Perhaps you’ve been shopping around for the perfect set of folding doors but you’ve been having your doubts about how they’ll affect your energy bill. Having a giant open panoramic glass door system sounds wonderful until you see the dollar bills flying out of the open window!

Thankfully, though, many of today’s top manufacturers build energy-efficient folding doors specifically for this reason. As more states (especially California) continue to increase their standards for energy efficiency, door and window manufacturers have stepped up their game.

Additionally, there are several other steps that homeowners can take to increase the energy-saving efficiency of their folding door systems. In today’s post, we’ll explain everything you need to know about insulated folding doors and give you some helpful tips for making them even more efficient!

Folding Doors and Your Power Bill: How To Keep Costs Low

Just because you want to purchase a set of folding doors for your home or business doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have to shell out more money for your heating or A/C. In fact, some of today’s folding door systems may be even more energy-efficient than the standard sliding glass doors that may already be installed in your home!

So, with that being said, here are some tips to keep your power bill low with a new set of folding doors.

1) Purchase Energy-Efficient Folding Doors

If energy efficiency is important to you, then the best thing you can do is to purchase energy-efficient folding doors. As we mentioned, many of today’s top manufacturers such as Lanai, Panoramic Doors, Catalina, and others specialize in crafting energy-efficient folding doors.

Of course, you may pay a little bit extra for these doors (compared to standard non-efficient folding door systems). If you do the math and compare your energy savings after a year or two, though, you’ll see that the energy-efficient folding doors practically pay for themselves when compared to non-efficient doors.

In fact, we would say that most of the folding door companies on the market today cater to energy-efficient green homes. Unless you happen to live in an area that’s temperately mild year-round, then trust us – you’re going to want the extra layer of protection.

California’s Title 24 Requirements

As you may have guessed, California has the highest standards for energy efficiency in the U.S. California’s Title 24 requires all glass door and window systems sold in the state to have a U-Value of .30 or lower.
Since a huge portion of the folding doors sold in America are sold to California homeowners, most of the top manufacturers do their best to comply with these regulations.

Understanding U-Value

The U-Value (or U-Factor) of a window is a number that measures thermal transmittance. In layman’s terms, it measures temperature change from one side of the glass pane to the other.

A high U-Value (the highest is 1.0), means that glass transfers heat cold very easily. This is why the windows on old homes are so thin! Conversely, a low U-Value (anywhere from .10 to .30) means that there is very little temperature change from one side of the glass to the other.

A low U-Value is typically accomplished by adding a thin layer of polymer or another Thermal transmittance – Wikipedia thermally-resistant material in between the panes of glass and around the borders of the door frame

2) Get Your Folding Doors Tinted

If you want to further increase the energy efficiency of your folding doors, then your best bet is to install a tint on the glass window panes. Although some folding doors can be factory tinted, the majority of homeowners either apply tint themselves or hire a third-party home tinting company to tint their folding doors.

What’s The Best Tint For Increasing Energy Efficiency?

There are a number of different types of tints on the market. However, the most energy-efficient tint is a ceramic tint. This tint material is embedded with nonconductive ceramic particles that resist heat transfer. The result is that you’ll further decrease the U-Factor of your folding glass doors!

3) Utilize The Swing Door

Last but not least, try to utilize the swinging door (usually a part of most folding door systems) as often as possible during months when it’s extremely hot or cold. The swinging door is a smaller opening and will release less hot or cold air when it’s used compared to opening the entire folding door system at once.

Final Thoughts

Overall, most exterior folding door systems are designed to be energy-efficient from the factory. However, if you want to further increase the efficiency of your folding door system, then you can’t go wrong by adding a nice ceramic tint on top of the glass!