Product category:
Windows - Aluminium and Steel
News Release from: Beaufort Secure Design | Subject: Aluminium window and door systems
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 14 March 2007
Beaufort Secure Design discuss
sustainability
Nigel Yates, Managing Director of Beaufort Secure Design discusses the sustainability issues surrounding the specification of aluminium window and door systems.
Nigel Yates, Managing Director of Beaufort Secure Design discusses the sustainability issues surrounding the specification of aluminium window and door systems Aluminium - a good choice for a sustainable future
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 22 May 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Environmental issues and sustainability are now high on the agenda for specifiers and architects often causing them to take fundamental decisions on materials at a very early stage of the project.
The environmental arguments that initially led to many public sector specifiers to reject PVC-U window and door systems in favour of timber are now leading to increased specification and sales of aluminium systems.
Whole life costings of products, accountability of the supply chain and optimum energy performance are now important considerations for both public and private sectors.
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All those involved in the supply and manufacture of building products are being increasingly asked to demonstrate eco-friendly credentials for their products and services.
Beaufort Secure Design has found that sustainability is now a key factor for many projects.
To meet this demand, the company is actively involved in the promotion the environmental advantages of aluminium, and is working with all stakeholders in the supply chain to maximise effective recycling, this stretches from 80% recycling of waste from the extrusion process and off cuts from fabrication, to the eventual recycling of the units at the end-of their life.
Recent documented evidence of this success was revealed by Delft University who undertook a detailed study of the demolition of Wembley stadium.
The report shows that 96% of the aluminium removed was recycled and demonstrates that even after nearly 50 years on site the product could still be reused.
Aluminium is the most abundant metallic element on earth.
It occurs in the ore bauxite and it is estimated that worldwide bauxite deposits found to date would yield enough aluminium to last over 300 years.
If we recycle aluminium products at the end of their useful life, we can extend that 300 years perhaps indefinitely.
Aluminium can be effectively and endlessly recycled with no impairment to its inherent properties.
The energy differential between recycling and production of primary aluminium is so favourable that scrap aluminium will remain a valuable commodity.
This is obviously an important factor when considering whole life costings of buildings.
The energy differential in production is environmentally significant in its own right and the costs involved add to the incentive to recycle.
With spiralling energy costs impacting on our economy, this is a serious consideration.
Recycling can save up to 95% of the energy involved in the original production processes, add to this the relative ease with which aluminium building materials can be segregated and recovered and it is easy to see why aluminium is unlikely to end up as landfill.
The use of aluminium products in buildings makes a very positive overall contribution to whole life costings.
Some industry analysts have gone as far as to predict that the architectural aluminium product sector could be completely focused on the use of recycled material by as early as 2020.
Whilst alternative framing materials can be accurately described as containing recyclable materials, the reality is that due to technical and economic factors, only a small percentage is ever actually re-used.
So for most rival product groups it will be impossible to ever attain this green landmark.
Aluminium framing systems now deliver outstanding performance in terms of lifespan.
Previous generations of double-glazing systems suffered from surface deterioration, but with improvements in finishing options aluminium systems now actually outlast most timber, steel or PVC-U alternatives, requiring little ongoing maintenance.
Where energy performance is concerned, aluminium again delivers excellent results.
Social housing providers in particular are environmentally aware, seeking optimum energy performance on behalf of their tenants.
Aluminium systems developed in response to the Kyoto Agreement achieve excellent standards of energy conservation and fully comply with the latest changes in Building Regulations.
Approved Document L stipulates a centre pane U value of 1.2 W/m2K.
as one means of compliance.
An excellent point about aluminium is that it has no problem meeting the Approved Document requirements through an A WER, U value or centre pane.The more user-friendly British Fenestration Rating Council (BFRC) window energy rating system takes a more holistic approach.
It takes into consideration not only heat emissions but also solar gain.
Here again aluminium scores well.
The slim sightlines enable maximum light transmission and coupled with the effective integral polyamide thermal barrier mean that aluminium systems are able to achieve excellent ratings meeting the vast majority of energy targets.
It seems self-evident that sustainability is of paramount long-term importance.
Raw material properties, production processes, product performance and eventual disposal costs must be balanced in a complex equation to calculate the environmental impact of the choices we make.
Aluminium is uniquely able to satisfy tough ecological criteria without compromising either performance or aesthetic or environmental requirements.
In the current climate of social and global responsibility aluminium is likely to go from strength to strength.
Anyone seeking further information on these compelling matters can either log onto Beaufort's website or contact their technical department on 01633 294040.
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