Energy Efficiency: Why it should be important to you

Comfort - An energy-efficient product will make your home more comfortable.  Whether lowering your heating costs or lowering your cooling costs, energy-efficient doors offer many advantages.

Lower Heating Costs - One of the best ways to lower your heating costs is to select an energy-efficient product.  The amount of heat loss through a product is defined by its U-Factor.  The lower the U-Factor, the less heat is lost through the product.  The less heat that is lost through the product, the lower your heating costs.

Lower Cooling Costs - Looking to lower your cooling costs?  Look at the product's Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC).  This rating, on a scale of 0 to 1, tells you how much heat gain enters through the product.  The lower the value, the less the heat gain through the product into the room.  The less heat gain, the lower your cooling costs.

Where do you find these ratings? The NFRC label.  When comparing the energy efficiency of one product to the next, look for the NFRC label.  The energy performance label, developed by the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC), improves the ability to make product-to-product comparisons of energy performance.  Traditionally there were numerous methods of testing for energy performance, leading to confusion and inconsistency when comparing product energy performance.  NFRC certification and labeling simplifies this process.

Importance of Whole Product Performance - Traditionally, energy performance information has focused on just the glass.  The NFRC certification and labeling program tests, certifies and labels the performance of the entire product, glass, door and frame.  While glass information can be helpful, always look for the NFRC label when comparing product-to-product energy performance.

What is design pressure?

Design pressure (or DP) is a numerical value which defines the structural wind loading requirements for a building and components and cladding of a building.  Factors used in determining a design pressure are:

1. building height
2. occupancy type for determining importance factor
3. exposure category based on geographic location
4. basic wind speed velocity in miles per hour (mph) as reference in the local building code
5. whether the building is enclosed or open

Design pressures may be listed in state or local building codes and in some cases can be determined using a standard published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).  The standard, ASCE 7-Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, is referenced in many local, state and national building codes.

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