Sustainable Design Information Now Available at The Concrete Network Web Site
Yucaipa, CA November 3, 2005 – The Concrete Network will debut a new category on its web site (www.concretenetwork.com) dedicated to the applications for concrete in sustainable home design. Homeowners and builders will find a wealth of information and resources on the sustainability benefits of concrete, and get advice on various ways to use concrete as a green building material.
The new category will be written in conjunction with Angela Dean, author of Green by Design. Articles and resources will be provided on a variety of sustainable design topics, including passive solar home design and pervious concrete.
As energy prices continue to soar, passive solar heating and radiant in-floor heating (heating derived from warm water circulated through tubes embedded in a concrete floor) are becoming optimum ways to heat a home. One component of passive solar home design is the use of concrete slabs to store heat. Interior concrete floors, when properly oriented to receive sun exposure through windows, absorb and store the solar heat gain and then release the stored heat at night to warm interior spaces and reduce reliance on other heating systems. In addition to saving energy, passive solar floors offer aesthetic benefits thanks to new advances in decorative staining, dying, and polishing of concrete.
Another sustainable material increasing in use is pervious concrete. As more available land area in the country gets paved over, a larger amount of rainwater ends up calling on impervious surfaces such as driveways, sidewalks, parking lots, and street rather than soaking into the soil. This creates an imbalance in the natural ecosystem and leads to a host of problems including erosion, flash floods, water table depletion, and pollution of rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Pervious concrete pavements capture rainwater in a network of voids and allow it to percolate into the underlying soil. More homeowners, communities, municipalities, and businesses are using pervious concrete rather than asphalt or conventional concrete as a solution for preventing storm water runoff and replenishing local watershed systems.
The Concrete Network also plans to discuss concrete's role in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program and link to other industry resources of value to builders and homeowners concerned about sustainability.
For more information, call The Concrete Network at 866-380-7754, (outside the U.S. 909-389-7754).
