The benefits and drawbacks of fencing materials

Fencing is an often overlooked but essential element of any home, a freestanding structure that can be used to delineate land; it can keep pets from running away, it can prevent those pesky neighbours from intruding into your personal space and most importantly it can prevent children from dangers you wouldn’t even think about.

There are many aspects to ponder when you consider fencing; however the paramount concern is the materials.

A good choice of fencing material can be the difference between viewing it as a fence, an enclosure or thing of beauty! Often the difference between fences is about the amount of environmental damage they do over their lifetime.

• Softwood timber fences offer a very traditional material for fencing – who doesn’t dream of the white picket or ‘lapped and capped’ paling fence?
• Rendered brick fences are solid, and the structure is ideal for durability.
• Steel fences offer designer colours and are quick to install.

Here are some advantages and disadvantages of common fencing materials:

	Advantages	Disadvantages
Softwood Timber	·       Sustainably harvested ( If AFS or FSC certified)·       Easy installation·       Damaged sections can be easily replaced·       Can use locally harvested wood to increase environmental ‘friendliness’·       Renewable resource ·       Lowest embodied impacts if sustainably sourced ·       Can employ environmentally benign preservatives e.g. Copper and Quaternary Ammonium or ‘ACQ’ but usually don’t because its more expensive ·       Low cost	·       Medium durability (comparatively)·       Vulnerable to pests (unless preserved)·       Often in cheaper products damaging preservative chemicals are used e.g. Copper, Chrome & Arsenic i.e. ‘CCA’ treated.
Rendered brick	·       Longest durability·       Recyclable and reusable if the correct mortars are used·       Eliminates the need for paints etc. And thus resulting maintenance and environmental toxins	·       Bricks are energy intensive to make·       Susceptible to soil movement if only a reinforced concrete footing.·       Highest cost
Steel	·       Light and highly durable·       Easily and readily recycled and reusable·       Little Maintenance·       Lowest transport energy	·       Medium cost (comparatively)·       Can be easily dented and scratched

Whilst these three are arguably the most dominant materials used for fencing, the Ecospecifier website presents a wider range of environmentally sustainable fencing options to provide you with the most informed choice, not simply just the dominant materials.

For example, as a quick overview of timber was explored in this article, you can now go to Ecospecifier’s website and choose Cedar Sales – Screening and know this product has passed a Global GreenTag Platinum Certification on one of the world’s most stringent environmental standards, for its environmentally sustainable features.

Explore more about the product ranges that have been eco-certified and listed by Ecospecifier, by using the Product Search Engine on Ecospecifier Global: http://www.ecospecifier.com.au

 

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The health benefits of correct lighting

The quality of light affects people in many different ways. Studies have shown that appropriate lighting layouts can increase the attractiveness of homes, correct room lighting can sometimes make the difference between happiness and sadness and correct lighting is needed to do anything past sunset without creating health impacts of some sort.

Lighting is also the third largest generator of greenhouse gas emissions in the home so has an impact on our personal ‘climate change’ impact. Given that we all know how important that we take action on climate change immediately, this is at least one factor that you can have immediate impact on. So…with such an important issue as lighting, how do you decide on the type of lighting most suited for you and best for your family and the planet?

Fortunately Ecospecifier.com.au has an extensive range of products that are all verified or certified against sustainability standards so next time you are shopping, think Ecospecifier and explore through our listings of green products and technologies.

The hardest step is always the first step, so let’s make this step towards sustainability a little one and begin with lighting.

The traditional incandescent light bulb used to be the typical light bulb in any given home environment, but was basically banned some years ago by the federal government. However fancy and coloured bulbs are typically still incandescent and today more ‘efficient’ versions have been created, but they are still poor by comparison to other types. These light bulbs use a large amount of energy required for its operation due to its inefficient nature and relatively short lifespan (only up to 1000 hours), they can also be dangerous as the temperatures on the bulb can reach in excess of 140 degrees Celsius!

Therefore, there are several benefits to completely eliminating the use of incandescent and tungsten light bulbs in your home. Foremost is the direct financial savings in your power bills; you will also be doing your part in reducing the effect of manmade climate change and reducing the emission of serious toxics like mercury that are emitted alongside the carbon dioxide when coal is burnt.

Today there are many highly efficient lamp alternatives that are equivalent in light output to all conventional lighting types, including ‘low voltage’ tungsten lamps. Do note, however, that ‘low voltage’ does not equate to energy efficient – these lamps are almost as bad as incandescent and usually there are a lot more used in any given area.

Fluorescents and compact fluorescents are now relatively cheap and energy efficient, but come with a toxic load of mercury in every one. Please note that broken fluorescent tubes or bulbs can emit a mercury containing toxic powder and formally all fluorescent lamps must be either recycled at the Council depot or disposed of in a hazardous waste dump, with terrible consequences for the environment.

However examples of clean, highly efficient new Light Emitting Diode (LED) light technology are easily found and can be seen in ‘View Lights’ –LED Down lights and ‘Bright Green’ D900 Cube and other super efficient LED lamps and fittings (listed on Ecospecifier.com.au). View Lights are an energy efficient LED down light, and perfectly suited for residential applications.

Consuming significantly less energy than halogen or incandescent lighting, LED lighting contains no mercury and also produces significantly less heat than comparable lighting systems to have an overall efficient green lighting scheme for any home.

Current third generation LED Lighting has come far from earlier LED technology – that meant consumers once had to choose between an effective light and a ‘green’ light. Fortunately, this is no longer the case if you choose wisely. Choosing green no longer results in low quality lighting and indeed brings many benefits. There is really no excuse to delay any longer and converting to these wiser and greener choices. They are a little more expensive, but the energy pay back is worth is, as they last 50 -100 times longer than any other form of bulb (50-100,000 hours).

Explore more about the product ranges that have been eco-certified and listed by Ecospecifier, by using the Product Search Engine on Ecospecifier Global: http://www.ecospecifier.com.au

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What Are Green Roofs?

A green roof or otherwise known as a living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproof membrane. Green roofs often also include a root barrier layer, drainage layer and, where the climate necessitates, an irrigation system. They have multiple environmental benefits at a variety of scales. Benefits for individual buildings include increased roof life, insulating properties that lead to greater energy efficiency through reduced summer cooling and winter heating costs and attenuation of inside and outside noise levels.

Green roofs have two different categorisation; intensive and extensive. Intensive, with deep growing medium, irrigation, grasses, shrubs, trees, and on slopes less than 3%, traditionally support 50 to 120 kg/m2 of vegetation. Labelled intensive as this category of green roofing is labour-intensive, requiring feeding and other up keep maintenance; these are commonly used for easy access and may include such vegetation as kitchen herbs.

Extensive, with less than 300mm depth of growing medium, minimal irrigation with hardy, low growing plants and ground cover species, with slopes up to 30% and usually support 390 to 730 kg/m2 of soil/media and vegetation. Extensive green roofs, by contrast, are designed to be virtually self-sustaining and should require only a minimum of maintenance, perhaps a once-yearly weeding or an application of slow-release fertiliser to boost growth. Extensive roofs are usually only accessed for maintenance and are typically 750-1500kg/m2 depending on soil thickness and type.

Plant selection was more important than other choices for green roof profile structure. It is common to use native species because of their real and perceived benefits, such as their longevity without the use of pesticides, fertilizers, or irrigation. While plants could not actually be native to rooftops, many plant species have evolved in extreme environments and are adapted to green roof conditions. However, native species are not necessarily more successful on green roofs than non-native species.

Explore more about the product ranges that have been eco-certified and listed by Ecospecifier, by using the Product Search Engine on Ecospecifier Global: http://www.ecospecifier.com.au

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Traditional Norweigen grass roof house - photo by Kjetil Bjørnsrud

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Glass: How It Affects You, Your View And Your Energy Bills

Part 1 … Glass Technology

Glass is generally transparent and so common, most of the time we forget that it is even there, but glass can have a major impact on your home’s light and heat levels, making it dark or light, hot or cold, just as a result of the glass choice during construction or renovation. So how do we choose the best glass for our needs? Its best to first understand the basics.

Made from three of earths most basic materials glass is an advancing technology that is constantly taken for granted. The most common glass today is single pane float glass. It is very clear, but also very poor thermally, so homes with single glazing will generally be hotter and colder or use more energy than homes with more advanced glass.

Glass technology has advanced in leaps and bounds in recent years. When fitting out the home or office, there is an array of choices depending on your preferences and needs: if you want to limit sound, increase warmth or keep cool, reduce UV penetration or require safety glass there are literally hundreds to choose from. Glass not only allows natural daylight inside and allows occupants to view out, but the choice of glass can influence energy consumption, personal comfort, the success of indoor plant life and has a large potential cost impact.

It is also important to understand the full lifecycle of glass to identify its impacts on the environment. Different to ‘bottle glass’, the three raw materials used in window glass consist of sand, soda ash and limestone. Glass grade sand is one of the fundamental ingredients in glass and is typically mined in ecologically sensitive environments.

Glass dust, a by-product of manufacturing, can be hazardous to humans if inhaled. However; after manufacturing, glass does not emit any toxics or pollutants and is potentially recyclable (although not often is). Some glass (usually with a slight green tint or darker) contain recycled glass content. Every 1000 kg’s of glass waste recycled into new products saves 315 kilograms of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere during the process of creating new glass.

Explore more about the product ranges that have been eco-certified and listed by Ecospecifier, by using the Product Search Engine on Ecospecifier Global: http://www.ecospecifier.com.au

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