Article: Steel Can Be a Surprisingly Green (and Cost-Effective) Building Material

Article originally posted on Blue and Green Tomorrow on June 12, 2018.

As the demand for green buildings rises, businesses are looking for the best materials to use. Surprisingly, steel can be one of the best green building materials available. There are a lot of great reasons to use steel to erect a building for your business, many of which relate to sustainability.

Why Steel Can Be a Great Green Building Material

Steel buildings can be used for anything from skyscrapers to garden sheds and they are the ideal metal for any business to use for a whole host of reasons. Here, we are taking you through what the main benefits of steel buildings are and how they can help to benefit your business.

Steel is Recylable

Recyclability is one of the biggest environmental benefits of using steel. Most composite materials cannot be recycled, which is a problem as older buildings start to deteriorate. This will leave massive quantities of material unusable after the buildings are removed. This is also important for reducing our carbon footprint. Recyling one ton of steel will save two tons of greenhouse gases from reaching the atmosphere.

Most Water in Steel Production Can Be Reused

Water is heavily used in steel production. The good news is that 98% of it can be purified and reused. This is in contrast with producing many polymer-based composites that leech dangerous chemicals into water, which can render larger quantities permanently unusable.

Minimizing Energy Costs

The Architects Journal points out that steel can be a great material for reducing long-term energy costs. However, the benefits need to be considered in the context of the larger building applications.

Steel Buildings Are Cost-Effective

One of the biggest advantages when choosing steel buildings is, of course the price of it. Steel is very affordable and cost-effective and when you are running a business you always need to make sure that you are crunching the numbers first and making savings when you can. From the offset, using steel will lower your construction costs. You can even now get amazing steel buildings in an array of shapes and sizes to suit your needs online. Simply choose which steel building you would like, and it will be manufactured with precise dimensions to ensure quality and precision every single time. This type of steel building can also be erected by you and there is no need to try and guess where each of the parts go. All assembly instructions will be provided for you and there is no special equipment that is required.

Cheap to Maintain

As well as being cost-effective to purchase, steel buildings are also super cheap to maintain too. This is a highly durable material and really does not require any maintenance at all, maybe just cleaned once in a while. You are not likely to run into repairs with a steel building and if you do, repairs are usually very easily performed.

Furthermore, steel buildings are going to keep out insects and vermin as neither can chew through steel which means no cost for pest control. The weather is also not a major issue here as steel buildings will have fire-resistant insulation and a proper fire mitigation system. You can save money too on maintenance costs with steel buildings as they are extremely difficult to damage and so your insurance will reflect this and give you a better deal.

Steel is Great for Cutting Environmental Costs

Many people are not actually aware that steel is actually very environmentally friendly. There is little water used when steel milling and it does not give off any toxic fumes, however, it is important to remember that some toxic fumes can be released from the paint or finishes that you are using on it. Steel is also extremely environmentally friendly as it is 100% recyclable and so if at any point the steel building has to be taken down, it can be 100% recycled and nothing has to go to the landfill. Lastly, steel is actually mostly made up nowadays of recycled steel so no more has to be made. Being seen as being an environmentally company is great for business nowadays and is sure to make people want to support your company.