Storm Doors - Making the Investment Pay Off

Storm exterior doors can actually make you money in your home! Did you know that storm doors actually help you qualify for energy tax credits from the U.S. federal government? Storm exterior door make an entryway up to 45% more energy efficient, and improvements that make the home save energy can qualify for tax credits for up to 30% of the purchase price!

Many storm door manufacturers are providing certification statements for their qualifying products. These statements provide the documentation that a homeowner needs to receive an energy tax credit for their doors under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The storm exterior door is considered an eligible building envelope component, as it's called under the IRS notice. When installed over an exterior door, the storm door needs to have what's called a U-factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) of .30 or less. U-factors are indicators of heat transfer. They're expressed in units and a lower U-Factor indicates more energy efficiency. The SHGC is also expressed as a value between 0 and 1, as it's a ratio of solar heat gain entering the space due to the door vs. normally occurring solar heat gain. Smaller numbers are better in the SHGC in terms of energy efficiency.

The 30% tax credit only applies to the purchase price of the storm exterior door, any installation cost is not included in the savings, although the installation of a storm door is typically a DIY project for a handy homeowner.

Your storm exterior door can not only pay off in energy savings, but choosing the right storm door can pay off in tax savings as well.