Garage Doors Andover Hampshire

What is an insulated garage door?

An insulated product typically consists of two ‘skins’ filled with an insulating material. This is usually reinforced steel or aluminium skins filled with polyurethane or ‘PU’ foam. The type of foam, construction of the product and the thickness of the panel all have a bearing on the insulating properties of the door.

The image below shows a cross section of a Doorteck ED40 sectional door panel. Using EPCO panels which are 40mm thick and feature a rubber seal that protects and insulates each panel.

How does that affect your insulated garage door?

The insulating properties of a product are only one area that can affect the ability of a door to provide insulation.

The seal between the door and the frame along with the seal between the frame and the garage construction, have an impact on how well a door will insulate the property.

Doorteck, have a ‘Thermo Frame seal’ which when fitted and fitting the door in the correct potion allows you to achieve the certified u value. If insulation is an important factor in your choice of garage door it is worth asking if there are options for different frame seals. It is also worth bearing in mind that these seals will be bigger and have an effect on the overall appearance of the installation.

The method of installation will also have an effect on the levels of insulation as this usually determines how the door and frame are sealed against the garage. A sectional type door installed fully behind the opening usually offers the highest levels of insulation as the door and frame will be sealed fully against any brickwork. If a smaller height door needs to be installed then it is worth noting that the infill in the area above also needs to be an insulated panel not just a 10 mm flat piece of upvc. Matching PVC or steel will deliver an aesthetically suitable and cost effective solution but it will not offer insulation and can undermine the thermal qualities of a door.

How level your garage entrance floor is will also need to be taken into consideration on how well the bottom seal of a door can provide insulation. Any uneven or sloping garage floors can present gaps in the bottom edge or seal of a door and have an impact on the levels of insulation. At Doorteck we can adapt the bottom panel and seal to accommodate a sloping floor to obtain the best seal possible.

U-values and energy bills

There are a number of ways to calculate and present the insulating properties of a product. The construction industry and the garage door industry use the U-value.

The U-value is a measurement that shows how much heat is lost through a particular material or product. It takes the three main methods of heat loss into consideration – conduction, convection and radiation and it is measured in watts per meters squared kelvin, or W/m²K.

To give you some idea of how U-values relate to real life situations here are some examples;

A typical hardwood external entrance door = 3 W/m²K
A typical composite entrance door = 1.8 W/m²K

A typical single glazed window = 4.8 W/m²K
A typical modern double glazed window = 1.6 W/m2k

A typical standard steel up and over door fitted = 7 W/m2k
A 40mm insulated sectional door fitted = 1.4 W/m2k

Do bear in mind that U-values are really only a guide and there are other factors, as we have mentioned previously, that will affect that the final insulating values that a particular door installation will provide. But ultimately the lower the U-Value, the less you are going to pay in energy bills if the garage is attached to your home.

Sectional garage doors

Most modern sectional garage doors will be available as an insulated product usually around 40mm in thickness. These doors are usually constructed from steel with PU foam insulation. Generally these will offer the highest levels of insulation when installed fully behind a garages structural opening and will usually provide a U-value of between 1.4 and 2 W/m²K when fitted. A good sectional door will also have rubber seals in-between each panel and feature a compression seal at the bottom of the door to provide insulation when the door is closed.

Insulated roller garage doors

Aluminium roller doors are usually constructed with insulated aluminium ‘laths’ or slats that are hinged together. The laths are usually around 11mm thick so whilst they do offer some level of insulation they are never going to be the same as a 40mm sectional door. It is also hard to determine an exact U-value for a roller door as the quirk between the laths are not insulated and there can be quite a big difference in the number of laths used depending on the height of the door.

There are a number of factors that vary between manufacturers that will have an impact on the thermal performance of the door and generally speaking, the old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ is particularly relevant here. Features such as the webbing, brush strip, the type of tracks and guides used and the depth that the door sits in the tracks will all have an effect on the overall performance.

Side hinged doors

Traditional timber side hinged doors have always offered reasonable levels of insulation. Timber is pretty good as far as insulating materials go and if the doors do not feature any glazing and are fitted properly they can provide good levels of thermal performance. Recently, insulated side hinged doors have started to appear on the market. Constructed in a similar way to sectional doors with PU foam insulation and factory fitted frames they can offer levels of insulation similar to a sectional door. Again, there are varying qualities of product available and price will often dictate the levels of thermal performance a product provides.

Up and over doors

We fit, up and over doors here at Doorteck. They have been around a long time. They look good and they work. They are not, good at providing insulation. Their very nature they need a gap between the door leaf and the frame. Their design has been refined over the years and weather strips and floor seals provide some degree of insulation but ultimately if insulating properties are a factor then an up and over door is not really the best choice.

For more information on insulated garage doors and U-values why not drop into our showroom or contact a member of our dedicated sales team.

Doorteck Garage Doors specialism is in the supply, installation and repair of garage doors, entrance doors and remote controls covering the entire South East Region including Andover , Reading , Guilford

Garage Doors Andover

Roller & Sectional Garage Doors Andover