Energy Saving Ideas

Prevent Warm Air from Escaping with Simple Door Maintenance

Iowa weather and high energy prices have left many looking for ways to tighten up their homes for long-term energy savings. Exterior doors may let 11-40 percent of a home's air escape requiring more energy to keep a constant temperature.

Doors and windows should fit snugly to keep air from sneaking in around the edges. Poor insulation, years of hard use, shifting foundations and seasonal warping will force a door out of alignment with its frame. Wooden doors can warp, becoming difficult to open and close, especially in areas with high humidity. Because doors are in continuous use, they may also loosen, bind or stick. Simple maintenance and repair of exterior doors will prevent warm or cold air from escaping.

Weatherize Doors
If an exterior door is too loose within its frame, fill the gap with weatherstripping. There are several types of materials used in weatherstripping; rubber, felt and plastic. Cover the entire door jamb with a single strip on each side and with a thickness that presses tightly between the door and the door jamb without making the door too hard to use.

Use more durable materials like sweeps, door shoes, and vinyl bulb thresholds for the bottom of the door: Sweeps are easy-to-install metal strips with rubber, vinyl or brush extensions. They are useful for stopping air leaks under doors with flat thresholds, but may catch on carpeting or rugs. Door shoes are metal tracks with a rounded vinyl strip that makes contact with the threshold when the door is closed. Although they are harder to install, door strips are good for worn down wooden thresholds. Vinyl bulb thresholds are similar to door shoes, but they are installed under the door in place of the threshold.

Storm Doors
If the existing door is old, but still in good condition, a storm door can be added to prevent warm or cold air from escaping. High quality storm doors and windows use low-e glass, which prevent heated or cooled air from escaping the home. Storm door frames are usually made of aluminum, steel, fiberglass, or wood. Wood storm doors are attractive, however, require more maintenance than others because are vulnerable to weather. Metal-framed doors with foam insulation are a better alternative.

Although most doors benefit from the addition of a storm door, installing a new storm door to a modern foam core door is not generally worth the expense as the energy saved is very small. Also, if a door gets more than a few hours of direct sun per day, adding a glass storm door is not recommended. The glass will trap too much heat against the entry door and possibly cause warping or other damage depending on the type of exterior door.

More Information and Additional Resources
Additional information on home energy savings can be found in the Home Series: Home Cooling booklet available on the Iowa Energy Center’s Web site, www.energy.iastate.edu or by calling (515) 294-8819.

Some of this information was adapted from the U.S. Department of Energy web site at www.energy.gov, and from the online site, www.doityourself.com/stormdoors.html. Additional information was gathered from, “The Consumer's Guide: Keeping the Heat In," produced by the Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources of Canada. Other portions were adapted from, "In the Bank...Or Up the Chimney," a publication of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Iowa Energy Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing Iowa’s energy efficiency and the use of renewable fuels.

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