Conventional Steel is already pretty eco-friendly compared to common building materials like brick, wood and croncrete. However, there are types of steel out there that are even greener. Light gauge steel, sometimes called cold-formed steel, is made by forming sheets of the material into various shapes, either with a press or by roll-forming. Unlike conventional structural supports, there is no heat required, cutting down on emissions.
All steel products, including steel framing and steel roofing, contain recycled steel. Steel framing contains at least minimum of 25 percent recycled steel and is continually and completely recyclable. Using recycled steel takes the pressure off renewable resources: if built with wood, that same 1000-square-foot home would require about 25 to 30 trees. With steel, only the equivalent of about two scrapped automobiles is needed for the same size home. In contrast to many other building materials, steel is routinely collected in aggregate quantities from construction and demolition sites and recycled into new steel products. Often times the money brought back into a project from selling the recycable scrap steel can offset many project expenses.
At the end of a steel-framed home’s product life the steel components would also be recyclable. Framing with steel as a material consumes only 6.25% of the total life cycle energy used by a home; the balance is consumed by heating and cooling, food refrigeration and lighting. Thermal barrier insulatin materiales provide exceptional head and cooling loss protection to steel-built homes. Additionally, steel framing results in less air loss aroung windows and doors as well as foundation and roofing connections.