4 Ways to Make Your New Garage More Energy Efficient
Are you planning a custom garage addition on your Twin Cities property? Perhaps you’re building a new house and want a well-designed, highly functional garage? As you begin planning your new garage, it’s in your best interest to consider the energy efficiency of the space and how you can maximize it.
Taking measures to make your garage more eco-friendly can help you save a considerable amount on your monthly energy bills and increase the value of your home. Depending on what you choose to do to greenify your garage, you might even qualify for a few money-saving credits on your upcoming tax return.
Let’s take a look at a few things you can do to maximize the energy efficiency of your new custom garage.
Choose an Insulated Garage Door
A non-insulated garage door is responsible for a significant amount of indoor-outdoor heat transfer given its considerable size. In winter, it’ll allow frigid air into your garage that will make it harder to keep your home warm. In summer, it can let in hot air that can make it tough to keep your home cool.
As such, it’s in your best interest to choose an insulated garage door to help maximize the heating and cooling efficiency of your home. Studies show that an insulated door can reduce garage heat loss by up to 70%, which translates to some serious savings on your energy bills.
Not sure what kind of garage you want? Check out these tips for selecting the best overhead door for your garage.
Install High-Quality Insulation
Are you building an attached garage? If your house is insulated to help control its interior temperature, then your attached garage should be too. Even if you don’t realize it, the temperature inside an attached garage plays a major role in the temperature inside the adjoining rooms.
Without insulation, the interior temperature of the garage can fluctuate wildly throughout a single day and of course, throughout the year. In winter, the garage will drain heat from adjoining rooms in the house and in summer, it’ll transfer heat into those same rooms.
Having your garage builders insulate the space adequately will help keep your home at a comfortable temperature, thereby reducing your monthly energy costs.
Select Energy-Efficient Windows
Energy-efficient windows can cut down indoor-outdoor heat transfer in your garage by up to 40%, depending on the type you select. These windows have at least two panes of glass (sometimes more) and feature high-density, inert gas (usually Argon, Krypton, or Xenon) between the panes. Both the additional glass panes and the gas serve to reduce heat loss and gain, which can yield significant savings on your heating and cooling bills.
Choose Siding With a High R-Value
Siding materials — and windows, roofing materials, doors, and insulation — have an R-value, which denotes their insulating capacity. The higher the R-value, the more protection the product provides against heat loss or gain.
When it comes time to choose your siding, selecting a product with a high R-value will help your garage retain heat throughout winter and cool air throughout summer. Siding materials with the highest R-values include:
● Wood
● Fiber cement
● Vinyl
● Insulated siding (which features an extra layer of insulation that sits against the walls of the garage)
If you’re unsure which type of siding is best for your energy-efficiency and aesthetic goals, your garage builders can point you in the direction of the products that are best suited to your needs.
Get Started on Your Custom Garage Plan Today!
If you’re ready to start planning a custom garage build on your Twin Cities property, our team at Sussel Garages is at your service! We only work with the highest quality building materials and can help you determine the best ways to increase the energy efficiency of your new garage. To get started, give us a call today at 612-379-0949 (Minneapolis) or 651-645-0331 (St. Paul). Or, go ahead and request a free estimate, and we’ll get in touch!