I wonder how many people think about replacing patio doors in their homes. I remember several years back when we had to replace our wooden patio door -- which would have been around 10 years old at the time -- because the frame was rotted through at the bottom. I know other people who replaced their metal patio doors because the metal had corroded over time and the doors looked pretty bad.  But there's another reason -- maybe a much more important one -- for replacing those doors: energy efficiency.  

Think about the amount of glass in a patio door that's exposed to the outside. How many of us are familiar with the cold coming off that glass in the winter -- or the heat off the glass in the heat of the summer?

At this point in time, with the advances made in glass technology, it's possible to have a patio door that's so much more energy-efficient than doors made just 10 or 15 years ago. By "technology," I mean things like higher-performing low emissivity coatings in the glass, much more-effective spacer systems separating the glass panes, the use of inert gasses between the glass and even the evolution of triple-glass instead of double-pane glass.

Think also about the other materials that go into doors. Vinyl, especially, has proven to be a superb energy-efficient material -- and advances in vinyl technology have also been huge.  Today a good, quality patio door made with vinyl can easily last decades -- and operate beautifully -- with practically no maintenance.  

The results of having a solid, highly energy-efficient patio door installed are numerous. Significantly lower home energy bills for one, but also a more comfortable room and ease of operating the door.

Hopefully homeowners are also remembering that the $1,500 tax credit that's available for replacement windows also applies to doors.  These last months of 2010 are an ideal time to look at a new door.