Weather can take a toll on your home’s doors and windows in many ways. From ravaging summer sun, to pelting sleet and rain, to gusty winds, your doors and windows can take a real beating, and often show it in the way of appearance-and your utility bills. As the seals and weather stripping wear around your doors and windows, so, too do the units themselves. They rattle, no longer open or close with ease, and you may feel a definite draft as you pass by. Your weather, and changing temperatures, have an effect on your home’s windows and doors.
Your door is more than just the place where you greet your guests, haul in your groceries, or run to after a too-long day. Your entryway provides the biggest opportunity for loss of heat, or air-conditioning, and the older, or more weathered, your door, the less efficient it will be at sealing your home. Whether a typical entry door, French- or patio sliding glass door, the outside temperatures will put a strain on your heating and cooling system if your door isn’t sealing properly. Nothing impacts your doors’ efficiency more.
The Many Ways Temperature Can Effect Your Entryway
The outside temperature can effect your door in many ways. From a home heating and cooling standpoint, the material used in manufacturing your home’s entry can make a huge difference in utility bills. If your door is un-insulated metal, commonly used by builders for cutting costs, you have not much weather-barrier at all. Even if the frame is insulated and sealed with super-tight weather-stripping, you’re still losing a significant amount of your home’s heating and cooling.
Ideally, if your outside temperatures were constant and comfortable, then your un-insulated metal door will be just fine. If you never had the need to heat or cool your home for comfort, you’d do quite well with this type of entry. However, for most people in the US, this is not a reality. The next step, therefore, is to purchase and insulated door. Metal insulated doors are your best bet when you want to keep your home comfortable with little effect from the outside temperature.
A solid wood door can be equally effective at insulating your entryway. But, unlike an insulated metal door, your wood door can fall victim to the changing weather. The rise and fall of temperature, humidity, and sun’s intensity can weather wood much more rapidly than metal. If you have extreme weather-as in the desert areas, areas of high humidity, or temperatures that plummet below zero, accompanied by snow and ice, any door will become ill-fitting in time. Wood doors sag, warp, and discolor sooner, however, and may need to be painted, re-hung, or replaced frequently.
Your Patio Doors
If you have a patio entry that covers a good bit of wall space, such as French doors or sliding glass, you’re losing heat. The outside temperature is absolutely going to put a strain on your heating and cooling system. Because of the wide area of window space, you likely have leaks, and if the temperatures are extreme, you may encounter broken seals within the glass, or panes, themselves.
Today’s technology offers so many improvements over entry, French and sliding glass doors of just a few years ago. More effective insulation, better framework, and even glaze-insulated glass all provide less opportunity for loss of energy. Consider replacing your current portal with a new, more advanced and efficient door, you’ll see a return on your investment with your next utility bill.