Green Product Category: Doors

Exterior doors are usually solid wood or foam wrapped in metal or some other weather-resistant material. Most foam insulation in doors (polyisocyanurate) used to contain ozone-depleting HCFCs, but that is no longer the case.

Key considerations:

• Most insulated doors are similar in energy efficiency since the market is so competitive; they’re distinguished largely by the quality of their weather-stripping and threshold. Insulating values of R-5 to R-7 are common.
• Interior doors are usually wood, molded hardboard, or hollow core. Since Lauan plywood comes from nonsustainably harvested rainforest wood, it should be avoided. Molded hardboard is often made with some recycled content and pressed into shape; some hardboard is made with urea-formaldehyde and should be avoided. While solid wood is beautiful and a natural, minimally processed product, clear stock is becoming harder to get and may come from old-growth forests.
• An increasing number of manufacturers are offering doors using wood from certified sources. Certification to Forest Stewardship Council—FSC—standards involves third-party evaluation and monitoring of sustainable forestry practices.

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