BuildingGreen has announced its annual Top-10 Products list for 2015.

The awards recognize products that BuildingGreen, the publisher of Environmental Building News, says are “fundamental transformations to ‘business as usual’ in the design and construction industry.”

Here’s the list as described by BuildingGreen:

• Elka Home furnishings.The company manufactures sofas and chairs from materials such as natural latex and certified organic fabrics that require no chemical flame retardants.
• FocalPoint bioretention system. The high flow-rate system is designed to offer stormwater filtering on a very small footprint, ideal for urban areas where there isn’t enough room to put conventional swales.
• Prosoco Cat 5 Air-Barrier System. The Cat 5 system includes a fluid-applied air barrier, flashing, and filler, all based on chemistry that has no solvents or isocyanurates, and no phthalate plasticizers. BuildingGreen calls the system one of the best in its class.
• Clean-Energy Collective. The collective develops photovoltaic facilities around the United States to give people access to PV electricity when they couldn’t otherwise afford the panels, or have room to install them.
• Cascadia Clip thermal spacers. These fiberglass spacers allow the installation of siding over insulation that’s applied to the outside of a building. They come in several sizes to handle insulation thicknesses from 2 in. to 6 in.
• Marvin Passive Building windows. Although not the first U.S. manufacturer to offer Passivhaus certified windows, Marvin was the first major U.S. maker to win certification from the Passive House Institute U.S. The aluminum-clad windows are made from wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
• Johns Manville. Its ENRGY 3.E polyiso insulation is made without halogenated flame retardants. The company says the roofing insulation meets Class A fire-rating requirements and has a higher R-value and compressive strength than its standard polyiso.
• USAI Lighting. USAI’s Color Select technology gives building occupants control over the color and intensity of interior lighting, with color temperatures ranging from a warm 2200K to a very cool 6000K. Lights can be dimmed to 0.1 percent of potential output.
• KI furniture. Beginning next year, the commercial furniture manufacturer will offer two chair lines made from a type of plastic called AirCarbon, whose raw ingredients come from agricultural methane rather than petroleum.
• Multistack chillers. Multistack’s MagLev chillers for cooling big commercial spacers use compressors whose shafts are supported by magnetic levitation, sharply reducing friction and increasing efficiency. The compressors require very little maintenance and don’t need lubricating oil.

Fine Homebuilding Recommended Products

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8067 All-Weather Flashing Tape

Available in 2- to 12-in. widths, this is a good general-purpose flashing tape that sticks well to most things. It features a two-piece release paper, water-shedding layers, and good UV resistance.

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Reliable Crimp Connectors

These reliable, high-quality connectors from Wirefy work on 10-22-gauge wire have heat-shrink insulation to keep out water and road salt.

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Handy Heat Gun

This heat gun is great for drying joint compound, primer and paint when patching drywall and plaster walls. Plus it can soften adhesive, get a very cold small engine to start, and shrink heat-shrink tubing.

Buy at Amazon