During the peaks of winter and summer, utility bills tend to spike heavily. But, there are many solutions to reducing those bills! In fact, increasing garage energy efficiency should be one of the first steps. With the right tips, you can drastically diminish your heating and cooling energy consumption.
Does Your Garage Really Need to Be Energy Efficient?
Not necessarily, but the benefits of increasing your garage’s energy efficiency are tremendous, especially if it’s attached to your home! An energy-efficient garage can provide:
- Added Home Value — If you ever plan on selling your house, an energy-efficient garage is a fantastic selling point. It can increase your home’s overall value by maintaining consistent temperatures and lowering utility bills.
- Increased Protection — If you happen to be storing any prized possessions such as luxury cars or memorabilia in your garage, they’ll be better protected in an environment with a relatively consistent interior temperature.
- Tax Benefits — You may be eligible for tax credits upon installing a new garage door with insulation properties.
Tips for Increasing Garage Energy Efficiency
If you’re ready to get started, use these tips to create a more efficient garage! Even if you only utilize a few of them, you’re sure to feel the difference an energy-efficient garage can make to both your home and your wallet.
1. Seal Floor Cracks
Cold air and gasses have the ability to seep their way into your garage through cracks in your flooring, which can cause your garage to be very cold in the winter. If your garage is attached to your home, this cold air can make adjacent rooms cold as well. This may force you to pump the heat constantly throughout the winter season. If water also happens to get into the cracks, it may freeze and expand, causing other garage flooring issues and headaches.
By sealing the floor cracks, you seal out any extreme temperatures, helping to keep the internal garage temperature fairly consistent. After the cracks are sealed, you can also add parking mats to help soak up any moisture you or your car may bring in from the rain and snow. Not only can mats be a visually-appealing addition to your garage floor, but their absorbent properties help to prevent future concrete floor cracks and deterioration.
2. Add Energy-Efficient Garage Lighting
This tip is a no-brainer. While they have a higher up-front cost, energy-efficient garage lighting can last up to 25 times longer than standard lightbulbs while consuming up to 80% less energy. For additional help in choosing from the vast amount of garage lighting options, we recommend using Wise Pick’s garage lighting buying guide.
3. Upgrade to Energy-Efficient Garage Doors
If you’re ready to purchase new garage doors, consider customizing them to ensure they’re both attractive for curb appeal and energy efficient. Adding windows to your doors allows more natural light to enter your garage interior. This helps to minimize the need for excess electric lighting which, in turn, reduces energy consumption. However, it’s important to note that the more glass there is in a door, the less insulating it is. You’ll want to make sure you find the right balance between your garage door materials.
4. Ensure There Are Seals Around Your Garage Doors
Whether you upgrade your garage door to be more energy efficient or not, our garage experts recommend ensuring the seal around your doors is in optimal condition. All Artisan doors feature flexible and long-lasting Q-LON weather seals that prevent drafts and water from entering your garage. This helps to keep your garage interior insulated and dry. The flexibility of your door seals is extremely important. Flexibility ensures a proper seal between garage doors, tracks, and flooring.
5. Insulate Your Garage Walls
Some homes, especially older ones, weren’t built with garage insulation in mind. Many only have siding, radiant sheathing, and a layer of particle board between the inside and outside of your garage. By insulating the walls, you can create more protection from the outdoor elements, helping to maintain a more consistent temperature inside.
There are many options when it comes to choosing the best insulation for garage walls. A few of these options include:
- Cotton-Fiberglass Batt Insulation — This type is relatively inexpensive and easy to install. However, in order for it to thoroughly insulate your garage, you must wall it up well with either foam board or drywall.
- Cellulose / Blown-In Insulation — If drywall is already in place in your garage but it’s not insulated, you can open a hole in the wall and have a contractor add blown-in insulation between the structural foundation and the drywall.
- Spray or Injection Foam Insulation — Spray foam is applied to open walls and ceilings, while injection foam is applied to enclosed cavities much like cellulose / blown-in insulation. Both spray and injection foam insulation are generally the most expensive option when it comes to garage wall insulation. However, they eliminate most, if not all, air passages through your garage walls. This makes foam insulation one of the best choices for energy efficiency.
