In August 2013, Green Builder Magazine showcased the best durable/sustainable green building products that are made in the United States, pointing out that American manufacturing creates domestic jobs, reduces the impact of overseas shipping, and often makes use of locally-sourced raw materials.

Among the thirty-one products featured was the Xero Flor Green Roof System (the only green roof system to be included in the issue), which enables builders to create vegetative roofing on surfaces that range from 0 to 45 degree slopes. The Xero Flor system comprises a pre-vegetated mat, XeroTerr growing medium (a mix of compost and porous mineral aggregate), a retention fleece that distributes and stores water within the root zone, drain mat, and root barrier.

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Students who participated in last semester’s Renewable Energy and Ecological Design (REED) at Green Mountain College (GMC) have designed solar-powered garage that won them a $50,000 grant to build it from the E2 Energy to Educate program sponsored by the Exelon Company, Constellation.

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SAGE Electrochromics, which was recently acquired to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Saint-Gobain of Paris, is demonstrating its newly developed advanced dynamic glass that it calls “SageGlass” at the 2013 BAU, the “World’s Leading Trade Fair for Architecture, Materials, Systems” in Munich. Read more »

Barn Light Electric has announced its launch a a new line of lighting fixtures that utilize innovative LED technology from Cree, Inc., an innovator in LED lighting.

Barn Light is combining its vintage-styled lighting with energy-efficient, low-maintenance LEDs. Cree provides a proprietary TrueWhite® technology that transmits a warm light similar to traditional incandescent bulbs.

“While LED lighting is hardly new, many people are unclear on all of the benefits of using LEDs,” said Scott Dodson, Project Manager and LED Liaison at Barn Light Electric. “When you invest in LED lighting, it may cost more up front than incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, but you’ll start saving money, through reduced energy consumption and lower maintenance costs, the minute you flip the switch.” Read more »

Atlas Block, a manufacturer of concrete products based in Ontario, has signed a licensing agreement with CarbonCure, an emerging leader in science-based concrete technology for green building, to manufacture low-carbon concrete that will significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the concrete industry.

Several months have been spent testing the bolt-on technology from CarbonCure at the Atlas Block Hillsdale plant. The method sequesters carbon dioxide into the concrete during the manufacturing process. CO2 waste is consumed during concrete production to transform it into solid limestone, thus creating a better concrete product. Read more »