The use of aluminium in fenestration offers major benefits in every type of building, from single-family residences to monumental commercial constructions and everything in between. The arrangement of the windows in a building, known as the fenestration, is one of the most important parts of the overall design. Well-designed windows enable people to live and work comfortably by allowing natural light indoors and aiding passive solar heating and cooling. Providing natural points of ventilation and air circulation, they increase energy efficiency, improve comfort by reducing draughts and produce better quality indoor air.
Benifits Of Aluminum Fenestrations
- Aluminium is a popular material for fenestration because of its versatility, strength and “green” characteristics. It offers great design flexibility, allowing architects and designers the opportunity to create many features and styles for each building. It can also be manufactured in many colours – this is a real advantage of aluminium, as it can seamlessly blend into and enhance any design scheme.
- Despite its slim lines, aluminium provides structural integrity and offers exceptional longevity. Robust and durable, it is ideal for areas where there is particularly heavy traffic, including shopfronts in shopping centres and on the high street.
- Highly resistant to impact, such as in the event of someone falling into it, it a safer option. Although aluminium is one of the lightest engineering metals, it provides a better strength-to-weight ratio than other metals, such as steel.
- In tests, the aluminium yield strength was assessed up to 40,000 PSI (pound force per square inch) without steel reinforcement. In the event of a blast, the fenestration material is required to bend and not break to absorb energy. This was easily accomplished in the tests with aluminium.