Storm Doors - Learning the Specs and Terms

There's some strange terminology that's used in the storm exterior door business, and it's worth learning to help you make an informed buying decision. Storm exterior doors have a high ratio of glass used as compared to the framing material. It's important that this glass have energy efficient properties to make the storm door with the cost in terms of energy savings.

There are three things when it comes to glass that will make a storm exterior door more energy efficient.

Low E

Low emittance, or low-E as it's called in the door trade, is a coating that increases the ability of the glass to diminish heat transfer. This in turn helps save on heating and cooling costs. An added benefit of low-E glass is that it reduces the ultra-violet light that enters the home, and it's the ultra-violet light, or UV light, that causes sun fade to floors, furnishings and fabrics.

Argon Gase

Low-E glass is normally combined with Argon gas, which is sandwiched between double paned glass, to increase energy efficiency. Argon gas is heavier than air, so it provides a better insulating factor, particularly when combined with the low-E glass.

R-Value

The R stands for resistance and the R-Value measures the resistance of the glazing material of the glass to heat flow. In terms of R-Value ratings, higher is better, as it indicates a higher resistance.

Learning the technical language of storm exterior doors will give you the edge on making an informed buying decision. In this case, buying the right storm door can net you big savings on energy costs for your home.