Hey everyone, it’s Jake here, and I run an aluminum curtain wall supply company—so when people ask me all the time, “Can an aluminum curtain wall even work in super cold climates?” I get it. At first glance, aluminum might feel like it’s for sunnier places, right? But honestly, after 12 years of dealing with projects in places like Minneapolis, Calgary, and even parts of northern Canada, I’m here to say: yeah, it absolutely can. But there’s a right way to do it, and a wrong way. Let’s break this down like we chat over coffee, no fancy jargon, just real-world stuff I’ve seen and dealt with. Aluminium Curtain Wall
First off, let’s get one basic thing out of the way: aluminum itself doesn’t hate cold weather. Wait—what happens to metal when it gets really cold? Oh right, some materials get brittle. But aluminum? No. Aluminum’s actually got this thing called “ductility,” which is just a fancy way of saying it bends instead of snapping when it’s cold. I’ve seen steel crack during a -30°F test because it got too brittle, but aluminum? It held up. Not to mention, aluminum doesn’t rust like iron or steel when it’s exposed to snow, ice, and road salt (which is a big one for cold climates—everyone salts roads to keep them clear, and that salt sticks to buildings). A steel curtain wall would start corroding within a few years up there, but aluminum? It forms this super thin, natural oxide layer when it’s exposed to air that acts like a shield. That’s why it’s been used for exterior building parts in cold places forever—you just have to pick the right grade. We don’t use flimsy, cheap aluminum for cold-weather jobs; we go for 6063-T5 or 6061-T6 alloy. These are stronger, more resistant to temperature swings, and don’t lose their shape when it’s freezing. That’s a game-changer.
Now, the big problems with aluminum in cold climates aren’t the metal itself—it’s the details. Let’s talk about thermal expansion, because that’s the thing that trips a lot of people up. Any material expands when it’s hot, contracts when it’s cold. Aluminum does this way more than, say, concrete or glass. If you don’t account for that movement, you end up with gaps, cracked seals, or even panels pulling away from the frame. I learned this the hard way early on. My first big cold-climate project was a 10-story office building in Edmonton, Alberta—super cold, gets to -40°F in winter, and blasts up to 80°F in summer. Back then, I just installed panels tight like I would in Florida. By the end of the first winter, the panels had shrunk so much there were half-inch gaps between them. Water got in, froze, expanded, and damaged the seal. Had to rip out half the curtain wall and redo it. Cost me extra time, extra money, and a lot of stress.
So what’s the fix for thermal movement? We use expansion joints—lots of them. Not the flimsy plastic ones you might see on cheap windows, but heavy-duty aluminum or stainless steel ones that slide and flex. Also, we leave tiny gaps between panels, filled with a closed-cell foam backer rod and silicone sealant made specifically for extreme temps. Regular silicone gets brittle in cold weather and cracks, letting water in. We use ones rated for -60°F or lower, and they stay flexible year-round. On that Edmonton redo, we added 20% more expansion joints than the original plan, and 15 years later, that building’s curtain wall is still holding up—no leaks, no gaps. That’s the kind of detail that makes or breaks a cold-weather aluminum curtain wall.
Next up, insulation—this is non-negotiable for cold climates. If you have an aluminum frame that’s just bare metal, it acts like a thermal bridge. That means cold air seeps right through the frame into the building, and warm air inside escapes, making your heating bill skyrocket. No one wants that, especially in places where winter heating costs are through the roof. So how do we fix thermal bridges? We use thermally broken frames. What’s that? It’s two separate aluminum sections—an interior part and an exterior part—connected by a non-metal spacer, usually made of fiberglass or a special polymer that doesn’t conduct heat. Think of it like a thermos: the air gap or the non-metal part stops heat from moving from one side to the other.
We tested this on a recent apartment building project in Minneapolis. The old plan was for a standard aluminum frame, but we pushed for thermally broken ones. The building’s owner did the math: without the thermal break, their annual heating cost would be around $18,000 a year. With the break, it dropped to $11,000. That’s $7,000 a year they’re saving—they paid for the extra cost of the thermal breaks in just two years. Also, we pair the frames with double- or even triple-pane glass, with argon gas in between. Argon is a heavy gas that doesn’t conduct heat well, so it adds another layer of insulation. I’ve had architects tell me they’re worried triple-pane glass would be too heavy, but modern aluminum curtain wall frames are strong enough to handle it. We did a school project in Anchorage last year with triple-pane, thermally broken frames, and the heating efficiency is way above code. That’s a win-win.
Another thing people ask about: snow and wind. Cold climates usually have heavy snow loads and high winds, right? Especially places like Chicago or Toronto. Aluminum is strong, but you have to engineer the frames and panels to handle that. We don’t just use off-the-shelf parts for these projects. Our engineers do load calculations specific to each location—how much snow is typical, what’s the maximum wind speed during a storm, even ice buildup on panels. For example, in Buffalo, NY, where we get 80+ inches of snow a year, we make the frames thicker—2mm instead of the standard 1.5mm—and add reinforcing struts inside the frame. That way, when snow piles up on the panels, they don’t bend or warp. We also make sure the brackets that hold the curtain wall to the building’s structure are heavy-duty, not the tiny ones you’d use for a residential awning. I’ve seen a building in Detroit where the brackets were too weak, and during a 2019 blizzard, three panels pulled loose and fell onto the sidewalk. No one hurt, but it was a huge mess. We haven’t used that type of bracket on a cold-climate project since.
Wait, what about ice dams? A lot of old buildings get ice dams on roofs, but curtain walls can have issues too, right? If heat escapes through the wall, it can melt snow on the edge of the roof or the top of the curtain wall, and that water refreezes as it gets cold again, forming ice. That ice can get heavy, and it can also seep into the joints. So how do we prevent that? It goes back to the insulation and thermal breaks. If your curtain wall is well-insulated, less heat escapes, so less melting happens. Also, we add weep holes at the bottom of each panel. Weep holes are tiny little slots that let any water that gets in drain out, instead of pooling and freezing. They’re slanted so snow and debris don’t clog them up. On our Anchorage school, we tested the weep holes during a snowstorm by spraying water on the panels—all of it drained out, no ice buildup. Perfect.
Is there a downside to aluminum curtain walls in cold climates? Well, yeah—they are more expensive upfront than, say, vinyl or wood. But let’s do the math. Wood rots in constant moisture and cold, so you have to replace it every 20 years or so. Vinyl gets brittle in really cold temps and cracks, same thing. Aluminum? With the right installation and details, it lasts 50+ years. We have a 40-year-old library in Calgary with aluminum curtain walls that’s still in great shape. The heating savings add up too, like that Minneapolis apartment building. Also, maintenance is way easier. You just spray them off with a hose a couple times a year, scrape off any heavy ice, and that’s it. No sanding, no painting, no replacing rotten wood. Over the lifetime of the building, aluminum is actually cheaper.
I also want to mention something that’s been big lately—sustainability. Aluminum is 100% recyclable, no matter how many times you melt it down. That’s huge for cold-climate projects, which are often commercial buildings that stick around for decades. A lot of our clients care about LEED certification these days, and aluminum curtain walls help with that. The energy efficiency from thermal breaks means lower carbon emissions from heating, and the recyclability keeps waste out of landfills. We recently worked on a net-zero office building in Seattle—wait, no, actually it was in Minneapolis—and their aluminum curtain wall was a big part of hitting their energy goals. That’s something a lot of people don’t think about when they’re choosing exterior materials.
Here’s the thing I want you to take away: aluminum isn’t a “sunny climate only” material. It works in cold climates, but you can’t just order a standard curtain wall and slap it on. You need to work with a supplier who knows the cold—someone who’s been there, messed up, fixed the mistakes, and knows what details matter. That’s us, by the way. We don’t just send you a box of aluminum parts and say “good luck.” We do on-site visits during the design phase, help with load calculations, pick the right alloys, thermal breaks, sealants, all that stuff. We’ve got a team of engineers who specialize in cold-climate projects, so we don’t guess—we test and calculate.
I get it, if you’re a contractor or building owner in Minnesota, Canada, Maine, or any place with freezing winters, you’ve heard horror stories about materials failing in cold weather. But those stories are usually from people who cut corners or used the wrong parts. Aluminum is actually one of the best materials you can use because it’s durable, low-maintenance, and efficient. It’s not a one-size-fits-all, but when you tailor it to the climate, it’s unbeatable.
If you’re working on a project in a cold climate and you’re curious if aluminum curtain walls are right for you, or if you just want to chat about the details—hit us up. We’ve got case studies of every cold city I mentioned, we can walk through your project, and help you figure out what works. No pushy sales stuff, just real advice from someone who’s been doing this for years and cares about buildings that last.
Aluminum Honeycomb Panel References
- Aluminum Association. (2022). Aluminum in Cold Climate Construction: Performance and Design Guidelines. Washington, DC: The Aluminum Association.
- North American Insulation Manufacturers Association. (2021). Thermal Bridging Solutions for Exterior Building Envelopes. Alexandria, VA: NAIMA.
- American Architectural Manufacturers Association. (2020). AAMA 1503: Voluntary Test Method for Thermal Transmittance and Condensation Resistance of Windows, Doors, and Curtain Walls. Schaumburg, IL: AAMA.
- City of Edmonton Building Department. (2019). Cold Climate Building Envelope Requirements and Best Practices. Edmonton, AB: City of Edmonton.
Zhejiang Ouzhijie Aluminium Co., Ltd.
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