Keeping Your Steel Building Cool for the Summer
Don’t let the sun sweat you out of your savings!
With forecasts for Canada’s upcoming summer anticipating another scorching season, now is a great time to start thinking about how to save on the inevitable increase in cooling and insulation costs. Since an AC unit works harder in the summertime combating the influence of warm outdoor temperatures to keep indoor temperatures cool, we’ve collected some simple steps you can take (besides insulation) to keep your steel or metal buildings cool over the summer.
Try Light Paint Colours
While metal is a notoriously good conductor of heat, something as simple as a light-coloured coat of paint makes a huge difference. Just like black asphalt draws in the warmth of the sun’s rays, so do dark colours on a steel building.
Luckily, lighter and more reflective paint colours and coatings can be added to pre-engineered building parts, such as exterior wall panels, cladding, and roofs. In fact, a clean, white roof has been shown to stay about 31°C (55°F) cooler than a gray roof. Energy Star is a great resource for selecting colours that will best tackle the sun’s rays and still fit the aesthetic of your building.
Consider Outdoor Accessories
Doors and windows are notorious weak spots for letting heat into buildings. Luckily, metal is less porous than other types of building materials, so it creates a tighter seal around these exits, helping mitigate energy loss.
If you don’t already have a prefab metal building or want to improve these weak spots further, consider external add-ons to windows and doors. This can include options like overhands, awnings, canopies, window fans, and windowpane glass since they create additional shade. These options are especially effective on west and south-facing parts of the building since they receive the most exposure to the sun throughout the day.
You can also consider greener options, such as smart landscaping. Planting trees or shrubs alongside those south and west-facing walls and windows will help naturally cool the building’s surface (though be sure to leave space between plants and the building to prevent moisture buildup).
Consider Indoor Accessories
You can also reduce the heat by adding extra ventilation inside your pre-engineered building. Going beyond a simple AC or HVAC system (which we’re trying to reduce costs for, after all), consider installing powered fans on ceilings and walls or roof-mounted gravity vents and wind-powered turbine vents.
Even a simple air filter or dehumidifier can make a big difference!
Upgrade Your Roof
Most of the heat gain in your building comes from above; the roof! The roof both absorbs most of the hot rays from the sun and tackles internal hot air in your building (since heat rises). Fortunately, same as with windows and doors above, utilizing metal as your roof’s core material helps reduce heat all by itself, as metal roofs are cooler than asphalt, wood, tile, and concrete shingles.
Many modern metal and steel roofs have been designed to reflect heat more efficiently and can reduce cooling costs by as much as 25%, so it’s worth talking to a professional to see if your roof is up to par. You can also consider a roof mist cooling system (evaporation system) that can help mitigate the sun’s pressure.
While all the described methods are wonderful proactive measures you can take to keep your buildings cool, proper insulation is a key method of creating a heat barrier in your building that will keep it both warm in the winter and cool in the summer and result in a more economical steel building.
Even without all these additional applications, metal buildings are great at combating weather changes. Learn more in our article: Ready for the Seasons: How Metal Buildings Can Adapt to the Climate.
Metal Structure Concepts has been designing and constructing steel buildings across Canada for over 20 years. From retail spaces to warehouses to wineries (and more), we are the experts for your next project. Contact us today to get a free quote.