Benefits Of Bi-Fold Doors
Dark nights, dark mornings, snow, cold and bouts of flu. Don’t you just love the winter! Stuck in-between last summer and next summer, those warm nights in the garden, enjoying that indoor/outdoor living seems like a distant memory.
If you took the opportunity of better weather to install bi-fold doors, have them already or are thinking about installing them in the new year, then you might be looking outside into the freezing weather and wondering how they are going to fare in the colder temperatures that winter brings. Don’t worry, we’re going to look at the benefits of having bi-fold doors, especially when the temperatures drop.
Bringing Spaces Together
As we touched on, one of the most obvious benefits of bi-fold doors is that they help to bring your indoor and outdoor spaces together. Removing the obvious physical barriers (walls and solid patio doors) and replacing them with floor-to-ceiling glass means that you get an unrestricted view of your garden. Whether you want to watch the kids playing, your flowers blooming or just enjoy watching the snow fall, you can do it until your heart’s content. In the clear, crisp nights of winter, you can spend a romantic evening with your loved ones looking up at the stars.
One of the most common concerns that people have about bi-fold doors, especially in the winter, is that they’ll lose a lot of heat and cost too much money. Whilst that may have been true many, many years ago, technological developments in glazing mean that modern-day doors are very thermally efficient. Of course, bi-fold doors should be double- or even triple-glazed to maximise their heat retention.
UV Values
When looking for doors, look for those with low ‘U’ values. This is the measurement of the insulation effectiveness of building materials, sometimes known as the heat transfer coefficient of thermal transmittance. It’s usually measured in watts per square metre per Kelvin. Sounds complicated, I know, but it means that the lower the U value, the less energy is required to maintain comfortable living conditions inside a building. In other words, keeping warmth in and cold out.
For comparison, a solid timber door would typically have a U rating of around 3W per m2K. Single-glazing is between 5-6 whereas triple-glazing is about 1 W per m2K. This is true regardless of whether the frames are made of aluminium, wood or UPVC. Don’t think of them as bi-fold doors, but as energy-saving doors!
Why Wouldn’t You Want Natural Light?
In the darker mornings and even darker evenings, natural light is at a premium for everyone and that’s where bi-fold doors really come into their own. Because of the way they go from floor to ceiling, it means that they can flood your room with glorious natural light all day long (or short). This is not only beneficial to your home, but to you as well. Exposure to natural light helps to improve your mental health at a time when miserable weather and the pressures of Christmas can take their toll.
One of the virtues of bi-fold doors is their flexibility to give you multiple openings to suit your needs. Of course you’ll want to throw them fully open to get the full benefit on warm days, but you can also choose to just open one section for visitors to come in and out. Because bi-fold doors work on runners, and slide past each other, and can even fully disappear into walls, they give you a room in your home by not taking up valuable space in the rest of the house.
Adding Value To Homes Without Breaking The Bank
Bi-fold doors improve the look of any home. They’re modern, sleek and easy-to-install. They add value to any home so are a great investment for your property. If you’re looking to keep the cold out and warmth in, then these energy-efficient doors are just what you need.
If you would like to find out more about how we can help you, get in touch today on 01604 946669 or pop us an email at info@tradewindows.co.uk.