The Environmental Benefits of Steel Buildings

The Environmental Benefits of Steel
Buildings
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If you were to conduct a survey asking people about
the benefits of steel buildings, environmentally friendly
probably wouldn't make the list. People may think of
steel as strong or durable, but a friend to the
environment may be stretching it just a bit. In reality,
steel buildings are definitely strong and durable, but
they also have environmental benefits that most
people would never even consider.
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Recyclable
The notion of steel being a recyclable product may
seem completely ridiculous to some, but it is in fact
one of the most recycled substances in the world.
It is 100 % recyclable and the same piece of steel
can theoretically continue on forever.

This is because when steel is recycled, it is melted
down and then made into a different steel product.
However, unlike other products that are recycled,
steel doesn't lose any of its strength in the
recycling process. So, your steel building might be
made from steel that was once another product
entirely.
Continued..

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The fact that steel can be recycled indefinitely also
means that forests and other natural resources
aren't disturbed or destroyed as part of the
process. It also saves space in landfills because no
one really ever throws steel away intentionally. It
just keeps getting used over and over and over
again.

Even the strength of steel buildings ends up helping
out the environment in some cases. In areas
where there is extreme weather or earthquakes, a
steel building will often still be standing when a
traditionally built structure would crumble. Less
destruction equals less need for waste management
in the affected area, which will help, even if it's just
a little.


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Sustainable
Sustainability is an environmental buzzword that isn't
lost on the construction and operation of steel buildings.
Along with the reusable and recyclable aspects of steel,
some of the sustainability benefits include:

Speed of construction - steel buildings usually come as
preassembled parts that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle,
requiring less time and resources to get off the ground
Adaptability - many types of steel buildings are adaptable in
that you can remove one of the ends and add panels to
make the building longer
Longevity - the flexibility and strength of steel mean that
steel buildings will typically last longer than traditionally built
structures


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Energy Savings
Energy efficiency is one element that points to an
environmentally friendly building. Steel buildings fit this
description in a number of different ways.








Window Placement
Tinted Windows
Double or Triple Paned Windows
Continued...

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Insulated Frames
Vapor Retarders between the foundation and
concrete slab

Ask the manufacturer or builder about ways to make
your steel building energy efficient and you'll end up
saving more money than you ever imagined.




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Cool Coatings
The use of cool coatings is another way that steel buildings
are beneficial to the environment. These coatings are
added to the exterior of steel buildings and result in several
environmental benefits. Cool coatings will increase the
reflective quality of the building, which means the need for
air conditioning in the summer months is reduced.

The reflective quality of the roof also reduces a
phenomenon known as `urban heat island'. With
traditionally built buildings, heat is stored in the roof
surface as the sun beats down on it all day. At night, that
heat is radiated back up into the air. In densely populated
areas, all that heat going back up into the air at night
means that the night temperatures can't get as low as they
normally would. This contributes to global warming, and is
reduced with steel buildings because the heat is reflected
back up during the day.

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Stats
Every year around the world, more than 500 million tons
of steel is recycled. As a comparison, that is the
equivalent of close to 180 Eiffel Towers every single day.

It's also estimated that less than 1% of structural steel
will ever find its way into a landfill. With numbers like
these, it's easy to see why so many people are turning to
steel buildings for both residential and commercial
applications. The reputation of steel as cold and
unnatural is changing, and so will the environment if
more people turn to steel when it's time to build.
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