Siding and Energy Efficiency: How You Can Lower Utility Bills

When homeowners want to improve energy efficiency, they usually start with things like insulation materials or ways to seal drafts around doors and windows. The home’s siding may enter the picture — but because curb appeal is a huge priority, it’s more common to design the home’s exterior for looks and durability, not so much energy efficiency.

However, siding is a crucial part of any building’s envelope. In fact, the right siding will drastically improve your home’s energy efficiency — and it will do so while offering plenty of curb appeal, too.

Keep reading to learn more about siding and energy efficiency. We’ll explore the role of siding in making a home more energy efficient and the types of siding that can help you save the most on utility bills.

How Does Siding Influence Energy Efficiency?

Siding is just one of many components in a wall system that all work together to create a more energy-efficient building envelope. While people often focus on the insulation found within walls as the most important element in an energy-efficient system, the reality is that each component — interior wallboards, insulation, framing, sheathing, and siding — plays a key role in keeping homes comfortable and energy costs low: 

• Interior wallboards, like drywall or paneling, help to prevent air leaks.
• Insulation provides thermal resistance, which prevents heat from escaping the home in cold weather or entering the home in warm weather.
• Framing can impact energy efficiency through thermal transfer. For example, wood framing is generally more efficient because it has a higher thermal resistance than metal or masonry, which transfers heat and cold easily.
• Sheathing or other barriers, like house wrap, work to prevent air movement through the entire wall assembly.

When it comes to siding and energy efficiency, siding will do a little of everything listed above. First and foremost, it stands as a protective barrier that not only keeps out moisture but also prevents air leaks and unwanted air movement between the interior and exterior of the home. When paired with a layer of foam insulation — one of the benefits of TruLog’s steel siding — it also provides extra thermal resistance. 

Siding can prevent thermal transfer, too, though some types of siding are better at this than others. In general, products like insulated vinyl siding or steel siding with a layer of foam insulation are best at preventing heat transfer, while uninsulated siding options like metal without the foam backing are considered less efficient because they transfer heat and cold more easily.

Lastly, siding color can also impact energy efficiency. Dark colors absorb more heat and will be much hotter in the summer sun, whereas light colors reflect light and heat, which helps them to stay cooler. Thus, in hot climates where air conditioning bills can be high, light colors can be the better choice — but if you want your home to retain more heat, a darker color can help.

Can Siding Reduce Energy Bills?

Yes, energy-efficient siding materials can work wonders to improve a home’s energy efficiency — reducing utility bills and your carbon footprint.

In fact, a case study from the U.S. Department of Energy provides interesting insights into siding and energy efficiency. Researchers used a home built in the 1960s in USDA Climate Zone 6, which is a cold climate, and they retrofitted the house by replacing the original siding with insulated siding featuring a layer of foam backing.

The home’s airtightness improved by 9.5% — and most interestingly for anyone looking for energy savings — utility bills revealed an 8% reduction in BTU usage for heating. In other words, the end result was a more comfortable indoor temperature with less draftiness, and heat loss reductions large enough to substantially reduce energy consumption.

Other Ways Siding Can Impact Your Carbon Footprint

Lowering your energy usage isn’t the only way that siding can reduce your carbon footprint. Siding and energy efficiency is a key concern, but you should also consider aspects like recyclability, lifespan, upkeep needs, and even the environmental cost to produce a particular siding material.

TruLog’s steel siding stands out as an eco-friendly siding option because it’s fully recyclable, features a long lifespan of up to 70 years, and requires minimal maintenance. While the environmental cost of producing steel can be high, this is offset by the fact that most steel is made from recycled materials, not raw materials.

Compare that to other siding options:

• Wood siding is not recyclable, has a shorter lifespan of 50 years maximum, and can release chemicals and VOCs into the environment because it requires regular painting, staining, or sealing.
• Vinyl siding often ends up in landfills because of its limited recyclability, has a short lifespan topping out at 30 years, and as a petroleum-based product, comes with a high environmental cost during production.
• Fiber cement siding is rarely recycled, has a 50-year lifespan, can release chemicals and VOCs into the environment due to regular repainting needs, and it’s produced through an energy-intensive process that requires non-renewable Portland cement.

Does Steel Siding Help With Energy Efficiency?

Yes — but the type of steel insulation matters. Plain steel without a foam insulation backer isn’t a great insulator by itself. While it can stop drafts, and lighter or darker colors can reflect or absorb heat, steel by itself has a higher thermal transfer rate than a lot of other materials.

On the flip side, steel that comes with foam insulation backing is one of the best siding options out there, not only in terms of insulating properties, but also durability, lifespan, and ease of installation. 

For example, TruLog’s steel siding has an R-value of 4, which is as high as it gets for siding. The paint finish is reflective too, which helps TruLog steel siding absorb less heat on hot, sunny days. It’s also low maintenance, incredibly durable, and with proper installation, will last longer than almost any other siding material out there.

What Siding Is Best for Insulation?

Most people consider factors like aesthetic appeal or whether siding is cost-effective to purchase and install. However, whether you’re building a new home or looking for siding replacement options, energy conservation is something that you should add to your list of concerns. 

While some types of siding may seem affordable or like they have plenty of curb appeal, they may not be energy-efficient options that can help you save over the long term on heating and cooling costs. 

Refer to the chart below to discover which siding options have higher R-values.

As you can see, the only siding alternative that can keep pace with TruLog steel siding in terms of energy performance is insulated vinyl siding — but the problem with vinyl is that it just doesn’t have the durability of steel siding. Different weather conditions, like extreme heat and cold, can cause warping or cracking in vinyl siding, and it’s also prone to damage from hailstorms or flying debris in high winds.

Get Both Durable Siding and Energy Efficiency With Steel

The best siding choice is one that will protect your home, even in extreme weather, while requiring minimal upkeep and providing excellent insulation. While there are many popular choices among new siding products, only TruLog’s steel siding offers the best blend of high durability and low maintenance needs.

Where siding and energy efficiency are concerned, TruLog steel is one of the most energy-efficient types of siding available. That’s because it features a foam insulation backer designed to stop air leaks and provide thermal resistance between the outdoors and the conditioned air in your home. It also features a reflective paint finish, which means that it will absorb less heat from the sun’s rays.

Want to learn more about TruLog steel siding? Download our free catalog to check out colors, siding styles, and more.