Comparing energy use and environmental emissions of reinforced wood doors and steel doors

The USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory has patented a technology that incorporates fiberglass-reinforced wood into the structure of wood doors and other wood building products. The process of reinforcing wood doors with epoxy and fiberglass increases the strength and durability of the product. Also, it allows the use of low-value, small-diameter wood which conserves mature forests and allows greater utilization of forest material. Since wood and steel are two material options for the construction of residential doors, we compared the potential environmental effects of both products (reinforced wood doors and steel doors) by conducting a partial life-cycle inventory (LCI) to compare the energy use and environmental emissions of the premanufacturing and manufacturing life stages of each product. The partial LCI analysis clearly showed that steel doors resulted in significantly more energy use and environmental emissions in all categories studied including air and waterborne emissions, solid waste, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas generation.