Get The Aluminium Advantage For Your Home

Aluminium is the most abundant, naturally occurring metal in the world, and the third-most abundant element after oxygen and silicon. In fact, about eight percent of the earth’s crust consists of aluminium bauxite. Most of us use it every single day, often without even realising. Today, people use more aluminium than at any other point in its 125-year commercial history. And yet, its bountiful supply still exceeds global demand.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that without aluminium, our lives as we know them would simply not be possible. The car you drive, the planes you fly in, the mobile phones and other tech gadgets you use every day…all these items – plus thousands more – are made using aluminium in some way. Aluminium also features strongly in our modern homes. Increasingly, window, door and shower frames are made from aluminium instead of more traditional materials, such as wood.

What is it that makes aluminium such a popular choice? And how can you get the aluminium advantage for your home?

The Benefits Of Using Aluminium

People often refer to aluminium as the “miracle metal.” There are many good reasons for this, all of which make it the automatic choice for as many applications as possible in your home.

Durable And Easy To Maintain

Aluminium is the ideal metal for a host of applications in your home because it is virtually maintenance free. Most high-end aluminium windows and door frames, for example, have a sleek powder coat finish that offers exceptional longevity – so you never have to paint them. All they need is a little cleaning every now and then to keep them looking like new.

Aluminium is also exceptionally tough, and can easily withstand extended exposure to bright sunlight, rain and UV rays without warping, cracking, rusting, rotting, bending or discolouring. This makes it ideal for South Africa’s harsh climatic conditions.

Strong

Aluminium is over three times stronger than vinyl, and an incredible 43 times stronger than wood. It also has a high strength-to-weight ratio. This inherent strength makes it the go-to material for window frames for homes and offices. Because it’s so strong, you need less of it to hold the glass in place. This means you can enjoy a more streamlined aesthetic, thanks to narrower frame profiles, resulting in slimmer, sleeker lines.

Versatile

Aluminium’s essential characteristics mean it’s extremely versatile, making it the ideal material for residential and commercial construction. Its flexibility and formability allow for incredible versatility when it comes to design. It can be tapered, curved, cut and extruded to conform to even the most adventurous and challenging geometries. And because it’s so resistant to corrosion, you don’t have to treat or protect the cut edges.

Environmentally Friendly

Aluminium is infinitely recyclable – to the point where an incredible three-quarters of all aluminium ever produced is still being used! Did you know that recycling a single aluminium can saves enough energy to listen to a full album on an iPod? That should be music to anyone’s ears!

Recycled aluminium uses a scant eight percent of the energy and creates just eight percent of the emissions of primary-produced aluminium. In addition, because the metal is so lightweight, vehicles made using mostly aluminium can easily reduce their energy consumption by around a third over their lifetime. In America, this fact alone means the aluminium industry will soon return more energy than it uses. And because over 90 percent of the world’s aluminium bauxite is mined in non-forested regions, the industry’s global environmental impact is minimised.

In our homes, aluminium windows and doors offer far greater thermal efficiency than their more expensive wood or uPVC alternatives. Heat gain and loss is often improved by up to 60%, translating in some cases to energy savings of up to three times that of producing the frames – in the first year alone. Imagine what that could mean for your energy bills over the life of your home? The potential savings – especially if you live in a particularly cold or hot area – are huge.

To get the aluminium advantage for your home, chat to the experts at Origin Aluminium. Our SAFIERA Energy Rating Certifications for our Origin Patio Door and Origin 340 Casement Window means homeowners, architects and builders are assured of optimal energy efficiency and high mechanical performance when using our products in your home or office.