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Be sure your entry door doesn’t inflate your energy bills. Fiberglass and steel entry doors, with insulated panels, are much more energy-efficient than wood doors or hollow panels construction.Look for a door that meets Energy Star and National Fenestration Rating Council ratings, to ensure that it is energy-efficient.
Many exterior doors have a thick steel panel with a polyurethane or other foam insulation core. Fiberglass-clad doors are also very common and, if the door isn’t too big, they can be a good option. Both these types of doors - steel and fiberglass - are highly energy-efficient. Their R-values range typically from R-5 to R-6, which is the ideal for cold northern climates.
See:
Exterior Doors
Wood exterior doors aren’t the best option. Their maintenance cost is high, and their energy efficiency low. All-wood doors rarely meet the Energy Star standards for the colder regions. Many manufacturers have added low-E glass to their wooden doors, to enhance their insulating standards (low-E glass has a better insulating capability than wood), and composite doors are becoming a standard, but well constructed fiberglass and steel entry doors have higher energy efficiency. See also: Climate Zones & Windows, Doors and Skylights
Fiberglass and steel with polyurethane foam are excellent core materials for an exterior energy efficient door. The other two elements of a performing door are 1) multiple panes of e-low glass and 2) a weather-stripping magnetic strip.
The eventual glass
element of a door should be equated. Do not chose a door with a
single pane of common glass. Prefer a door with a double or
triple pane of good insulating glass.
Low-E coating glass
(in colder climates) and Low
E2 glass (hot climates)
are the most common types of glass for boosting the
energy efficiency of glazed doors.
Exterior doors should include a magnetic strip as weather-stripping. This device is basically similar to a refrigerator door magnetic seal, and is crucial to an high energy efficiency. A good door, well insulated, with a magnetic strip should not need additional weather-stripping. Just check regularly the foam caulking and the seals around the door to see if there is any need of replacement or additional weather-stripping.
Different climates
demand doors with different energy efficiency.
Doors should be professionally installed. The door should be sealed tightly to the jamb. Foam caulking should seal the door frame to the threshold and the rough opening. Air should not get around the door seals and into the house.
Buy from a manufacturer that stands behind its doors. Check warranties. Manufacturers as Pella's offer a 20/10 Limited Warranty for the entire unit, but most of the manufacturers' warranties only cover door panels.
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