Going Green with Steel Buildings

Steel buildings are a green choice in today’s construction industry. Whether you’re putting up a new garden shed or constructing a storage unit facility, building with steel offers many advantages for the ecologically minded individual or business. If the idea of steel buildings being a green choice seems incongruous, read on to learn how building with steel is an ecological choice.

Steel Buildings Are a Renewable Choice

Wood and other precious natural resources take a long time to replenish themselves. Building with wood depletes the world’s supply of natural resources. While steel is not in itself a renewable resource, most steel used in today’s construction is recycled. By using recycled steel instead of wood and other non-renewable resources, you reduce the load your new building places on the earth in a couple of different ways.

First, you’re not removing more resources from the earth. The metal in your steel has already been used once and can be used again. Reduce, reuse, recycle, right?

Secondly, by reusing metal in a new steel building, you’re diverting the metal from the waste stream. Our landfills are rapidly becoming overfilled and we are in danger of crowding ourselves out of our own planet. When you decide on a steel building, you’re helping to keep more waste out of the waste stream.

Finally, because you’re using steel, your building can be recycled at the end of its useful life. In many cases, your metal building can be disassembled and reassembled on a new site, bring recycling to a whole new level. Even if your steel building is dismantled and not rebuilt, the steel in it can be recovered and recycled to make components for new steel buildings or any other items made of metal.

Steel Buildings Are Engineered for Energy Efficiency

Forget what you may have heard about steel building being hot boxes in the sun and refrigerators in the winter. Today’s metal buildings are precision engineered and designed to be energy efficient. Reflective roofs can reduce heating costs, while the tight construction reduces heat transfer from indoors to outdoors, making steel buildings easier to heat and cool. In fact, steel structures can be as much as 80 percent more efficient than traditional wooden or concrete buildings.

Steel buildings are ideal for many residential uses, including garden sheds, home offices and garages, as well as for retail spaces and manufacturing concerns. If you’re considering expanding your space, take a close look at the advantages offered by steel buildings for your project.