Tips for Environmentally Friendly Steel Buildings

Steel buildings are environmentally friendlier than most other types of construction practically by definition. Because they’re made with recycled steel, they don’t require the use of more non-renewable resources – and they keep tons of waste material out of the waste stream. When you purchase a prefabricated steel building, it’s generally delivered to you in one shipment on one or two trucks, drastically cutting down on the delivery footprint left by nearly every other type of construction. They’re easier to insulate and require less maintenance – fewer nasty chemicals used to keep them from rotting, make them pretty and keep the critters that like to chew wood at bay. Even with all of those benefits, though, there are other things you can do to make steel buildings even more environmentally friendly.

Roofing

Most steel building manufacturers offer you the choice of energy-saving roof options. The color and materials you choose for the roof of your metal building can have a drastic effect on the energy consumption for your new structure. Lighter colored roofs reflect light back rather than absorbing the energy and transferring it to the interior of your building as heat. The reduction in heat gain in warmer climates reduces your energy bill and your energy footprint at the same time.

An even friendlier roofing choice for steel buildings is solar panels. Many steel building styles easily adapt to standard solar panels, which not only reduces your energy consumption. Solar panels can turn your metal building into an energy producer. This option is likely to become even more popular as solar technology advances and solar panels become solar coating and solar paints that can supply clean, green energy to your building.

Design with Environment in Mind

Because your steel building is custom-designed to your specifications, you can design it with energy efficiency in mind. Include extra windows and skylights to reduce the electricity needed to light the building during the day, for example. Likewise, include channels for installing insulation in the interior walls of your steel building. The right insulation can reduce your energy use by up to 60% in some climates.

Accessorize and Build It Out

Beyond the basics of steel buildings, you can also make green choices in the way you outfit and finish your structure. Fans and vents are important to maintaining the proper humidity, but they also can reduce your use of energy for heating, dehumidification and cooling your building. Every choice you make in finishing your building will also have an effect, so make green choices like energy-saving light bulbs, high-efficiency HVAC systems and solar water heating systems.

Steel buildings may be greener by nature than other types of construction, but they can always use a little more help. Make green choices all along the way. Every little bit helps.