Steel Buildings Are An Ideal Solution For Religious Facilities
By Carrie Miller, formerly of Whirlwind Steel Buildings
Worship facilities, like denominations, come in a variety of shapes and sizes; which is why building with metal is an excellent choice. Metal Buildings and roofs have come a long way from the old fashioned metal barn. With today’s technology and design capabilities, metal buildings and metal roofs have endless possibilities, some you can’t even tell it is metal, and the benefits are inspirational. Steel construction has a variety of benefits including energy savings, aesthetic appearance, durability and longevity just to name a few. Metal buildings, roofs and wall systems are offered in a variety of options helping to create visually interesting and architecturally outstanding buildings in a variety of seam types, textures and configurations, efficiently and economically.
Saving money is at the top of every congregations list, and by installing an Energy Efficient Cool Metal Roof, you can start saving immediately. Buildings are responsible for almost 2/3 of the nation’s electricity consumption and more then 1/3 of the total primary energy use. Metal is cost efficient because each job is custom made and engineered to meet specific requirement, eliminating excess material. In addition, Energy Star approved metal roofing products can save on energy costs by reducing peak cooling demand by 10-15% and can decrease heat transferred into a building. These types of roofs are also referred to as Cool Roofing, which is an easy answer to today’s energy crisis for all parties involved: the architect; the builder, and the congregation.
Cool roofing is another easy solution to today’s energy crisis because of its ability to reduce cooling and heating usage (which happens to be a major expense in buildings operational costs). Cool Roofing is measured by two indicators: Solar Reflectance (the percentage of solar radiation that is immediately reflects from a surface), and Thermal Emittance (the percentage of heat that is re-radiated from the surface to its surroundings).
The combination of solar reflectance and thermal emittance determines the surface temperature of a roof, and its ability to act cool. For every 1% increment in a roofs reflectance, the surface temperature decreases 1°. Cool White® is an example of an Energy Star approved Cool Roof color. It comes with a reflectivity rating of 0.7 out of 1.0 and an emissivity rating of 0.86 also out of 1.0. Reflective roofing can save up to 40% in cooling energy by keeping the inside temperature from rising due to higher temperatures outside. For example, tar and gravel have a reflectivity rating of .03 to 0.18 meaning more heat/energy is absorbed into the building resulting in higher costs to cool. A brick/stone building has a reflectivity rating of 0.20 to 0.40 and an asphalt road is 0.05 to 0.20. During the hot summer months, this is extremely important to help reduce energy costs and keep the building cool. In addition to saving energy costs, there are numerous benefits to cool roofing such as government rebate programs and power utility incentives. For more information about Cool Roofing, please visit the Cool Roof Rating Council website at www.coolroofs.org/.
In addition to Energy Star approved metal roofs, another way to help save energy cost and the environment is to utilize a renewable energy Solar Metal Roof. Technology has allowed us the ability to directly apply solar photovoltaic panels to standing seam metal roofs. Solar photovoltaic systems are offered in a variety of Kilowatts ranging from 3 to 120 depending on the needs of the congregation. They come fully integrated and there is no penetration to the roof so there is no worry about water leaking from the roof. The “Peel-and-stick” solar laminate is applied directly onto the Sanding Seam roof system; it is safe, stable and strong. Compared to other solar systems available today, the new solar laminate is lighter, does not require a support frame system, and turns energy into savings easier and faster. Government and state incentives are also playing a part in today’s solar energy stand. Please check with your local state and government facilities to see what incentives might be available.
Green Benefits are not the only advantage of a metal building or metal roofs longevity is just as important. Today’s pre-engineered metal buildings and metal roofing systems are manufactured and designed under strict guidelines to ensuring they met the highest construction standards, making metal an environmentally responsible choice and offering protection from the elements such as wind, hail, and fire ensuring. Metal Building Manufacturers put their products through extensive testing and carry approvals from Underwriters Laboratories (UL®), Energy Star, AISC certifications (American Institute of Steel Construction), IAS (International Accreditation Service), Factory Mutual (FM), Florida Product Approvals, Texas Department of Insurance, Miami-Dade County, Canadian Welding Bureau, and many more.
These approvals are extremely important to the well being of any building. Impact tests are done to make sure the material can stand up to hail or heavy objects that could possible do harm to the roof of a building. Fire rated tests are completed to make sure that in the unfortunate event there is a fire nearby the roof and or walls will be able to retard themselves against damage. Florida product approval tests take testing to another level by requiring the material to withstand hurricane force winds. All of the certifications and testing metal roofs and buildings go through are done to keep your building safe. Why not benefit from their tests, it may save you from future replacement costs.
Religious facilities are naturally beautiful; why not make it practical and environmentally friendly too? Whether it is time to re-roof your building or if you are building a new facility for your place of worship, or even adding an educational building or gymnasium, please remember the many benefits metal can bring not only to the congregation but also the pocket book.
To learn more about some of the information mentioned in this article please visit the following websites:
http://www.themetalinitiative.com/
http://www.energystar.gov/
http://www.floridabuilding.org
Carrie Miller is the former marketing manager at Whirlwind Steel Buildings and is former vice-chairperson of The Metal Initiative.
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