The doors are one of the primary components in your home. They function as one of the permeable barriers between the entrance of your house and outside. Your entry doors enable your family and friends to enter and leave your house. However, your doors could also account for your home’s energy loss by as much as 11 percent.
The seasonal shrinking and swelling, the damaging dirt or drafts along the seals, and weatherstripping that wears out can affect your exterior doors’ energy efficiency over time. They may let the moist outside air to go in that can cause your cooling bill to increase in the summer and your heating bill to rise in the winter.
Maintaining your entry doors and ensuring that they’re performing at their best is something you must look forward from time to time. That being said, here are a few helpful DIY ideas to make your doors energy efficient and keep your energy bills low.
Make Sure to Seal the Gaps
As a homeowner, it’s always necessary to keep your doors in good shape and help reduce energy loss. You need to make sure that they hang securely on their hinges since any looseness may cause gaps between your doors and the doorframe.
If your doors have gaps, you can use silicone caulk to close off and seal these cracks around the doorframe. Just like connecting to a reliable energy provider like Astral Energy LLC, sealing the gaps will also help lower your home’s energy costs and save money by keeping the hot and cold air out.
Weatherstrip Your Doors
Weatherstripping is necessary to help tighten up spaces between your door and the doorframe. You can apply compressible foam or rubber weatherstripping to help seal your doors more effectively and prevent air leaks every time you close them.
On the other hand, you can install a rubber or bristle door sweeps to help seal the gaps at the bottom part of your entry doors. They are high-quality products that can help prevent air leakage between your doors and the threshold. They can also help prevent infiltration of smoke, moisture, insects, and drafts cost-effectively.
Check Your Door Frames
Your home may shift and settle over time that could affect how your doors sit on their frame. Your entry doors may have changed if you noticed that they squeak or stick. You can clean around your doors’ perimeter to help remove any debris or dirt which enables you to see if the alignment is off or not.
After that, you need to check the hinges and make sure that all the screws are tight. Make sure also to check and see if there are any issues with the caulking around your door frames and close off or seal the gaps if needed. Hence, checking your door frames can be an excellent way to find out possible air leakage on your doors effectively.
Consider the Storm Doors
Installing storm doors is necessary to help reduce your home’s energy loss. They are an inexpensive option to help enhance your space and improve your home’s energy efficiency. Storm doors are made of fiberglass, wood, or aluminum that have interchangeable glass and screen inserts.
Storm doors are a high-quality product that can fight against elements such as stains and wind-blown debris. They also have screen inserts that allow proper airflow while keeping insects and other pests out of your house. The product can also help increase your doors’ energy efficiency and reduce your energy loss up to 50 percent.
Don’t Forget the Glass
Doors that incorporate glasses in the form of a transom, sidelights, and inserting glass panels tend to be more prone to energy loss compared to solid wood doors. You need to make sure that any glass added in and around your entry doors are in good condition and properly secured.
You can add a simple and high-quality storm in your doors particularly during the winter season or cold climates. You can also put wood-framed glass or plexiglass secured around your doors’ sidelights and help protect your panes from damage.
Takeaway
Improving your doors’ energy efficiency will ensure to keep your space cool during the summer and warm during the winter. You can do simple ways such as those mentioned above and help reduce your energy costs and keep your utility bills low over time. They can also help your home’s showpiece perform at its best all the time.
