UBC Undergraduate Research

Energy efficient door design Liem, Martin

Abstract

It is important to strive for greater energy efficiency when producing a product that will have a significant effect on a household’s overall energy consumption. The door manufacturing industry has been mandated by the Canadian federal government to authenticate that each product that they sell has a U-value no greater than 2.00 W/m2K. This regulation has caused door producers to re-evaluate their designs and certify only their most efficient designs before the enforcement date of January 1st, 2010. Currently only 11 solid wood exterior door designs offered by 2 manufacturers are listed under the CSA directory of certified exterior doors (CSA, 2009). The purpose of this study is to determine the necessary features that a pre-hung door system is required to have in order to comply with the new building code. As it stands, solid wood doors will need to be built to a minimum thickness of 2-1/4”; use foam insulated cores; and / or incorporate the use of large sections of insulated glass units. This report will explain the specific requirements needed in order for an exterior door unit to qualify for sale within Canada. This study will detail a design brief outlining the key design characteristics that will help increase the energy efficiency of the design. A classical door design will then be evaluated by a thermal simulation testing software called THERM, which is the same method of product testing that is used by the engineering firms currently certifying fenestration products.

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International