Energy Efficient Doors Save Money

Energy Efficient Doors – Save Money AND The Planet!

How Energy Efficient are your Doors

You spend money heating and cooling your home. So it makes sense to keep that expensive heat in – or if you’ve cooled your home with air conditioning, you’ll want it to stay cool.

energy efficient doors reduce heat loss
Heat loss in an average home. Credit: deshineus.com

Insulation is a very important part of making sure you don’t waste energy or money. A well-insulated home keeps in that heat or that coolness, which means you save money, and you also use less energy, which is good for reducing pollution, being green and helping to save the planet.

Related: Staying cool without air conditioning

When we think of insulation, we often think of roof and wall insulation.

But don’t forget your doors!

It’s surprising how much can escape through doors.

Energy Efficient Doors

Energy efficient doors can help you to reduce your electricity bills, as well as keep your rooms at a more comfortable temperature without having to turn on the air-conditioning or the heater.

There are 2 parts to making sure you have energy efficient doors:

  1. The door itself
  2. The door surrounds.

A brand new door may cost quite a lot of money, particularly if it’s a front door, or a large expanse of patio doors for example. But even fairly ordinary internal doors can eat into your budget.

That’s why I always like to look first at the door surrounds. It’s quick and inexpensive to improve the energy efficiency of your doors by weatherstripping or caulking.

Weatherstripping / Caulking: Even More Important Than the Door

weatherstripping for energy efficient doors
Weatherstripping. Credit: greenspaceconstruct.com

Most heat (or coolness) in the door area doesn’t escape from passing through the door.

Instead, it escapes through the gaps under the door or the seams on the side of the door.

How can you tell if you need to insulate around your door?

Here’s a quick expert tip:

Take a piece of paper and see if you can slide it anywhere from inside the house to the outside of the house with the door closed.

Go all the way around the door – top, both sides and underneath.

If your piece of paper slips through, you have a serious air and energy leak.

caulking for energy efficienct doors
Caulking. Credit: greenspaceconstruct .com

Weatherstripping and caulking are two ways of sealing up these gaps to make sure no heat or coolness escapes to the outside. (Caulking is also called sealing or filling).

Weatherstripping and caulking will allow the door to seal tightly when closed, but won’t interfere with normal opening and closing.

Weatherstripping and caulking are miles cheaper than buying a new door – and can have a much bigger effect!

You can do it yourself – your local hardware store will have the supplies you need – or get a professional to do it for you.

What Kind of New Door Should You Choose?

old doors may be energy efficient doorsThe greenest door is an existing door – it doesn’t need new raw materials to make it, and you’re keeping it out of a landfill. Try antique shops, yard sales, shops that specialize in reclaimed materials…..

And don’t forget online sources such as CraigsList or Freegle – you might be able to get a free door just for the effort of collecting it!

Older doors are often energy efficient doors, because they were generally built more solidly. (Of course, remember to seal up the gaps around them by weatherstripping or caulking).

If you do need to buy a new door, here’s what you need to know about energy-efficient doors.

New doors are sold in a variety of different materials – wood, steel, fibreglass, uPVC or Vinyl, aluminium, glass (e.g. patio doors), composite doors and more.

Wooden doors – including solid wood doors – are a top choice for many homeowners, largely because of the aesthetic qualities of wood.

They look great, but they need regular maintenance (oiling, staining or painting), and have a low insulating value (also called an R-Value:- the higher the R Value, the less heat escapes). You should be able to tell the R-value from energy labels on the door.

front doors should be energy efficient doorsIf a wooden door has glass panels, the insulating ability or R-value of the door drops even further.

Often, composites are the most energy efficient doors. For example, a wooden door can have a steel core for better insulation. This gives you the great look of wood with a higher R-value.

Steel doors are another major type of composite residential front doors; many of them come with a foam insulation core – a critical factor in a building’s overall comfort and efficiency.

It WILL Make a Difference!

Yes, it may take some effort and money to have energy efficient doors throughout your home. But it will pay off in energy savings in the future.

You’ll also be helping reduce your environmental footprint by using less energy – and that’s very green and eco friendly!

Please tell your friends and family how easy it is to have energy efficient doors – Sharing buttons below and right – thank you!


Tags

caulking, doors, eco friendly, energy efficiency, energy efficient doors, green, home, home energy efficiency, insulation, R-value, save the planet, weatherstripping


  • I moved here in October so the first thing I did was check the seals around the door. Living in a climate that gets quite cold we know first hand how expensive it can be to heat a home with poorly fit doors but it’s also uncomfortable having that frigid air blowing in through the openings.

    The paper trick is the best way to check the fit of a door but another way to see if you have gotten every spot sealed up nicely ( or to check windows and junction boxes) is to carry a lit candle on a windy day.. You can see any air coming in move the flame.

    Excellent tips on doors too. I love the look of a wood door but they really aren’t the most energy efficient. If you must purchase a new door many of the steel doors (which I have) are made to look like wood giving you both the look you want and the insulation you need.

    • Thanks Lois, the candle is a great idea! Glad the steel / wood look doors work for you – they do indeed bring the benefits of both, it’s great that we have such a wide range of choices these days. Thanks!

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