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Smog-Eating Buildings and the Snackwell’s Effect

Is Technology the Answer?

The development of new green building technologies can be tremendously exciting, but it can also be a distraction that takes us away from a core focus. A few months ago we saw the introduction of “smog-eating” roof tiles by MonierLifeTiles that are being deployed on all of KB Home’s California projects. In May we saw ALCOA introduce its Reynobond^® with EcoClean™ architectural panels that purportedly clean themselves and the air around it.

For us green building geeks, this is exciting and fun stuff.  Both use titanium dioxide for air cleaning purposes. MLT uses it as a sunlight-reactive agent roofing product that interacts with smog molecules (nitrogen oxides, or NOx) and converts it to a harmless calcium compound that is washed off by rain.  EcoClean is also a titanium dioxide product that is applied to pre-painted aluminum panels. NOx is captured and converted on a super-slick surface and then washed off with rain or small amounts of humidity.

Okay, so cool technology, right? And technology that can help create mainstream momentum and visibility for green building products, jobs, etc. (Note:  I’m waiting for these two to sue each other because they seem quite similar).  And the products have both been tested by outside labs and the results verified -- MLT can legitimately claim that 2,000 square feet of tile can destroy the amount of NOx produced by a car that drives 10,800 miles. Likewise, 10,000 square feet of the EcoClean product negates the emissions of “4 cars per day,” offering an “air cleaning effect” of 80 trees per day.

But this is false security. The focus on and promotion of this kind of technology by itself is a distraction that ultimately can encourage greater energy consumption. You’ve heard of the Snackwell’s® effect, where test subjects felt they could guiltlessly eat more of the fat-free cookies because they thought manufacturers had eliminated the harmful ingredient. These product introductions – some of the most successful food launches in history -- resulted in no greater health benefits to the population. Nabisco’s^® current Snackwell’s^® tagline? “They let you be bad and still be good.”

In the same way, these green building technology developments, while admirable, are Snackwell’s-type solutions that in themselves do not address the key issue confronting us: less consumption of fossil fuel to begin with. The risk is that more people will believe that a single product can be a savior, and that technology will ultimately bail us all out. “I’ll just drive to work today because smog eating tiles are popular in California,” or “The building down the road uses the new siding, that’s like 80 more trees around here. Let’s take down the trees in the backyard.” Maybe not totally realistic, but you can see the thought process.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against new technology -- these will be helpful products. What’s needed is a more holistic approach, where smog-eating tiles and air-cleaning buildings are one piece of a larger, nationally backed strategic solution that hits the environmental and climate change problem from every angle: education, conservation, renewables, remediation, and restoration. Only with such an approach can we stop justifying our fuel-dependent energy habits and solve the challenge ahead of us.

®Reynobond and EcoClean are trademarks of the ALCOA company. Snackwell’s is a trademark of the Nabisco Company.

View this Smog Eating Roof Tile Video 

About the Author

Tom Breunig

Tom Breunig, director of marketing, joined EAI in 2009 from the high tech industry. He brings 20 years of marketing, communications and competitive research to the team. Prior to joining EAI, he served as vice president of corporate communications at a publicly held European semiconductor firm. He holds an M.A. in East Asian Studies from Columbia University. His interests include tracking green building technology trends.