SteelMaster “green” buildings are built to reduce environmental impacts by bringing together a vast array of practices and techniques to take advantage of renewable resources. The green building techniques that have been utilized include:
- Solar reflectance and reliability through the use of Galvalume Plus coatings which protects against non-uniform weathering and reduces energy loads on buildings due to long-term, bright surface that helps heat reflectivity. SteelMaster’s Galvalume Plus coating maintains the EPA solar reflectance requirement of 0.65 on newly -manufactured buildings and the minimum of 0.50 on roofs over three years for age. Galvalume Plus coated steel has been approved by the ENERGY STAR program, both for low-slope and high-slope applications
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Emphasis on taking advantage of renewable resources such as use of sunlight through solar powered energy sources
- Green buildings often include measures to reduce energy use and increase efficiency of the building envelope (the barrier between conditioned and unconditioned space) by using high efficiency windows and insulation
- Orientation of windows, walls, awnings, and porches to maximize solar gain in the winter by providing more natural light and lessen the need for electric lighting during the day
- On-site renewable energy through solar power, wind power, hydro power or biomass significantly reducing the environmental impact of the building
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Reduce impact on wells and water treatment plants. Several options exist for “Greywater”, a process which takes waste water from sources such as dish-washing for use in irrigation. Rainwater collectors are used for similar purposes.