The energy efficiency of your home is crucial, not only to ensure that you’re warm and comfortable when you’re at home, but also to meet regulations and help to cut down on the emissions from your home. It is estimated that 22% of the UK’s carbon emissions come from our homes, so making sure your home is as energy-efficient as possible helps to reduce this impact.
The heat within your home is most likely to escape out of an exterior door or window, and these elements can have a huge impact on energy efficiency. So, when choosing sliding doors or a patio door, making sure they are as energy-efficient as possible could help to cut down on the amount of energy it takes to heat your home. The energy efficiency of a glass door can be affected by several elements and understanding what to look for when buying can help you to find the very best door for your home.
Click the links below to jump to the relevant section:
Learn more about why it’s important to make sure your home is as energy-efficient as possible.
Find out more about how the energy efficiency of your home is measured.
Learn more about the factors you should consider to ensure that you choose the most energy-efficient sliding doors for your home.
Read more about Origin’s range of Sliding Doors and the thermal efficiency you can expect.
Find answers to common questions asked on energy efficiency and sliding doors.
Why is energy efficiency important?
The energy efficiency of your home could be impacting your monthly bills and add to the overall impact on the environment.
Low energy efficiency means that your home is using more energy than is needed to keep it warm and comfortable, and that your home actively emits much of the energy you do use into the environment.
The average UK household will use around 3,731 kWh of energy per year, however, this can be greatly reduced by investing in more energy-efficient doors and windows to provide insulation for your home.
The energy efficiency of your home could play a role in:
- The cost of your energy bills
- The temperature of your home
- Your impact on the environment
When you start to invest in a more energy-efficient home, you will notice huge improvements in all of the areas that are listed above.
How is energy efficiency measured?
The energy efficiency of sliding doors can be measured by looking at the U-Value. This measurement will give information regarding how effectively the doors or windows in your home will help to reduce heat loss and keep your energy efficiency rating high.
U-Values
A U-Value is a measurement of heat transmission through a surface. A low U-Value typically indicates better energy efficiency, as this suggests that less heat is transmitted through the surface. This is something you should look out for when installing any door or window in your home, especially when huge panes of glass are involved such as with sliding or bifolding doors.
Origin Sliding Door thermal efficiency
All Origin Sliding Doors have been designed and tested for energy efficiency. Our doors are highly weather-resistant and have excellent thermal performance, which means that the doors will keep heat in without letting in the cold from outside. We achieve this by including advanced weather tight seals on our sliding doors, for protection and energy efficiency. Every door is thermally broken which significantly limits the transfer of heat between the inside and outside.
In addition, our Artisan Sliding Door can be specified with low-emissivity glass to further improve energy efficiency. For our Patio Slider, your local installer will be able source the glass according to your requirement.
How energy-efficient are sliding doors?
Generally speaking, a sliding glass door or patio door will lose more heat and energy than other types of doors, because glass is not an insulating material. To solve this problem, many modern patio doors are fitted with a thermal break, which acts as insulation between the inner and outer parts of the door frame.
At Origin, our Research and Development team works continuously to engineer and improve our products to make sure our customers can enjoy the best performance from our Sliding Doors.
Factors to consider when choosing the most energy-efficient sliding doors
Not all sliding doors are the same, so there are a number of factors to consider to ensure that you choose the best glass door for your home:
Material and frame
While the majority of your door will be made up as a glass pane, it is also important to consider the door frame material. Aluminium is considered to be one of the best materials for sliding patio doors as it provides an excellent level of energy efficiency whilst being highly durable and strong. All Orign Sliding Doors are made with strong aluminium frames.
Glazing
The glazing you choose for your sliding doors will have an impact on the energy efficiency of your doors, so it is important to consider this carefully. You can choose to have double glazing or triple glazing in your sliding doors, or you can use low emissivity glass which is designed to prevent the heat from escaping your home. Triple glazing will offer a higher energy performance than double-glazed doors because there is an extra layer of glass.
Learn more about the differences between double glazed and triple glazed sliding doors by reading our guide.
Manufacturer
To find the most energy-efficient sliding doors for your home, always opt for a reputable manufacturer. The best manufacturers will use high-quality materials and good practices to ensure that your doors are as energy-efficient as possible. It can cost more to buy a higher quality sliding door, but the investment will mean you have a sliding door that will be durable and long-lasting.
Dry glazed or bonded system (wet glazed)
A bonded system, or a wet glazed system, means that the glass and frame are provided as one unit. This means that you will benefit from improved weather tightness and slimmer sightlines, and the weather seal created will prevent external air from entering your home. Origin’s Artisan Sliding Door is provided as a bonded system.
With a dry glazed system, the glass is not provided with the door, so this will be sourced and installed by your local installer, providing you with more flexibility over the options you choose. Our Patio Sliding Doors are dry glazed systems so you can choose the best type of glazing for your home.
Installation
The way doors are installed can also have an impact on their overall energy efficiency. If they are not installed correctly, gaps in fixtures or frames can let in external air and allow the heat from your home to escape.
When you buy Origin Sliding Doors, you will work with your local installer to configure your sliding doors to meet the needs of your home and they will undertake the installation, so make sure you’re happy with them. They are a 3rd party company from Origin and are not part of our company.
Origin Sliding Doors
At Origin, we supply an excellent range of Sliding Doors that have been designed to help optimise your home’s energy efficiency.
Origin Artisan Sliding Door
Our Artisan Sliding Doors boast ultra-slim sightlines of just 20mm. It is a structurally bonded system that is made from premium grade aluminium. The design of these doors makes them incredibly energy-efficient (they can produce a U-Value of just 1.2 when choosing OS-29, OS-44, OS-77) without compromising on style, exceeding British Building Regulation requirements. We offer a guarantee of up to 10-years on this system, and it offers the ability to customise the doors to your specifications with a range of handles, sizes and colours available.
Patio Sliding Door
Our Patio Sliding Doors are a modern take on traditional sliding patio door designs and are the perfect fit for any home. We have three sightline options available in the range; the OS-29, the OS-44 and the OS-77 (with sightlines of 29mm, 44mm or 77mm respectively) to fit your needs. This can provide a U-Value of 1.3 with triple glazing and 1.6 with double glazing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can large glass bi-folding or sliding doors be thermally efficient?
Yes, large expanses of bi-fold or sliding doors can still be thermally efficient. Sliding doors made with low emissivity glazing or with triple glazing are extremely energy-efficient. The energy efficiency of sliding doors can be improved through good installation and the material of the door frame.
Which is more energy-efficient, sliding doors or French doors?
Both sliding doors and French doors can be equally energy-efficient if you choose a set of doors with the right features. A modern French door can provide much better insulation than many older types of French door.
How can you make your sliding glass door more energy-efficient?
To ensure your new sliding doors more energy-efficient, you could:
- Invest in triple glazing or low emissivity glass
- Install an aluminium frame
- Look into dry glazing or a bonded system
- Purchase the doors from a reputable manufacturer and invest in expert installation services
Does energy efficiency on bi-folding or sliding doors matter?
Yes. The energy efficiency of your doors will play a huge part in the overall energy efficiency of your home. High energy efficiency will result in lower energy bills and will contribute towards lowering the emissions that are released into the environment.
How is the energy efficiency of doors measured?
The most common measurement of the energy efficiency of doors is the U-Value, which indicates how much heat is transmitted through the surface.
Please contact your local installer to find out more about Origin Sliding Doors for your home.
.jpg?v=638605658630055296)
