

The new HFR-free Formawall configuration retained all the features that set it apart from the competition. It allows unprecedented design freedom with a variety of shapes and colors with unmatched performance while consolidating six wall components into one product – exterior rainscreen, air and moisture barrier, and thermal insulation. It can be quickly and easily installed in vertical or horizontal orientations, with concealed clips, fasteners, and sealants with insulated metal joints. The updated formula is factory foamed in-place, minimizing the potential for gaps within the panel, and integrates seamlessly with most glass wall, window and louver systems – including Formavue Windows.

Formawall now also comes with a health product declaration (HPD) through the HPD Collaborative, can earn credits towards the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, and is UL-listed for both US and Canada. When combined with Fluorofinish Pure, a chromium- and phthalate-free architectural finish system, the panel is entirely free of Red List chemicals – so you can feel confident that you’ve done right by your customer as well as anyone entering the building.

The re-imagined Formawall Dimension Series is just another example of CENTRIA’s commitment to do right by our customers and the environment – and another in a long list of EPD-certified CENTRIA products. To learn more about Formawall or other ways we’re developing long-term solutions to ecological, health and safety concerns, get in touch with a CENTRIA Representative near you.

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Why Get LEED Certified?
Sustainability
Why Get LEED Certified?
June 23, 2021 at 2:53 pm 0

Regarded as the building industry’s gold standard, the U.S. Green Buildings Council LEED certification program offers a long list of economic, health and wellness benefits. From its introduction in 1998 to late 2019, the USGBC had already reached the milestone of registering and certifying 100,000 commercial projects.

The four-tiered system offers a basic certification, silver, gold and platinum, and is based on a 110 point system where buildings can earn credits in eight different categories.

Boosting an organization’s commitment to sustainability and public image, LEED-certified buildings have been proven to deliver significant energy efficiencies and cost savings.

In fact, after analyzing the monthly energy consumption data of more than 175,000 commercial buildings in Los Angeles over a period of seven years, in “The effectiveness of U.S. energy efficiency building labels,” UCLA and Georgia Tech researchers reported 30 percent more energy savings in LEED-certified buildings.

CENTRIA’s Formawall® insulated metal panels and EcoScreen® perforated panels contributed toward a LEED Platinum certification for Mission College’s Student Engagement Center in Santa Clara, Calif.

In another study, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory reports close to 20 percent lower maintenance costs for LEED buildings as compared to a typical commercial building.

Further, a Porter Novelli-conducted survey of more than 1,000 workers found that a high percentage of employees prefer LEED-certified facilities with 79% prioritizing a job in a LEED building and more than 80% reporting enhanced productivity in these settings.

“Studies have found that LEED-certified buildings can help companies attract talented employees,” states Don Catalano, president and CEO of the Melville, N.Y.-based commercial real estate consultant REoptimizer. “Plus, worker satisfaction in LEED-certified offices tends to be high, decreasing employee turnover.”

In one of these studies, “The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function,” Harvard and SUNY researchers found that occupants of high-performing green buildings showed higher cognitive function scores, fewer sick-building symptoms and higher sleep quality scores than workers in high-performing buildings without green certification.

"Green certification, thermal conditions and lighting influenced worker perception of their space as well as their cognitive function,” states Joe Allen, assistant professor at Harvard University’s School of Public Health and co-author of the report. “Good companies know the value of providing a healthy workspace. Healthy buildings are a recruiting tool, after all.”

Metal Panels and LEED

While a number of green building materials, systems and strategies can help building owners qualify for LEED certification, high quality metal roofing and panels are particularly effective toward this end.

In a Metal Construction Association-sponsored continuing education unit on sustainability, Gloria D. Lee, principal, Swift Lee Office Architects, Pasadena, Calif., states, “Metal walls and roof systems contribute to a high-performing building envelope in so many ways.”

The panels are long-lasting, low maintenance, moisture and mold resistant, and thermally efficient, and the roofs offer a high solar reflectance index (SRI) to keep roofs and interiors cooler. Metal roofs can also be integrated with photovoltaic and rainwater harvesting systems for enhanced energy and water efficiencies.

                               CENTRIA’s Formawall® system played an important role in helping Pittsburgh’s Tower 260 achieve LEED Silver certification.

Breaking it Down

For LEED v4’s eight categories, metal walls and panels can directly contribute to credits in four main areas and indirectly in an additional two areas.

Sustainable Sites – By meeting designated initial and three-year aged Solar Reflectance Index values for steep slope and low slope roofs in the Heat Island Effect category, buildings can earn up to 2 points with cool metal roofs and coatings. Because prefabricated metal systems require a minimal staging area, they support the pursuit of an additional point through Site Development. In addition, metal roofs are a great platform for Rainwater Management which can help projects earn up to 3 points.

In turn, rainwater management can contribute to Outdoor Water Use and Indoor Water Use credits in the Water Efficiency category.

Energy and AtmosphereFor Optimize Energy Performance, metal systems can help buildings cash in on a windfall of LEED points. With its high insulating value and thermal performance, insulated metal panels (IMP), for instance, can contribute up to 18 points. As validated through energy models, thermal efficient building enclosures support downsized HVAC systems and reduced electrical loads. Though indirect, metal facades and roofs incorporate windows and skylights, which, along with perforated panels, support up to 3 points in Daylight credits. In addition, metal roofs support PV panels and solar thermal systems to garner up to 3 points for Renewable Energy Production.

Materials and Resources – IMPs can also make a significant contribution in a number of categories here. Starting with Building Life Cycle Impact Reduction, up to 5 credits are available for optimized environmental performance of products, materials and adaptive reuse. Another 3 points are available for performing a Whole-Building Life-Cycle Assessment with the assistance of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which many building product companies, particularly metal panel manufacturers have developed. EPDs can add another point for Building Product Disclosure and Optimization, a category which grants a second point for Sourcing of Raw Materials.

Another subcategory is Material Ingredients where projects can earn one point toward Building Product Disclosure and a second credit via Optimization. With its high recycled content, metal panels are a great advantage here.

For Construction and Demolition Waste Management, prefabricated metal systems significantly reduce waste, contributing up to 2 points.

Indoor Environmental QualityBy specifying products and systems, such as metal walls and roofs with Low-Emitting Materials, another 3 points can be collected here.

Making the Grade

As building owners and architects evaluate many materials, products and systems in their quest to design a LEED-certified building, high quality metal roof and wall panels are a great way to get there.

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