The most oft-cited benefit of using aluminum for home construction is incredibly lightweight. Compared to other materials, aluminum has an exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and weighs up to 65 percent less than steel. For houses that use aluminum posts and beams, the structural element will be lighter without sacrificing strength and durability, especially compared to steel posts and beams. Aluminum allows homeowners to reduce their foundation’s size and depth, thus potentially helping to reduce the volume of cement required for the home’s foundation.
Aluminum is also resistant to corrosion. For this reason, it is sometimes used as a reflective and protective coating on steel roofing. One study found that coated aluminum roofs can reflect up to 95 percent of sunlight. This coating drastically improves the thermal performance of homes with a metal roof. It helps to reduce cooling loads during the summer months.
The fact that aluminum is ductile and malleable, and it also allows architects and designers to be more creative in designing the structures they build. Unlike steel or other related metals, aluminum can be bent and curved to enable innovative home designs.
The most significant sustainable advantage of opting for constructing with aluminum is that, in theory, aluminum is 100 percent recyclable with no loss of its natural properties. Some estimates find that up to 75 percent of the almost one billion tons of aluminum mined from the earth’s crust continues to be in use today.
Homes and larger buildings that use aluminum for structural elements, roofing, interior walls, or other features can obtain points toward LEED certification. Experts in recycling engineering at the Delft University of Technology in Europe have found that recycled between 95 and 98 percent of aluminum from demolished buildings. The energy to recycle scrap aluminum is only five percent of what it takes to produce new aluminum. This ease of processing makes aluminum an excellent choice for homeowners who want to lower their environmental impact by opting for recycled building materials.
