Exterior Residential Doors; Fiberglass, steel and wood entry
doors
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.
Exterior door types and materials
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
Climate Zones & Windows, Doors and Skylights
Wood
entry 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
Entry Doors Performance & Materials
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.
Low-E and Low-E2 glass
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.
See, for details:
Low Emissivity Glasses
Weather Stripping & Magnetic Strip
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.
Exterior Doors and climate
Different climates
demand doors with different energy efficiency.
See:
Climate Zones &
Windows, Doors and Skylights
Door
Installation
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.
Warranties
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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