What Really Makes a Garage Door Green? Look at Its Whole Cycle

You can't read a single product news release anymore in this industry without hearing the manufacturers extol the product's green virtues. The door's insulation factor, a measure of its ability to trap in or keep out heat, is almost always listed. Manufacturers have put great importance on making doors as thermal-resistant as they can, knowing that consumers are interested most in saving on their energy costs.

It is true insulation value is an important factor in a door's "greenness," but it's not the only factor. To decide if a door product is truly green, you have to look at the door's entire life cycle, specifically two key factors: process of manufacturing and durability. Chris Keenan, writer for www.GreenBuildingProducts.com , shares the following in discussing the greenness of garage doors:

"Let’s use garage doors as an example. The idea of a garage door lies in the protection of your vehicle. Reducing the need to create more vehicles is a good idea. Consider the company that manufactures garage doors. Do they support sustainable practices in their daily business operations? What are the materials made of? Where do the materials come from? How much carbon and waste is generated getting them to the company? How much energy, water, and manpower are spent during the manufacturing? What about getting the product to you?”

"Now consider the durability, protection, maintenance, and longevity. If you need to repair a garage door, consider the energy, cost, and resources spent here, too. Far into the future, will your garage door still be in use, recycled, reutilized or sitting in a landfill? Many of us don’t think about all of these questions when we purchase a product. And we shouldn’t have to. These are conscious awareness issues that companies today need to address in their businesses."

Keenan raises several good points. What chemicals are manufacturers using to treat doors? How are they disposing of waste? What's the life expectancy of a garage door? Though it's tempting to sell a customer a door that will eventually need repaired or replaced, the most durable doors are really the most green. A door that lasts 25 years and needs little maintenance creates less need for materials, resources, and chemicals than a door that lasts only 7 to 10, which will require a replacement door much sooner.

Homeowners demanding a truly green door should be prepared for a higher initial price to compensate for the fact the doors will, first of all, last a long time, and second, require little maintenance. But that being the case, garage door dealers must be armed with the information necessary to sell their top-of-line, most-green doors. The challenge is to convince the consumer not to be short-sighted.

Source: http://www.professionaldoordealer.com/blogs/open-door/2011/11/what-really-makes-a-green-door-look-at-its-whole-life-cycle.aspx

Comments

[Douglas Dickey]

Being the owner of a garage door repair company here in Phoenix, AZ, I completely feel what you are saying about the big hype on insulation. It is heavily promoted here, in fact probably more so than anywhere in the U.S. While I cannot speak for other companies in the industry, I will say that my company tries to stay as green as possible by utilizing scrap yards for all of our metal materials. We also try to plan our routes properly so that we are much more efficient with fuels and workloads. I feel that the foam that is in the doors is actually very bad for the environment when these doors are scrapped out as it is not biodegradable. That is something that these garage door companies should incorporate. Thanks for hearing me out.

[Kanata Garage Door Repair]

Every garage door we replace goes to a recycle facility. We never send our old garage doors to a landfill.

[Aarons]

I have lived in Nashville, TN for over 40 years, 20 of those as a garage door repair professional. Just a few minutes ago, a commercial came on TV touting a garage door as "green". I asked myself the same question, what makes a door green? The answer, like you pointed out is not so black and white. You need to look at several factors like durability, manufacturing process, insulation and more. These days it is easy to see companies talking about "green" without taking into consideration what that really means.

[Chris]

That's great! Keep it up. Protect the environment.

[Alexandria Garage Door Repair]

The problem with most consumers is that they're always looking for the cheapest product and not necessarily the most durable

[Alexandria Garage Door Repair]

I believe that if every company out there starts to focus on going green and producing green products, we will have less problem in our hands to deal with.

[Sing Square Log Homes, Inc.]

We believe that green garage doors should be available at an affordable cost to all...and with beautiful designs!

[alice]

I think green garage doors are cute.

[alice]

green paint?

[Pacific Coast Door]

I got confused there at the end as well. To clarify, we're talking environmentally green, not the color green. To address Aarons, there are many factors that come in to play, not the least of which is how well the door can be insulated to preserve energy on the inside. Yes, it's an evolving technology but has not quite hit the mainstream yet, so keep your eyes peeled.