Sustainable Building Technical Manual - Etn-presco.net

Resource Efficiency★ S I G N I F I CA N C E.Renovation and construction projects, and maintenance programs are necessary toimprove the nation’s building stock. These efforts depend on reliable sources of qualitybuilding products. Limitations on the availability of some building material resources arebeginning to occur. For some products, prices are rising faster than inflation as the availabilityof raw materials starts to decline. Products selected for construction not only consumeresources and energy, but also produce air and water pollution and solid wasteduring their manufacture. Once installed, they may require maintenance or periodicreplacement. When a building is demolished, the products and materials usually are disposedin landfills. Therefore, building materials that minimize the use of naturalresources and are durable or reusable contribute to sustainable building practices.The materials-selection practices discussed in this section relate to claddings (exterior walls),interior finishes, and furnishings (rather than structural materials) because they requiremaintenance every few years and replacement several times over the life of the building.☛ SUGGESTED PRACTICES AND CHECKLISTI❑ Consider the following criteria in materials selection:– Resource quantity. A fundamental strategy for resource-efficient building is to buildless and use smaller quantities of materials in the construction process. The mostcost-effective conservation strategy is to buy less product, or use the purchased productmore efficiently. For example, gypsum wallboard installation typically results ina lot of scrap material because of sizing needs.– Reused materials. Many durable products such as doors, cabinets, and other easilyremovedmillwork, and some architectural metals and glass, can be readily salvagedand reused. This practice has usually been limited to restoration work, but is becomingmore common in building and renovation projects. Salvaging does require extraeffort, but the quality and cost savings of some salvaged materials can be considerable.The additional labor cost may be entirely or partly offset by savings on newmaterials, transportation, and dumping fees.– Recycled content. Although many building products are now available with a highcontent of recycled materials, there is confusion about the definition of the term.There are at least three types of recycled content materials:a . Postconsumer material, generated by commercial, industrial, and institutionalfacilities or households, and that can no longer be used for its intended purpose.b. Recovered industrial process waste that cannot be reused in the same process,such as slag from metal and mineral smelting.c. Internally recycled materials from a manufacturing process, such as scraps fromtrimming and returned or substandard product.– Renewability and use of sustainable management practices. Renewable materials includewood, plant fibers, wool, and other resources that are potentially replaceable withina limited time period (such as a few decades or less) after harvesting. Information onwood harvested through sustainable management practices is becoming more readilyavailable, including certification programs and standards.– Local content and reduced transportation. Specifying products made with local materialsand labor can contribute to low embodied energy consumption and life-cycle costfor building materials.– Regionally appropriate materials. Some types of construction and materials are moreappropriate in one region than another because of climatic differences. For example,it is well known that utilizing thermal mass in building design has important energyand comfort benefits in the Southwest United States, where daily temperature swings