Therma-Tru Offers Tips to Reduce High Energy Bills During Energy Awareness Month
Maumee, Ohio (PRWEB) September 26, 2014 -- Homeowners wishing to reduce soaring energy bills should make sure to evaluate their exterior doors. That's the advice of experts at Therma-Tru during October's Energy Awareness Month.
"Leaking air through older entry doors and inefficient insulation within the door itself can increase heating and cooling bills," says Brad Johnson, vice president of marketing with Therma-Tru Corp. "October is the ideal time each year to evaluate the doors in the home, conduct minor maintenance and make a determination if any door needs to be replaced."
Johnson reports that most homeowners can get years of service from their front door, but, just like all major items in the home, it will eventually need to be replaced. He offers these easy tips on how to evaluate the main entry door and determine when it's time to consider a door replacement.
Tip #1 - Open and close the door --- on both dry and wet, humid days. Make sure all the components operate smoothly. If the door doesn't close securely, then it’s most likely leaking air, causing the home to lose energy.
Tip #2 - Inspect the weather stripping around all sides of the front door to make sure it has not worn out. On a bright day, stand inside near the door and look for daylight flowing through the door perimeter. If light is coming in, then so most likely, is external air and possibly moisture. That means it’s time to determine if the foam-filled weatherstripping may have lost some of its compression, cracked or simply worn out.
Tip #3 - Examine the locks to make sure they operate smoothly and are strong enough to help protect the home. Multi-point locking systems, like those that can be requested on Therma-Tru® doors, offer exceptional peace-of-mind and security for the home.
Tip #4 - Reach out and touch the door on both hot and cold days. If a person feels the exterior temperatures on the inside surface, then the door may not have adequate insulation. In this situation, homeowners should consider upgrading the door with a replacement that is more energy efficient and is an ENERGY STAR® qualified product for the region where the home is located. Order a multi-point locking system on the next door for a tighter fit against the weatherstripping, which can help provide even greater energy savings.
Tip #5 - Look at the appearance of the door. Wood doors tend to warp or rot after years of service. A steel door can get dinged and rust over time. And, it's possible that the style of the door simply doesn't match up with the design of the home. These are all red flags that it's time to replace the front door.
What to Look for in a New Door
"If it becomes apparent that a door needs to be replaced, homeowners should consider one made of fiberglass," says Johnson. "A solid fiberglass door is up to four times more energy efficient than a solid wood door, plus the homeowner gets the benefits that fiberglass has to offer, including resistance to rot, rust, dings and weather."
Another factor to consider is what's on the inside of the door. The dense polyurethane foam used in the core of Therma-Tru® fiberglass doors helps the doors achieve high thermal performance values.
According to Johnson, homeowners choosing to add decorative glass to Therma-Tru fiberglass doors can also count on energy-efficient features. The company's triple-pane construction of most decorative and privacy glass doorlites and sidelites creates both a strong thermal and acoustical barrier. And factory-coated Low-E glass, available as an option for clear glass, also delivers exceptional energy efficiency. In cold weather, the Low-E glass helps reduce the loss of heat by reflecting the heat back inside the home. In warm weather, Low-E glass reflects the sun's rays off of the glass, helping keep the interior of the home cool.
Constructed as a complete system of components, Therma-Tru fiberglass doors are designed and engineered to work together for lasting performance, security and energy efficiency. Multi-point locking systems that engage a series of locks at several places on the frame, plus the adjustable security strike plate that can withstand up to three times the force of a standard strike plate, are key factors in creating a dependable Therma-Tru entry door system.
About Therma-Tru
Therma-Tru is the leading entry door brand most preferred by builders and remodelers. Founded in 1962, Therma-Tru pioneered the fiberglass entry door industry, and today offers a complete portfolio of entry and patio door system solutions, including decorative glass doorlites, sidelites and transoms, and door components. The company also offers low-maintenance Fypon® urethane and PVC products. Headquartered in Maumee, Ohio, Therma-Tru is part of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. (NYSE: FBHS). For more information and product warranty details, visit http://www.thermatru.com, http://www.fypon.com or call (800) 537-8827.
ENERGY STAR is a government program that helps consumers protect the environment through superior energy efficiency and is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Kathy Ziprik, Therma-Tru, http://www.thermatru.com, +1 828-890-8065, [email protected]
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