Insulated Rolling Steel Doors

Insulated Vs Non Insulated Rolling Steel Doors, Which is the Best Option for You?

Every year commercial buildings pay big amounts of money for energy at their buildings, many of this goes directly to waste. In order to make sure that your energy is not being wasted you should check your openings for full closures first and second you should consider thermally insulated Overhead doors. In addition to your windows and roof, Overhead doors play a big role in keeping thermal protection of the building thus saving you energy. An Insulated Overhead Door in optimal condition can pay for itself in a few years by saving you in energy cost.

Below are some of the steps and features we recommend to look into when looking for an insulated or non insulated commercial doors.

Insulated rolling steel doors

Features

Insulated Rolling Steel doors are made of two layers of steel with insulation in between they can be made out of different gauges ranging from 24 ga. to 16 ga. The lower the gauge the thicker the steel, if your door is wide (16’ or wider) you should consider a 22 or 20 ga. front with a 24 ga. back slat. Having a thick gauge helps with deflection of the door thus keeping the opening sealed at all times when the door is not in use.

Insulated

As mentioned before an insulated garage door is made of two layers of steel with insulation in between each layer. These types of doors are much thicker than non-insulated doors. The insulation efficiency is measured with the R Value of the door, the higher the value the better the insulation on the product. Usually Rolling Doors have a value from 4.1. to 9.0. Most of our products also come with an environmentally friendly insulation that is made up of CFC-free and HCFC-free polystyrene, in addition they have a very low flame spread index tested by NFPA. Thermal efficiency Insulated Rolling doors can also help with Sound control, in fact, Rolling steel doors are also tested for Sound Transmission Class or STC. The Sound testing can range from 10 to 90 in average or higher, many Rolling doors are not ideal to cancel noise completely but most of them range into the high 20’s value of the STC measurement which can help reduce noise significantly.

Non-Insulated

A non-insulated garage door has an open back. Constructed only of steel, a non-insulated garage door is most appropriate for consistently warm or cold climates. If it gets too hot or too cold in a certain area, a non-insulated garage door will either seep cold air into the garage or overheat the garage. Non Insulated Doors are not tested for thermal protection, however they can be fully weather sealed to increase thermal protection.Non insulated doors are not tested for sound either.

Suggestions

When shopping for your next garage door, consider all of the information regarding climate and garage use, but also think about your budget. An insulated Rolling Steel door can be more expensive than a non-insulated door. Depending on your location and climate needs in addition to the information above you should be able to make an educated decision on what door should fit your needs best. Insulated Rolling Doors are on average More expensive than non Insulated doors but they can also pay for it self with the savings from energy cost. If you can afford an insulated garage door, that would always be your best choice, unless of course the door is installed inside a building where thermal efficiency is not necessary.