Installing a new set of exterior doors such as porch folding doors or a panoramic sliding door system is a great way to open up the interior of your home to more natural light and feel closer to nature. Additionally, the extra light contributes to a more spacious feeling inside of your home, making your space feel larger than it actually is. This makes it a great way to “expand” your living room area without having to build an entire addition to your home.

The two most common door systems that are installed in modern homes are folding door systems and sliding doors. Both door systems are made using similar materials and typically occupy the same space. The main difference is in how each door system works.

If you’re in the process of deciding between the two door systems and you’re not sure which is best for your home, then this is the post for you! Below, we’ll discuss the differences in how both folding and sliding doors work, which is more practical, energy-efficient, and cost-efficient. Let’s take a look!

How Do Porch Folding Doors Work?

No matter how many folding door comparisons you look at, almost all of them operate the same way. Each folding door system typically features at least 3 panels that are aligned along a sliding top and bottom track. The door panels are connected by hinges or lockings pins that create folding points between each panel.

Each folding door system also features a standard swinging door panel that can be used for everyday entry and exiting. This ensures that you don’t have to open up the entire system every time that you want to walk into your backyard or your patio.

When the system is closed, the folding door panels will create a sort of “glass wall” with the one swinging door panel. To open the system, though, you just need to release a few locking pins, and each panel will swing off of its track from a single pivot point.

Then, the doors can all be folded perpendicularly and pushed to the side, creating an open-air wall that allows you and your guests to freely walk between the interior and exterior of your home. It’s also a great way to let fresh air in!

How Do Sliding Door Systems Work?

As we mentioned above, sliding door systems typically occupy the same space. Most sliding doors around anywhere between 6 and 8-feet tall. As far as width goes, they could be small enough to fit in an existing doorway or involve multiple sliding panels that span a length of 15 to 20-feet wide or more!

Sliding doors typically feature a wider track than folding door systems, which requires a thicker doorway. For systems that have multiple sliding door panels, each panel will have its own track that it moves along. Homeowners will have the ability to open a single panel of their system or open the entire system, creating a large panoramic open-air entrance.

Once the panels are pushed to the side, they can either be “stacked” or “pocketed.” Stacked doorframe designs are probably the most similar to folding door systems and each door panel will be “stacked” on top of each other at the end of the track. Pocketed doorframe designs feature a pocket build into the wall that allows all of the door panels to be slide completely out of sight, creating a far more open and seamless doorway.

Can Sliding Door Panels Be Folded?

Generally speaking, sliding door panels cannot be folded. They are designed to remain firmly on the track. However, there is one particular company that offers a hybrid design that utilizes aspects of both folding and multi-slide doors.

Panoramic Doors has created just this system. Each door panel operates individually and can either be folded to the side or slid along the track. The company has patented its design, so you won’t find it offered by any other manufacturer. While the company doesn’t offer quite as many options for customization as others, their revolutionary design has received great reviews.

Which System Is More Practical?

Perhaps the cost and appearance of your door system aren’t the most important things to you. If you’re somebody who values practicality, then you’re likely looking for a door system that requires minimal maintenance and makes for easy entry and exit whenever you need.

If you’re looking for the most practical system, then we have to recommend a folding door system. The reason being that all folding door systems feature a single swinging door that makes entry and exit easy.

Unfortunately, sliding door systems don’t have this single swinging door, which means that you’ll have to push a large, heavy door panel to the side every time that you want to go in or out. If you’re in a rush, then this means that there’s a higher likelihood of slamming the door or forgetting to close it all the way.

Energy-Efficiency: Folding Doors Vs. Sliding Doors

Seeing as both systems involve large glass panels that often replace previously insulated walls in the system, you’ll want to make sure that you get something that’s energy-efficient. Thankfully, if you’re performing a folding door comparison against a sliding door comparison, you’ll realize that both systems offer top-tier energy efficiency ratings.

They’re able to achieve this thanks to two key advances in thermal technology:

• Low-E (low-emissivity) glass.
• Thermal breaking.

Low-E glass is a revolutionary glass system that involves arranging two to three panels in parallel and creating a vacuum space between the panels. The vacuum is then filled with invisible Argon gas that’s naturally resistant to temperature change and keeps the inside air in and the outside air out.

Thermal breaking technology sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is, but it’s still incredibly effective. Essentially, the manufacturers line the hollow space in between the door panels and door tracks with a thin polymer layer. Like the Argon gas described above, this polymer layer resists temperature change and keeps aluminum and vinyl doors (which are naturally very conductive) from conducting thermal energy from one side to the other.

Both folding and sliding doors can be customized with low-E glass and thermal breaking technology. In fact, many manufacturers offer these options as the standard for all of their door systems.

Cost: Folding Doors Vs. Sliding Doors

When it comes to performing a home renovation project, then you’re probably just as concerned about the cost as you are about the effectiveness of the door system. Generally speaking, though, exterior folding and sliding door systems cost around the same amount of money.
The main determinants of price are going to be the size of your system and the brand that you purchase from. Generally speaking, we always recommend purchasing your doors from a high-quality, reputable manufacturer if you want them to perform well and last long.

Size is a big factor for two reasons:

• You’re often billed by how many panels are in your system.
• Larger door systems may require extensive restructuring of your home’s walls and supports, which can cost a lot of extra money.

Which Adds More To Your Home’s Value?

The good news is that both sliding and folding door systems can add a lot to your home’s market value. As both types of doorways are considered to be very modern, energy-saving improvements, real estate agents will give it a higher value. This means that for every $10,000 you invest into your new exterior porch doors, you should expect your home’s value to increase by at least $13,000.
As you can see, it’s an investment that pays off!

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, porch folding doors and multi-slide door systems offer many of the same benefits. Both allow you to open up your home to greater amounts of light and feel closer to the great outdoors. Both are also eco-friendly options that won’t significantly raise your energy costs for heating or A/C, and both cost around the same amount of money.

That being said, we do have to say that folding door systems are slightly more practical thanks to the everyday-use swing door that allows for easy entry and exit.

At the end of the day, though, the choice is up to you! Many companies that manufacture folding door systems also manufacture sliding door systems using the same high-quality materials and techniques, so no quality will be lost no matter which you end up choosing.