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ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY STEEL BUILDINGS
Now, more than ever, countries of the world are concerned with the preservation of the earth’s remaining natural resources for the present and future generations. As the earth’s population grows by leaps and bounds, increased material consumption is a given consequence. This creates the problems of increasing waste materials and pollution of the air and water systems. Societies of the world have found ways to address these problems through proper waste management and consuming environmentlly friendly types of products in all segments of the market.
The construction industry is aware that it is one of the important consumers of materials and energy. In lieu of this, the sector has come up with the concept of the "green building" design. The green building system is the construction industry’s answer to energy savings, renewable raw materials, and minimized pollution. Pre-engineered and prefabricated steel buildings are leading the way in the green building revolution. Compared with concrete buildings, steel structures have lesser negative environmental impact – lesser energy use, lesser material consumption and lesser waste materials. These characteristics encompass the whole lifecycle of steel buildings - from their construction to demolition. The sustainability of steel as a construction material is it’s biggest selling point against all other building materials.
Environmentally Friendly Pre-engineered Steel Buildings
• 100% Recyclable. Steel is 100% recyclable material without degradation. The rate to which it can be recycled can go up to beyond 60%. Due to its magnetic properties, there is an existing technology that can separate steel from other surrounding solid wastes. Choosing steel as the alternative building system against the more traditional way of using wood has a very positive effect on the environment if we consider the destruction of trees and the depleting amount of forest cover. At the rate of today’s mining activities, it is predicted that the earth’s iron ore resources will last 7 million years more. In comparison, renewing our forests is not an easy task and time is not on our side considering the fact that it takes at least 10 years before a tree can reach its full growth. If we look at the lifecycle point of view, most materials have a down-cycling property which means that the quality diminishes after usage. Steel is the only material with a closed material loop because it can be recycled to the same product, retaining its function and quality as before.
• Energy Efficient. The energy needed to produce 1 ton of scrap-based steel is only one fifth of the ore-based steel. It is also heartening to know that the steel industry is bringing down the emission levels way below the upper limits. Today, steel manufacturers employ modern technologies in steel production that help reduce greenhouse emissions. A steel-framed home can be made thermally efficient by selecting the proper insulation system and material. The steel used in pre-engineered steel buildings are coated with special siliconized polyester paints that has reflective properties, keeping the insides cool during the hot summer days. In addition, the roofs of steel structures don’t store heat and radiate it back at night like other types of roofs. A painted metal roof retains the heat inside the building on cool days. In the long run, these properties translate to reduced energy costs – you save money and you save the environment, as well.
• No Contamination of Nature. Since frame members of steel buildings are not treated with toxic chemical substances in order to protect the structure from termites, vermin, and rot, they don’t cause contamination of nature. More importantly, when a steel structure is demolished, the materials don’t end up in a landfill because they are 100% recyclable.
Aside from being environmentally friendly, there are a lot more reasons to choose pre-engineered steel buildings over other construction materials. The innovative designs of prefabricated steel buildings were engineered by highly trained and certified structural metal building engineers to meet all local building codes for snow and wind loads and seismic conditions. The steel components of the metal structure were fabricated to precise specifications using the highest grade of commercial steel available. Steel buildings are durable, requires less maintenance, fire and rust resistant, cost-effective, energy efficient and most of all environmentally friendly.
