why does steel stay hot longer and aluminum?
And aluminum what? Do you mean than Al? It really depends on the circumstances, such as shape, mass, surface, air flow If you have exactly the same shape, same surface, same airflow, then you will have about 3x the mass of steel as aluminum, due to the difference in densitySo, even though aluminum has twice the specific heat than steel, it has 3x the mass for the same volume So, answer: for the same volume, steel stores more heat and stays hotter longer For the same mass, the calculation gets more complicated, as the aluminum would have a higher surface area, which means a faster heat lossWould need more details specific heat Aluminum is 900 J/kgC specific heat Carbon Steel is 490 J/kgC density steel 7750 to 8050 kg/m? density Aluminum 2700 kg/m?
If you're looking to make a sound barrier or insulate your home a little more, I suggest taking the old siding off and installing some 1/2 Styrofoam/styrene sheetingyou can pick these up at any home depot, lowes or menards and they are relatively inexpensiveinstall the styrofoam with plastic capped nails and seal the seams with caulkTape over the seams with duck tape after caulking and then install the sidingYou can also buy 3/4 tongue and groove styrofoam, it's a little easier to install if you're doing this project soloas an extra measure, you can also buy a few rolls of house wrap to put over the foam boards before installing the siding.
the providers of the aluminum siding are probably the best at answering this question - my 1st logical thought is if you remove what siding now exists and get down to the studs you are not much ahead but if you get down to the studs and insulate there and then cover that with plywood that is 1/2inch or 5/8ths inch and make a base for the thicker exterior walls then you can do the studs and place the double layer [[ outside 2nd layer of insulation and then TYVEK foam to have straight exterior walls]] you have maintained the smooth look to the walls and are ready to have new aluminum siding on the house if you do not have new windows [[ double pane glasses ]] now is the time to reset the window depth to the new thickness of your walls it turns into a big project and just be sure that you are going to stay in that house for a long time and double up on the insulation materials that are in the attic all of this might save you monthly but it will take years to pay for itself - the advantage is that you will be comfortable in both hot and cool A/C .
