The choice of material, when building or renovating a house, has a bearing not only on aesthetics, but also on durability, eco-friendliness and running costs. Let’s take a look at how plastic, aluminium and wood compare in these terms, to help you choose the best material.
1. Economy and maintenance costs
- Plastic: It’s a relatively inexpensive material to produce and install, and it doesn’t require frequent maintenance. Due to their light weight, plastic windows and doors are easy to transport and install. However, the disadvantages include low resistance to mechanical damage and difficulty in repair, which increases costs over a long period of use.
- Aluminium: The production cost of aluminium is higher, but due to its durability and weather resistance, the investment pays off in the long term. Aluminium requires minimal maintenance and remains visually pleasing for years, thus saving on repairs and renovations.
- Wood: Wood is relatively more expensive to buy and requires regular maintenance (e.g. painting and waterproofing). Although well-treated wood can last for decades, maintenance costs are higher than for aluminium.
2. Eco-friendliness & sustainability
- Plastic: It’s difficult to recycle and often ends up in landfills, where it takes hundreds of years to decompose. As such, plastic products are a less environmentally friendly choice, especially in this era, with the push to reduce waste.
- Aluminium: It’s substantially more environmentally friendly than plastic due to its durability and recyclability. Processing aluminium requires only 5% of the energy needed for its primary production, making this material perfect for a circular economy.
- Wood: It’s a natural and renewable material, however, its sustainability depends on the source. Certified timber is sourced from sustainable cultivation, minimising the negative impact on woodlands. Nevertheless, timber production can contribute to deforestation, which has an impact on the climate.
3. Durability & resistance to weather conditions
- Plastic: Exhibits corrosion and moisture resistance, making it suitable for outdoor use. However, over time it can warp due to exposure to UV rays and extreme temperatures, which reduces its lifespan.
- Aluminium: It’s highly durable, corrosion-resistant and won’t deform when exposed to the elements. With modern protective coatings, aluminium becomes more resistant to scratches and temperature fluctuations, increasing its durability under extreme conditions.
- Wood: It’s susceptible to moisture and needs to be properly protected to prevent it from rotting and losing its properties. Well-treated wood can be very durable, but requires frequent maintenance, especially in wet conditions.
4. Energy efficiency & insulation
- Plastic: It has good insulating properties, which helps to reduce heat loss. Plastic window frames can be beneficial in terms of energy efficiency, but their long-term performance can diminish due to damage and deformation.
- Aluminium: By nature, aluminium is not a great insulator, although modern aluminium profiles with thermal breaks can provide high energy efficiency. Aluminium works well in windows and doors that require a good balance of strength and insulation.
- Wood: Wood is a natural insulator, which makes wooden windows and doors excellent for thermal and sound insulation. For this reason, despite higher costs, wood is a popular choice for energy-efficient and passive houses.
Conclusion
Each material has its strengths and weaknesses:
- Plastic: Affordable and easy to install, but less sustainable and less environmentally friendly.
- Aluminium: More expensive, but very durable, eco-friendly due to its recyclability and highly weather-resistant.
- Wood: The best insulator, environmentally friendly, but requires regular maintenance and is usually more expensive.
Selection of the optimal material depends on your priorities: cost savings, sustainability, longevity or insulation. Aluminium offers a compromise between eco-friendliness, cost-effectiveness and durability; wood will perform best in terms of insulation; while plastic will be the cheapest, although least durable.
