BlueScope Steel
Sustainability is about maintaining the quality of the natural environment while providing for human needs. In terms of how BlueScope Steel operates, this means minimising any negative effects our business has on the environment and society, while looking for ways to reduce our environmental footprint and develop products that can be used to help create a sustainable built environment. For more information on BlueScope Steel’s environment overview see www.bluescopesteel.com/go/responsibilities/environment
Many of the properties of steel make it a sustainable choice when building or renovating: steel is strong; durable; lightweight and 100% recyclable. Architecturally, steel products can be used to create many of the design features that can reduce energy and portable water demand, making the building more sustainable. BlueScope Steel uses these properties as the basis for innovation, with the aim of continually improving the sustainability of its products.
The latest innovation from BlueScope Steel is COLORBOND® steel with Thermatech®. This leading edge technology means that all roofs made from standard COLORBOND® steel reflect more of the Sun’s heat, which can keep the interior of the building cooler. Thermatech® acts like added insulation by absorbing, on average, fifteen percent less of the Sun’s heat than roofing materials of equivalent colour with low solar reflectance. This keeps the roof space cooler and can help create thermal comfort with less use of mechanical air-conditioning. COLORBOND® steel with Thermatech® technology can reduce annual heating and cooling energy consumption by up to 20 percent—depending on the level of insulation, building shape and function—compared to roofing materials of equivalent colour with low solar reflectance. The average reduction is up to five percent.
Because air-conditioning in Australia is predominantly provided by electricity produced by coal fired power stations, reducing the need to mechanically cool the indoor environment can help reduce carbon emissions, as well as reduce energy bills. Most Australian cities struggle to meet peak summertime electrical loads due predominantly to loading from air-conditioning. Reducing peak summer loads may therefore also reduce the need to build more power stations.
Because Thermatech® reflects the Sun’s energy away from the building, it can also reduce the temperature of the local environment, which can impact on other buildings’ air-conditioner loads and mitigate the effects of urban heat islands.
The new COLORBOND® steel standard colour palette now has seven colours classified as light under BASIX, and 11 colours that are in the Building Code of Australia’s lowest solar absorptance categories. Therefore, in some climate zones, Thermatech® can reduce the amount of insulation required to meet building regulations. Because the greatest improvement in thermal performance is across the dark colour range, homeowners can also achieve the aesthetic they want, while meeting thermal comfort targets, and positively impacting the local environment.
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