Daylight-Mimicking LEDs, Recycled Concrete Net Green Building Grants

PITTSBURGH, PA — Lights that copy daylight and concrete made with recycled materials are on the receiving end of grants from the Green Building Alliance.

The group's latest round of Product Innovation Grants divvies up $250,000 among five projects. The grants, which have now given out more than $1.2 million to 24 projects, are intended to push green building products into the marketplace and boost manufacturing in Pennsylvania.

Thar Geothermal and Energy Wall were each awarded $100,000. Thar Geothermal is working on a ground-scale geothermal heat pump that uses carbon dioxide to move heat. The grant will help it, along with Carnegie Mellon University, implement and evaluate a commercial-scale pump.

Energy Wall will work with Pennsylvania State University in making and testing a passive heat and moisture transfer membrane for ventilation air recovery.

Drexel University will get $20,000 to develop LED lighting that matches seasonal daylight, and it will work with Appalachian Lighting and other partners on the projects.

Drexel is also working with EcoBuilt Efficient Buildings, which is receiving $20,000 to test and marker MaqCrete, insulating masonry blocks made with recycled post-industrial materials.

Lastly, Pennsylvania State University was awarded $10,000 for investigating, along with USA Gypsum, using recycled gypsum in concrete, which would divert drywall from going to landfill.

LED lights - CC license by fdecomite/Flickr

Congratulations to the

Rob Krebs (not verified), June 1, 2011 - 07:23

Congratulations to the winners. How a wall and the building envelope performs over its lifetime can affect a building's energy use much much more than solar orientation, lights that mimic daylight, or recycled concrete. These are wonderful steps forward but just a snapshot of a building's beginnings. Polyurethane Foam insulation, similar to that used in refrigerators can seal and help the wall perform better its whole 70 year life, lessening the energy needed to heat and cool the interior over its life cycle and therefore carry more weight in contributing to a green home.

Rob Krebs
American Chemistry Council
www.greenbuildingsolutions.org
www.facebook.com/greenbuildingsolutions

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Daylight-Mimicking LEDs, Recycled Concrete Net Green Building Grants

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Congratulations to the

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