Page 8 - Green Builder July-August 2018 Issue
P. 8
Green Building NEWS
The Latest on Sustainability and Renewable Energy
Building Data’s New No. 1 Source: The Web
One in four consumers now get home improvement info off the internet.
HE INTERNET IS NOW the main way consumers
obtain information about home improvement materials,
surpassing the tried and true method of word-of-mouth
from friends and family. And home improvement retailer
T websites are the most used online source of that data,
according to a report by marketing rm Kleber & Associates. CREDIT: CLAUDIO VENRTRELLAISTOCK
Compared to a previous K&A study conducted nine years ago,
online has jumped from 17 percent to 24 percent, moving it from
third to rst place in terms of resources. Reports tailored to customers
were the only other resource to experience growth—rising from 4 Changing attitudes. Instead of family friendly Q&A, consumers now
percent to 7 percent. prefer to surf the web to get info about home improvement materials and
On the other end of the spectrum, friends and relatives, through green building trends.
word-of-mouth, dropped from 23 percent to 20 percent in how frequent. Members of more-mature generations—baby boomers
often it was used as a resource. Materials such as books, magazines and the Silent Generation—are the least likely to use how-to videos
and home improvement television shows have also declined as key when researching.
information resources. From a marketing standpoint, these ndings make the internet,
The study notes that younger people in general use the internet professional consultations with contractors and consultation
more to gather information, with millennials being far more with friends and family by far the most important resources for
likely to use multiple online sources in their research. Generation communicating information and interest around building materials,
X internet users have similar online research patterns, albeit less the study notes. GB
‘Super Wood,’ Stellar Performance
This modified biomaterial could become
world’s strongest building product.
CIENTISTS AT KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
in Stockholm have created a new biomaterial that they say
turns regular wood into a “super wood” that is stronger
than steel. The nding may one day change the way homes,
S multi-family residences and other structures are built,
according to the institute. CREDIT: KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
The new densied wood—with a tensile strength four times more
than steel and eight times stier—surpasses spider silk as the world’s
strongest biomaterial, KTH lead researcher Daniel Söderberg says. The
bers’ strength exceeds that of metals, alloys, ceramics and E-glass bers.
“This new engineered material can be used in many items including Natural power. Scientists have released data on a “super wood” made of
planes, cars and even furniture,” Söderberg says. Additional research compressed microfibers that rivals steel in terms of strength and durability.
could lead to the product being used on larger structures such as KTH is not the rst team this year to announce creation of a
residential and commercial buildings, he adds. “super wood.” In February, researchers at the University of Maryland
A study on the ndings appears in the science journal ACS Nano released a report about a densication process that creates a structure
(https://bit.ly/2A0Kcsb). that is 12 times stronger than regular lumber. GB
6 GREEN BUILDER July/August 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com
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