green products

Green walls – more than just painted green.

As the call for action increases to address man-made climate change, one might think ‘what can I do’? There are at least four walls to each house, it may not immediately come to mind, but these walls can be perfect support for living ‘green walls’.

Green walls are landscaped surfaces partially or completely covered with a variety of vegetation that typically include plants, growing media and a water/fertiliser delivery system.

Research has shown that green walls can reduce energy requirements (both heating costs in the winter and cooling costs in the summer); improve air quality (whether inside or out) and increase property and amenity values. These are a few of the benefits of green walls; for an extensive overview of the benefits of indoor plants, click here.

Although traditionally Australia has trailed behind other countries (e.g. Canada, Germany and the U.S.A.) we have vast potential and now some of the world’s largest examples of commercial green walls and an explosion of home-based green wall installations.

Due to the unique demands place upon the vegetation used in green walls, low growing succulents and drought tolerant perennials are often used; this includes many Australian plants. It may seem intimidating when considering a fundamentally different style of wall than you have had previously, however a good start is with Ecospecifier.com.au’s rich and extensive database of sustainable, ‘green’ products; this includes green wall components, installers and much more.

Elmich – Green Roofs & Wall systems is a perfect example of what Ecospecifier has to offer. This product is an effective green roofing and wall system that has been proven to have multiple benefits such as reduced water run-off, reduce demand on cooling and improved air quality.

Whilst there are disadvantages of green walls (primarily the expense and level of maintenance required); green products are the way of the future. They may seem intimidating and mysterious at first, but with Ecospecifier even the greyest areas of understanding can be explained. Green products are the way of the future and what better way to become green than with green walls!

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

Join us in more conversations about green products and sustainability issues on our social media pages:

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Like, Comment and Share our blogs and posts on your social media pages … and we will send your name out to more than 15,000 subscribers via our monthly Ecospecifier Global Newsletter.

See which stellar individuals, businesses and networks made the latest Honour Roll on Twitter and Facebook HERE We salute you in helping us educate and help more people #MaketheSwitch to #EcoResponsible products.

timber

Before You Say Timber! Take Care Of The Ecosystem First

Timber comes in many different species and is cut to countless shapes and sizes but the single most important environmental factor in choosing the most suitable timber for you is whether it is sustainably harvested or not.

Sustainably harvested timber is timber that has been harvested and cultivated utilizing methods to minimise impacts on their ecosystems, including plants, animals, rivers and local society.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC) are both not-for-profit, membership-based organizations that promote:

  • Environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the worlds forest (FSC) and;
  • Global sustainable forest management (PEFC). The Australian scheme recognised by PEFC is the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS).

These organizations affix certification labels on products that have met their stringent criteria and they deem sustainably harvested.

When you buy products carrying these labels your purchase is assisting in supporting healthy forests, strong communities and the future viability of this planet.

If you purchase timber that is not harvested sustainably, you are directly supporting methods of extraction that may lead to the loss of critical ecosystem services.

To do your bit and help this planet survive, look for the FSC and PEFC/AFS certification logos on all future timber based products.

Ecospecifier.com.au has a rich and extensive database of a wide variety of timber based products all in one convenient place.

So next time you are browsing for wood based products, think sustainable, think Ecospecifier.

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

Join us in more conversations about green products and sustainability issues on our social media pages:

Follow Ecospecifier on Facebook

Follow Ecospecifier on Twitter

Follow Ecospecifier on LinkedIn

Join our Social Media Honour Roll – support the switch to green products

Like, Comment and Share our blogs and posts on your social media pages … and we will send your name out to more than 15,000 subscribers via our monthly Ecospecifier Global Newsletter.

See which stellar individuals, businesses and networks made the latest Honour Roll on Twitter and Facebook HERE We salute you in helping us educate and help more people #MaketheSwitch to #EcoResponsible products.