How Do Metal Buildings Help With Energy Savings?

Sustainability is an increasingly important point to consider when designing a new building.

A metal building is a sustainable solution that can be custom-designed to meet your needs. It's one of the reasons why metal buildings are ideal for the oil and gas industry, and many other industrial manufacturing facilities. 

Steel has become the building material of choice for business owners looking to build a new facility that focuses on energy efficiency and slashing energy costs.

Focusing on energy efficiency is a practical strategy for improving the world we live in while also reducing energy costs at the same time.

In the article below, we will discuss how steel frame construction can help make your building more energy-efficient and help slash your energy costs.

Table of Contents

• Pre-engineered Metal Buildings Are Durable
• Metal Building Insulation
• Cool Metal Roofs
• Energy Saving Starts With Steel Production and Recycling
• Reduced Site Impact
• Temperature Control
• Get An Energy Assessment
• Ready To Build With Steel? CDMG Is Ready To Help

 

Pre-engineered Metal Buildings Are Durable

First and foremost, steel buildings are durable.

As a building owner, you know that steel buildings are a smart long-term investment because it offers superior durability you can count on.

Compared to traditional building materials like wood, steel is more resistant to damage from high winds, heavy snowfall, fire, and other natural disasters.

The durability of steel contributes to low-maintenance costs over the life of your metal building.

And the unmatched lifespan of steel buildings helps reduce the use of raw materials used to construct new buildings and maintain existing facilities.

Metal Building Insulation

Metal building insulation is a must if you're trying to lower the energy cost in your eco-friendly steel building.

High-performance insulation available for steel structures keeps air from escaping your facility.

That means you'll have less heat escape in the winter and less cool air escape in the summer, so your air conditioning isn't constantly running.

This translates to less stress on your heating and cooling system all year, decreasing the amount of energy your building will consume, and lowering your energy bills.

It's a simple part of the construction process, but it may be the most important strategy to conserve energy and save money.

All you have to do is figure out which insulation will work best with your steel frame building.

Cool Metal Roofs

All prefabricated steel buildings can have a cool metal roof.

Cool metal roofs are an excellent option for commercial buildings because they can be easily and efficiently installed with above-sheathing ventilation.

That allows heat to dissipate through the ridge vent in hot weather or act as an insulating layer when it is cold.

Either way, it slows the transfer of heat.

You can even add white roof panels to deflect the heat even more.

Cool metal roofing has been shown to result in as much as a 30% reduction in heat gain through the roof.

 

Energy Saving Starts With Steel Production and Recycling

Another one of the benefits of steel is that over the past 40 years, the steel industry has reduced, recycled, and reused its way toward substantial energy and resource savings.

Substantial savings are found in recycling steel, which takes less energy to do than producing raw steel.

Steel has been recycled in the United States for over 170 years.

The steel industry has stretched natural resources in a variety of ways.

Steel is strong, so it reduces the amount of framing material that's needed to construct durable frames.

And if your steel building ever becomes obsolete, all of the steel can be reused for another building or recycled into yet another steel product.

Every steel product has at least a little bit of recycled steel, so it's easy to imagine how many BTUs of energy are saved each year around the world.

Structural steel averages 77% recycled material and even includes scrapped automobiles.

The more steel we can recycle, the less of it will make its way to a landfill.

For every ton of steel recycled, 250 cubic feet of space is saved.

 

Reduced Site Impact

Prefabricated metal building components are manufactured to fit custom size requirements.

They are shipped ready to install when they arrive at your job site.

This allows for a smaller job site and less erosion and other disruptions to surrounding areas.

It also helps lower waste from sizing materials onsite.

The cool metal roofing that we talked about above can also reduce site impact.

Select colors designed to reflect the sun’s heat instead of absorbing it.

This reduces the urban heat island effect.

The heat island effect is the 6-8 degree temperature increase in urban areas compared to surrounding rural areas.

This increase in temperature can worsen the effects of existing air pollution and increase cooling costs for surrounding buildings.

Temperature Control

Focusing on the temperature of your steel building can go a long way when trying to cut energy costs.

Some thermostats can even be programmed to require a passcode.

Temperatures can be regulated by allowing only a few people the capability of adjusting them.

Make sure to adjust the temperature for off-hours and holiday breaks.

It may not seem like it, but a couple of degrees hotter in the winter or cooler in the summer can have a tremendous impact on your energy bill.

 

Get An Energy Assessment

The more you focus on energy savings and the energy efficiency of your steel building, the more benefits you will see.

That's why it may be a good idea to get an energy audit for your building.

Energy professionals are available to inspect your business and assess where any inefficiencies might be.

That could include window leaks, holes in your insulation, or gaps where insulation should be installed.

It'll cost you a little bit of money to have the building inspected, but the results could save you thousands of dollars in the long run.

 

Ready To Build Your Steel Building? CDMG Is Ready To Help