Do Doggie Doors Let Cold Air In? Tips to Keep Your Home Warm and Cozy

If you’re a pet owner, you know how important it is for your pet to have the freedom to come and go as they please. Doggie doors are a convenient solution that provides your pooch with easy access to the outdoors. However, you may be wondering if these doors let cold air in during the winter months.

The answer is yes, doggie doors can let cold air into your home. This can cause your heating bill to skyrocket during the winter months. If you live in an area with harsh winters, it’s essential to take steps to winterize your doggie door to keep your home warm and comfortable.

Do Doggie Doors Let Cold Air In?

If you’re a pet owner, you know how important it is for your pet to have the freedom to go in and out of your house as they please. However, you may be wondering if doggie doors let cold air in during the winter months. In this section, we’ll explore how doggie doors work, what happens in winter, how to winterize your doggie door, and the energy efficiency of doggie doors.

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How Doggie Doors Work

Doggie doors are designed to allow your pets to go in and out of your house without the need for you to open the door for them. They typically consist of a flap that swings in and out, allowing your pet to pass through. Some doggie doors are equipped with a microchip that only allows your pet to enter, while others are activated by a collar that your pet wears.

What Happens in Winter?

Doggie doors can let in cold air during the winter months, which can cause your heating bills to skyrocket. The flaps of the doggie door can allow drafts to enter your house, making it difficult to keep your home warm. However, there are ways to winterize your doggie door to prevent cold air from entering your home.

How to Winterize Your Doggie Door

One way to winterize your doggie door is to add weatherstripping around the door frame. This will create an airtight seal, preventing drafts from entering your home. You can also add magnets to the bottom of the door to help reduce heat loss. Reinforcing flimsy door flaps with industrial plastic curtain material can also help prevent cold air from entering your home.

Energy Efficiency of Doggie Doors

Doggie doors made with high-quality materials, such as the Endura Flap pet door, can withstand extreme cold and keep your home cozy. Double flap or dual flaps can also provide better insulation and draft resistance. Some doggie doors are designed to be energy efficient, with airtight seals and magnetic seals that prevent cold air from entering your home.

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In conclusion, doggie doors can let in cold air during the winter months, but there are ways to winterize your doggie door to prevent this from happening. By adding weatherstripping, magnets, and industrial plastic curtain material, you can create an airtight seal that will keep your home warm and cozy. Choosing an energy-efficient doggie door, such as the Endura Flap pet door, can also help prevent cold air from entering your home.

What Happens in Winter?

During winter, cold air drafts can enter your home through your pet door, making your house colder and increasing your heating bills. The problem is especially pronounced if you live in a region with a cold climate.

Pet doors that aren’t well-insulated can leave your home vulnerable to cold drafts and wet weather. Most pet doors are just plastic flaps that work about as well as a poncho at keeping the cold out and the heat in, which leads to serious dog flap drafts in winter.

If you want to keep your home warm and comfortable during winter, you need to take steps to winterize your pet door. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

  • Invest in an autolocking electronic door that can prevent cold air drafts from entering your home.
  • Insulate your existing pet door and add an airtight seal or at least a flap with magnets or bellows to reduce the weather’s impact on your bills.
  • Choose a dog door that is specifically designed for minimizing heat loss in cold climates. Look for features such as magnetic weatherstripping and high-quality weatherstripping that keeps your pet door sealed shut whenever it’s not being used.
  • Clean your pet door thoroughly to ensure that it is airtight. Even a small amount of dirt or debris can affect how airtight the seal is.

By taking these steps, you can keep your home warm and comfortable during winter, while also reducing your heating bills.

How to Winterize Your Doggie Door

If you’re concerned about cold air seeping into your home through your doggie door during the winter months, there are a few steps you can take to winterize it and prevent heat loss.

Weatherstripping and Insulation

Adding weatherstripping around the door frame and using an insulator can help keep the cold air out. Make sure to choose weatherstripping that is appropriate for the material of your doggie door.

An inside view of a regular black pet flap on a light wood door surrounded by walls walls and wood skirting

Using Endura Flap Pet Door

Consider investing in an Endura Flap Pet Door, which is designed specifically for cold climates. Its dual-flap system helps keep out cold air, and the magnets ensure a tight seal when not in use.

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Silicone Caulk

Using silicone caulk to seal any gaps or holes around the doggie door can also prevent cold air from seeping in. It’s important to choose a caulk that is appropriate for the material of your doggie door.

Remember, in addition to these steps, it’s also important to choose a doggie door made from sturdy materials that can withstand harsh weather conditions.

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Energy Efficiency of Doggie Doors

If you are a pet owner who wants to give your pet the freedom to come and go as they please, you might be wondering if doggie doors let cold air in. The answer is: it depends on the type of doggie door you have. Some doggie doors are more energy efficient than others.

Double Flap Dog Doors

One way to increase the energy efficiency of a doggie door is to choose a model with dual flaps. These doors have two flaps that create an additional barrier to prevent heat loss. The space between the flaps also provides extra insulation.

Magnetic Seal Dog Doors

Another feature to look for in a doggie door is a magnetic seal. A magnetic seal helps to keep the door closed when not in use, preventing drafts. The more magnets a doggie door has, the stronger the seal will be, and the less likely it will let in cold air.

When choosing a doggie door, look for models that are draft-resistant and made of energy-efficient materials. Some doggie doors have plastic flaps that are less insulating than other materials. Endura Flap Pet Doors are an example of a brand that uses a patented material for their flaps that is both energy efficient and draft-resistant.

It is also important to make sure that the doggie door fits properly and is installed correctly. Weather stripping can be added to the edges of the door to provide additional insulation.

In extreme cold temperatures, it may be necessary to consider a cold weather pet door that is specifically designed for keeping the inside of your home warm. Some models come with a microchip that only allows your pet to enter, preventing other animals from entering your home.

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Overall, if you want to keep your home warm and energy-efficient, it is important to choose a doggie door that is designed to prevent heat loss and keep cold air out.

FAQ

How do I keep cold air from coming in my dog’s door?

Winterizing your dog door is a good idea for keeping out drafts and ensuring that your heater bill isn’t overly affected by it’s use.

Weatherstripping can help to seal up cracks and if you have a ‘flap’ model that doesn’t lock into place, you can superglue magnets to the base along with a metal strip underneath to produce a makeshift seal. Silicone caulk is also good for cracks and with a wall door, adding a second flap can greatly reduce those drafts.

How energy efficient are dog doors?

It really depends on the model that you choose. For instance, a microchip dog door can lock and unlock as the door is used, providing a locked barrier to keep out the drafts when it’s not. Some ‘flap’ models incorporate an airtight seal, tight enough to keep out a draft but not so tight that your dog can’t use it.

Be sure to ask about weatherproofing features before you settle on a purchase – it can make a big difference on heating and cooling costs and it won’t cost you a whole lot extra to get that protection.

Do dog doors let in heat?

If you are using a flap model that doesn’t come with an airtight seal, then you can definitely end up affecting your heating or cooling bills. Without a seal, heat will definitely get inside during the summer, and winter drafts will also be a problem.

Go with an electronic model that seals the door when it’s not being used or consider insulating the entrance a little more with silicone caulk and magnets to hold the door closed to help reduce the hit to your electric bill.

How do I stop my dogs door flap from blowing open?

The easiest way to stop a door from blowing open is the addition of magnets. These can provide a rudimentary seal, just keep in mind that this is still a poorly-insulated option – it might well be worthwhile to upgrade to an electronic model or at least a spring-hinged door with an airtight seal.

Do magnetic dog doors let in cold air?

This depends on the type of magnetic door. There are models that employ a magnetic key placed in a dog’s collar which open and close based on the proximity of that key. Those models are quite good at keeping out the cold air as they only open when your dog needs to use them.

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Other magnetic models simply employ a magnetic seal and the efficacy of these will depend on the number of and the strength of the magnets which they employ.

Do Microchip dog doors let in cold weather?

Microchip dog doors will let in some cold when they are being used, but this will be minimal. As the doors will lock once again after your dog gets inside, the window of cold exposure will be brief.

By contrast, a magnetically sealed flap or a standard dog flap with no seal will definitely let in a lot of cold and this, in turn, will affect your heating bill.

How do I stop rain from coming in my dog’s door?

You want to look for flaps that have magnetic seals or which employ bellows to create more of an airtight seal.

This will help to keep out the rain, but you also want to ensure that the ‘step’ into the dog door is the proper height. It should be 1/3 of your smallest dog’s height to keep it above ground. Without a step, then any flooding can come in through the dog door, so this detail is crucial!

What is the most energy efficient dog door?

There are a number of efficient models, but two of the most highly rated dog doors would be the RuffWeather door from Ideal Pet products and the Endura Flap, which is a product of Patio Pacific.

These models are specifically designed to keep the bad weather outside where it belongs and if the reviews are to be believed, then these models definitely deliver this.

Are doggie doors weatherproof?

Standard dog flap doors are typically pretty basic, so you need to look for models that specifically tout weatherproof features. Look for airtight seals, double flap models, and insulated dog doors.

While these additional features will cost a little more, you will make up the difference many times over when it comes to your electric bill – it’s definitely worth the investment.

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How can I make my dog door more secure?

Aside from weather, you want to keep people out of your dog door too. Burglars can and do take advantage of dog doors, reaching in to unlock the door or even poking poles inside to see what they can fish out.

Invest in additional security such as motion sensors, security cameras, or you can even install a security alarm in your actual dog door for when you and your dog aren’t home. This will help to minimize the security risk while still giving your dog their freedom.

Will a dog door affect my insurance?

Dog doors can indeed affect your insurance, though most likely it will only be a change in premiums rather than a change which may void it. That said, be sure to check with your home insurance provider to find out exactly how a dog door will affect your policy before you install it.

In most cases, the impact should be minimal or might be nothing at all – but with insurance you always want to check!