Open the Door to Energy Awareness in October

“Doors are a critical part of the housing envelope, so it’s important to evaluate and maintain their energy efficiency throughout the year,” says Derek Fielding, senior product manager for Therma-Tru Corp. “Along with your main entry door, you have side doors, sliding and hinged doors, garage doors, and doors leading from the home to the garage. That’s a large number of openings that need attention to maintain energy efficiency in the home.”

According to Fielding, homeowners should always purchase an ENERGY STAR® rated door for their specific geographic area. In addition, here are several tips for homeowners who want to ensure that their doors are helping support the overall energy efficiency of the home:

1. If you’re looking for a door, be sure to select one made of fiberglass. A solid fiberglass door is up to four times more energy-efficient than a solid wood door, plus you get the benefits that fiberglass has to offer, including resistance to rot, rust, dings, and weather. Available in an assortment of styles, Therma-Tru® Classic-Craft® doors can come with woodgrain for staining or a smooth surface that can be painted to accent any home design.

2. If you’re replacing an entry door and want one with decorative or privacy glass in the door or sidelites, take time to research your options. Try to select doorlites and sidelites that have triple-paned glass, which helps make the entire door more energy-efficient. If only a two-paned glass is available, request a low E coating on the glass that can enhance the energy efficiency of the unit.

3. Reach out and touch your door on both hot and cold days. If you feel the exterior temperatures on the inside surface, then your door may not have adequate insulation and you should consider upgrading it with a replacement that is more energy-efficient and has an ENERGY STAR qualified rating for your geographic area.

4. Inspect the weather stripping around all sides of every door in the home to make sure it has not worn out. On a bright day, stand inside near your door and look for daylight flowing through the door perimeter. If light is coming in, then so is external air and possibly moisture, in all likelihood. That means it’s time to determine if your foam-filled weatherstripping may have lost some of its compression, has cracked, or has flattened out and needs to be replaced. An easy way to determine what weatherstripping you may need and order online is to visit the door replacement parts section of the Therma-Tru website.

5. Open and close your doors on both dry and wet, humid days. If your door fits tightly on humid days, then it’s most likely leaking air on dry days. You may want to consider a high-performance door made of fiberglass to prevent this type of swelling and add more energy efficiency to your home.

Purchasing a New Door

If your older entry door serves as a leaky energy drain on your home, then it’s time to invest in a new high-performance entryway. Many homeowners in the past 25 years have embraced both the energy efficiency and beauty of durable fiberglass doors.

According to the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA), fiberglass products are known for their reliability, customization aspects for style design, and energy efficiency. Fiberglass doors have an abundance of features outlined by the AAMA here.

Constructed as a complete system of components, Therma-Tru fiberglass doors are designed and engineered to work together for lasting performance, security, and energy efficiency. Multi-point locking systems that engage a series of locks at several places on the frame and impact-rated decorative glass options, plus the adjustable security strike plate that withstands up to three times the force of a standard strike plate, are key factors in creating Therma-Tru’s dependable entry door system.

Homeowners looking for durability in their doors can also rely on the Tru-Defense® Door System. This system maximizes the seal between the door and the frame to help keep out the damaging effects of wind and rain, while increasing energy efficiency. Within this optional upgrade system, the weatherstripping, corner seal pad, door bottom sweep, and profiled sill all work together to provide a door system that can withstand severe weather conditions along with day-to-day family activity.

Homeowners interested in researching fiberglass door design options for their own homes can use the free “Door Designer” program (located at www.thermatru.com/products/door-designer/) and the “My Saved Doors” tool (located at http://www.thermatru.com/MyThermaTru).