Aquatherm ‘LEEDs’ by Obtaining EPD

This puts Aquatherm in a unique leadership position with regard to environmentally friendly piping systems for North American building applications.

The type III product-specific EPD was developed in compliance with international environmental management guidelines (ISO 14025) and benchmarks the impacts of Aquatherm Green Pipe®, Aquatherm Blue Pipe®, Aquatherm Lilac Pipe®, Aquatherm Red Pipe®, and Aquatherm Black System® for potable water, mechanical HVAC, hydronic, reclaimed water, fire sprinkler and industrial piping applications.

NSF Sustainability reviewed and verified the life-cycle assessment (LCA) (on which the EPD is based) and EPD documents to ensure no unsubstantiated claims were made and the EPD followed all applicable rules. This will enable designers and specifiers seeking LEED points to utilize Aquatherm’s PP-R pressure piping systems under the Building Products Disclosure and Optimization credit of LEED v4 being implemented in 2016. Furthermore, the study will allow Aquatherm to identify key impact drivers as well as the greatest opportunities for improvement throughout the supply chain.

LEED v4 is expected to be implemented in October; to qualify for points under the Building Product Disclosure and Optimization, designers will be required to show EPDs for at least 20 different permanently installed products throughout the building that have this type III product-specific listing. Aquatherm is the only piping system for in-building applications to possess this listing in North America, which carries double the weight of a generic industry EPD in terms of LEED value.

EPDs are increasingly used across many industries by product manufacturers to provide transparent environmental data to building owners, architects, engineers, contractors and consumers. This EPD is based on a product-specific LCA prepared by thinkstep AG that identifies the life-cycle environmental impacts of Aquatherm’s various polypropylene piping systems. This positions Aquatherm as leader in the piping industry and provides transparent environmental impact data to builders and municipalities for building and construction standards, such as the Envision™ Sustainable Infrastructure certification and other green-building and sustainability programs.

The LCA was generated by an independent third-party and is available to engineers wanting to utilize green products in their designs. It demonstrates benefits in these areas:
GWP – global warming potential
AP – acidification potential
EP – eutrophication potential
ODP – ozone depletion potential
SFP – smog formation potential
PED – primary energy demand

Aquatherm products are increasingly being specified as the piping system of choice in a huge range of applications. Aquatherm Green Pipe is especially suited for potable water and food-grade applications; Aquatherm Blue Pipe is designed for heating and chilled water, condenser water, and industrial and chemical process systems; Aquatherm Lilac Pipe is intended for non-potable, reclaimed, or recycled water, rainwater catchment, and irrigation systems; Aquatherm Red Pipe is designed for light-hazard fire-suppression systems; and Aquatherm Black System is a radiant panel system used to provide energy-efficient radiant heating and cooling for any size building, from single-family homes to commercial applications. Aquatherm – We’ve got a pipe for that.

To view the EPD, please visit: http://info.nsf.org/Certified/Sustain/ProdCert/EPD10069.pdf. To visit the entire list of NSF EPDs, visit: http://info.nsf.org/Certified/Sustain/listings.asp?ProdCat=EPD.