February 5, 2008

Hearth & Home Technologies (Heat-N-Glo, Heatilator, & Quadrafire)Announces Membership in USGBC

Who is USGBC?
The U.S. Green Building Council is a coalition of more than 11,500 member organizations from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.

Why do we participate?
HHT has demonstrated leadership in the fireplace category over the years.  This membership with USGBC supports our position as the strongest line of environmentally friendly hearth systems that provide energy efficient performance, heating comfort and healthy indoor air quality.  Our manufacturing system has demonstrated respect for environmental concerns as evidenced by the coveted Shingo Prize for lean business practices at our Lake City and Mt. Pleasant facilities.

What is LEED?
The LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.  Members of the U.S. Green Building Council representing all segments of the building industry developed LEED and continue to contribute to its evolution.

The LEED Green Building Rating System™ encompasses rating systems that apply to the complete life cycle of commercial and institutional buildings, including new construction, operations and maintenance, core and shell, and commercial interiors, with special applications guides for specific building types like the LEED for Homes rating system for single family homes (released January 2008).  This residential rating system can be viewed or downloaded at their website usgbc.org or at this link...
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=147#2008

In a nutshell, the green practices that yield points for building certification in the fireplace category include:

-  Gas fireplace, stove or insert (UL Listed) with sealed combustion and direct or power venting.  Electronic (not standing) pilot takes it from 1 point to 2 points.
-  Wood burning fireplace, stove or insert with an EPA 40 label.  A back-draft potential test P<5 Pascals will take it from 1 point to 2 points.
-  Pellet stove is EPA certified to ASTM E 1509-04.  If it is direct or power vented, it will take it from 1 point to 2 points.
-  Masonry wood-burning fireplaces must be masonry heaters certified to ASTM E-1602 (with heat exchanger).  A back-draft potential test P<5 Pascals will take it from 1 point to 2 points.
-  Unvented fireplaces or decorative gas logs do not qualify.