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One Small Step to LEED Certification: Improving Indoor Air Quality
9/14/2011 |
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One simple choice to improve a facility's sustainability profile and obtain LEED credits is to improve indoor air quality through the use of near-zero VOC floor coatings. Indoor air quality is often much worse than outdoor air quality due to toxins contained in paint, walls, furniture, clothing, etc. Many cleaning and maintenance products also emit toxic gases, such as VOCs and formaldehyde. These gases can have a detrimental impact on occupants' health, as well as their productivity.
LEED's Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) compliance seeks to reduce the use of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and other air impurities such as microbial contaminants. By simply choosing materials and interior finish products with zero or low VOC emissions, indoor air quality improves, and this will result in obtaining LEED credits to qualify for LEED certification.
Improving your IAQ: UV-Curable Floor Coatings
Many traditional floor coatings are multi-component systems that tend to have high volatile organic content (VOC) and have an uncomfortable odor during installation. Recently, however, advances in UV (ultraviolet light)-curable coatings, have been made that address the shortcomings of these traditional coating systems.
Cured with radiant light energy, UV coatings are 100% solids or waterborne, with low to near-zero VOCs and a mild odor. Since there is no mixing, waste is minimized. Other benefits include easy cleanability, strong chemical and abrasion resistance, and an instant cure that delivers extremely fast return to service.
UV-curable floor coatings are quickly becoming a preferred choice for improving a facility's IAQ. UVolve® Instant Floor Coatings, a DSM brand, is a UV-curable coating for concrete that currently supports projects in obtaining LEED credits. UVolve® Instant Floor Coatings is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
For more information on UVolve® Instant Floor Coatings, or to find a local UVolve® Approved Applicator, log onto: www.UVolveCoatings.com.
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