Steel is a good conductor of heat. Put another way it is a very poor insulator on its own. Therefore we utilize an 18mm thermal break in the door slabs and door jambs. This glass filled, polyamide, thermal break is absolutely the best there is. Compared to 5 and 10mm breaks used in other doors. It provides a positive stop to heat conduction.

Polyurethane foam is introduced into all door cavities under high pressure during manufacture. The foam we use is a closed cell type with an R value of 6.2 – the highest available.

Insulation gets better the thicker you can make it. Which is why our doors and windows are 2 ¼” thick – most doors are only 1 ¾” to 2” thick. This extra thickness also gives our doors a significantly better look and feel – just exuding quality.

Opening windows on our Classic line are triple pane with argon fill in both cavities. Our Eurolite and Lucia line have fixed glass dual pane windows with a ½” argon gap. Since opening windows themselves create some losses, the overall U factor of both lines is similar.

Air leakage around an opening door or window can create a significant heat loss. We use, Patent Pending, gaskets that are specially designed to control air infiltration on inward opening doors. Most seals let air past when there is higher pressure outside. PS seals tighten more as pressure increase.

R Values apply to any material used in home building. Each material will have an R Value which, multiplied by its thickness, will tell you its insulation performance – Higher R Values are better insulators. In contrast, U Factors are said to be reciprocal of R Value (U=1/R & R=1/U) but this is not really accurate. U Factors define the thermal transfer through a complex structure, like a window or door. Since the materials used in such structures are not simply layers the calculation is complex and the true U factor must be determined through testing. Just remember that lower U Factors are better – opposite to R Values.