By Lena Babaeva Coradini

Let the “end of the year” countdowns begin!  BuildingGreen announces its top ten green building products of 2009:

1. Pozzotive Plus CMUs and Concrete Brick from Kingston Block - Pozzotive Plus concrete masonry units (CMUs) and concrete facing brick are manufactured using up to 30% post-consumer recycled glass as a portland cement substitute and an average of 50% post-consumer recycled masonry aggregate from local sources in the Northeast.
2. Thermafiber Mineral Wool Insulation Products - Thermafiber makes a variety of mineral-fiber insulation products from pre-consumer recycled iron-ore slag for commercial and residential thermal, sound attenuation, and fire-resistant construction applications.
3. Invelope Integrated Wall Insulation and Rainscreen System - Invelope steel and foam panels create a weather-tight backup wall system for metal-framed commercial buildings. Invelope provides a moisture and vapor barrier, drainage plane, and insulation—as well as a mounting system for brick veneer or terra cotta cladding—all in one panel system.
4. Baltix Recycled- and Biobased-Content Office Furniture - Baltix commercial furniture is made with a wide range of green materials, including sunflower seed hulls, wheat straw, FSC-certified bamboo, FSC-certified MDF and veneers, and recycled plastics and paper.
5. Project FROG Modular Green Classroom - Project FROG designs and custom-fabricates modular classrooms and other commercial buildings that feature high-performance envelopes, natural daylighting, high-efficiency mechanical systems, healthy materials, and green components.
6. Rheem HP-50 Heat-Pump Water Heater - The Rheem HP-50 is an Energy Star-listed, heat-pump water heater with an integral 50-gallon tank. Intended for residential use, the HP-50 operates in three modes: Energy Saver, Normal and Electric Heat Only modes.
7. Convia Energy-Management Infrastructure - Convia, a Herman Miller company, has partnered with cabling and distribution leader Wiremold to offer a modular energy management platform that integrates lighting, switches, occupancy sensors, timers, and other devices and links them to sophisticated controls capable of monitoring and adjusting a building’s overall energy performance.
8. Pentadyne GTX Flywheel Energy Storage - Pentadyne’s GTX flywheel is a short-duration energy storage product used to replace batteries in uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in data centers, healthcare, manufacturing, and other commercial applications.
9. Silva Cell Subsurface Tree Protection and Stormwater System - The Silva Cell is a modular system that holds soil for tree growth and stormwater management, while supporting paved surfaces. Growing trees in urban areas can reduce the urban heat island effect, non-point-source pollution, and flooding, while replenishing oxygen and connecting us with the natural environment.
10. Mobile Solar Power Generator - Mobile Solar Power manufactures a range of portable solar-powered generators that integrate PV panels, inverters, charge controllers, and lead-acid storage batteries into a self-contained trailer that keeps all components other than the PV modules fully protected and out of the elements.