Energy efficiency upgrades in multifamily properties offer benefits to residents including lower utility bills, but some of the materials used in these projects to better insulate buildings can create health hazards.
A new report by Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA)—Making Affordable Multifamily Housing More Energy Efficient: A Guide to Healthier Upgrade Materials—offers a comprehensive guide for builders and policymakers in the use of readily available, healthier insulation and sealing materials. It includes policy frameworks to accelerate these materials’ adoption and improve air quality.
Currently, contractors and building owners are most focused on boosting efficiency performance levels of insulation and air sealing specifications with less consideration for the potential air quality impact of materials such as spray foam and modified polymer and polyurethane sealants. These materials commonly contain isocyanates, flame retardants, and phthalates that have been linked to health problems.
There are opportunities to promote healthier retrofit materials through green standards, but a broad industry discussion is needed to build consensus around a common approach, according to an article at the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the most common financing source for building, renovating, and retrofitting affordable multifamily housing, for example, is a key driver in materials decisions. It could be used to promote the use of healthier insulating materials.
Related Stories
| Jul 19, 2012
Bayview Property Managers agrees to record $800,000 building code fine
A San Francisco property-management company has agreed to pay a record $800,000 civil fine for hundreds of building code violations at rental properties.
| Jul 19, 2012
Glass ‘biodome’ helps Parkview Green FangCaoDi project in Beijing achieve LEED Platinum
A glass envelope acting as a kind of biodome encapsulates four mixed-use towers at Parkview Green FangCaoDi, an 800,000 sf mixed-use development in Beijing. The glass structure helped the development to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
| Jul 19, 2012
UMass-Boston's Bevington: 'Financing alternatives crucial to energy-efficiency upgrades'
It’s conceivable that innovation in project finance can do for building efficiency in the coming century what 30-year mortgages did for home ownership in the last, this article asserts.
| Jul 19, 2012
NYC eases building code to create ‘micro apartments’ in Kips Bay
New York City has implemented a program to encourage construction of "micro-apartments" in the Big Apple, where rents are exorbitant and the number of singles is on the rise.
| Jul 19, 2012
NRCA: Roofing insulation performance, local climate keys to computing R-value
To minimize the loss of thermal resistance in design, the R-value of roof insulation should be computed based on the actual performance of the insulation material and the local climate, says the National Roofing Contractors Association.
| Jul 16, 2012
Business school goes for maximum vision, transparency, and safety with fire rated glass
Architects were able to create a 2-hour exit enclosure/stairwell that provided vision and maximum fire safety using fire rated glazing that seamlessly matched the look of other non-rated glazing systems.
| Jul 12, 2012
Federal budget chief to explain impact of pending defense cuts before Congress
Office of Management and Budget Director Jeffrey Zients is scheduled to testify before the House Armed Services Committee Aug. 1 to explain the possible effects of $500 billion in defense cuts on U.S. companies, including those in the design and construction industry.
| Jul 12, 2012
Pennsylvania legislature moves to prevent undocumented workers on public construction projects
Legislation to prevent undocumented workers from being hired by construction companies working on state-funded projects passed the Pennsylvania Legislature.
| Jul 12, 2012
New York’s One Bryant Park Bank of America tower is first new high-rise to achieve LEED Platinum
The new One Bryant Park Bank of America tower in midtown Manhattan is the first new commercial high-rise to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
| Jul 12, 2012
OSHA launches campaign to prevent heat illness
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched its 2012 Heat Illness Prevention Campaign to educate employees and their employers about the hazards of working outdoors in heat, and how to prevent heat-related illnesses.