New Service Spotlight: Antron® Brand Life Cycle Impact Calculator From INVISTA

INVISTA, maker of Antron® carpet fiber, now offers an online tool, the Life Cycle Impact (LCI) Calculator. The calculator is designed to show end users the potential energy and greenhouse gas emissions savings that can be achieved by specifying carpet made with Antron® fiber. The LCI calculator provides real world examples of what these energy and greenhouse gas emission reductions equate to and how facility managers (fms) can make a difference through the product choices they make.

“End users have been impressed with our performance data that shows that carpets made with Antron® fiber can last up to 75% longer than the majority of competitive carpets, which can result in up to 38% lower energy consumption and 42% lower greenhouse gas emissions,” said Diane O’Sullivan, global marketing director, commercial interiors, for INVISTA. “We created the Life Cycle Impact Calculator so fms could easily translate the potential energy and greenhouse gas savings into tangible examples that help them, as well as other decision makers in the process, to understand how carpet specification and purchase can affect the environment.”

To obtain the calculations, fms access the calculator, plug in the square yards of carpet installed, and select the energy savings or emissions savings button. The online tool then calculates the total potential energy or emissions savings, based on the projected first life of the carpet, and equates it to real world energy consumption examples such as:

  • Number of homes’ total electricity consumption for one year
  • Number of household refrigerators for one year
  • Number of household microwaves for one year
  • Number of household televisions for one year
  • Number of homes’ lighting for one year
  • Number of homes’ central air conditioners for one year
  • Automobiles’ CO2 emissions for one year

Data for calculating the real world example equivalencies for the energy and greenhouse gas emissions savings is based on U.S. Department of Energy data on residential consumption of electricity by end use.

The comparative calculations are based on the relative life of the majority of North American competitive commercial/contract carpets compared to Antron® nylon carpets of similar weight, color, and construction. The resulting reduction in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions is due to the reduced need for replacement and additional manufacturing.

The calculations include assessments of the face fiber, backing materials, carpet manufacturing, transportation of the fiber and finished carpet, and routine scheduled maintenance for 15 years. It also assumes industry average face weight, backing weight, and backing type prevalence for commercial/contract carpets.