Design a plan for insulating your steel building

One thing Canadians know well is the cost to heat a building – it’s just part of living in our environment. As residents of a colder climate, building owners and managers should recognize the need, early in the design phase, for proper insulation in their new building construction projects. Summit Steel Buildings’ leadership and skilled tradespeople bring their decades of pre-engineering expertise to construct a facility that is both durable and comfortable, as well as energy efficient. A big part of using this knowledge is incorporating insulation properly into the building’s overall design to save money and create a more comfortable interior.

Controlling heat transfer – both in and out of the structure – is particularly important for metal buildings. It helps regulate internal conditions, so the building’s contents and occupants remain within the optimal temperature range in both colder months and during summer’s heat. Proper insulation and thermal control also ensure the building remains in top condition for the long term by minimizing temperature-related deterioration that so often affects structures made from other materials, such as timber and brick. Insulation greatly assists in controlling heat transfer throughout a structure and is beneficial for controlling utility costs and saving heating and air conditioning expenses.

Insulation should be installed during building construction for best results

Naturally, the best time to get a building’s energy efficiency strategy correct is well before actual construction. Proper planning and design ensures the appropriate R-factors are achieved, that factors such as doors, windows and rooftop projections (typical heat loss areas) are addressed, and that all other details related to insulation and thermal performance are taken into consideration. Getting all these details right at the design phase is always the most cost-effective way to go. Attempting to retrofit building performance issues after the fact is usually much more expensive and disruptive.

Once your structure is being erected, it’s the perfect time to add insulation. There is much to be considered, starting with the appropriate insulation type to be used (spray foam, foam board, batt or blanket, blown or fiberglass for example). Each has its own purposes and benefits. Their cost, method of application, and R-factor/thermal performance all need to be factored in. Achieving an optimal energy payback – i.e., the cost of the insulating versus the amount of efficiency achieved, in the form of lower energy bills – is the ideal long-term goal. Other benefits proper insulating address include reduction of noise transfer, as well as control of potential humidity and interior condensation issues.

Summit Steel Buildings relies on insulated steel panels for all their buildings solutions. The foundation for modern industrial and commercial building design is the pre-engineered steel panel. As with most components in our pre-engineering systems (learn how the engineering for the Eiffel Tower revolutionized modern construction), sections are assembled away from the jobsite in one of four factories within North America. The cold-formed steel panels arrive pre-welded, pre-cut and pre-hole punched to reduce construction times, ready to support any R-value insulation. Once your building’s energy needs have been determined, different values can be installed within the panels and shipped to the jobsite, ready to be added to the building’s frame. These Insulated metal panels have transformed industrial building construction to make if faster, more affordable, and better suited to controlling both hot and cold exterior temperatures, but also helps reduce internal and external noise.

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Insulation plans are best created in combination with building owners

We’ve learned over decades in the building construction industry how important it is for the owner to partner with an experienced, reputable, and knowledgeable builder, such as Summit Steel Buildings, for their new construction project. It’s one way to ensure proper environmental control and to avoid sub-standard building performance, where energy costs wind up being way out of line with where they can and should be.

Our method is to sit down with owners and managers early in the process to learn about the intended building use, and even the potential for changes or expansions down the road. We ask the right questions about design and engineering possibilities, customer needs and budget. Then we can advise on an appropriate strategy. Insulation of the metal building, and its optimal thermal performance, is never left out of the conversation.

Insulation choices will affect building performance for generations

The construction of a new building involves a great deal of consideration and details. That’s why the team at Summit Steel Buildings continues to demonstrate how pre-engineered steel buildings are a great choice in terms of quality, performance and affordability. Insulation choices should be top of mind, along with all other design elements for the final design of the structure. The building’s thermal performance goes a long way to determining how the structure will perform overall, how long it will last, and how much it will cost to operate. We encourage our clients to think about the building’s life cycle economy. It’s a valuable asset that is going to last for decades of use. Insulation is one of components that deserves forethought as it will have long-term implications for just how well your newly constructed building will hold up, especially in our tough Canadian climate.

For more information about insulation and the performance of any new commercial or industrial metal building, please contact us by telephone at 1-877-417-8335 or email us directly at info@Summitsteelbuildings.com. We’ll be happy to provide you with details, a quote and even preliminary drawings.

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About the author

Frank Melo has a construction civil engineering technology and business background with over 25 years of experience as a business owner and contractor. He was born and educated in London, Ontario and now divides his time between projects primarily in Ontario and British Columbia. He can be contacted at Summit Steel Buildings at (778) 951-4766 or by email at frank.melo@summitsteelbuildings.com or through LinkedIn.