How to Get Your Garage Energy Costs Under Control
You like spending time in your garage. It’s become your little haven; a safe place where you can go and disconnect from the world, lost in your favorite hobby or pastime. But you don’t like the fact that your energy bills seem to be rising the more time you spend in your garage. You expected a little increase, but the bump has been significant. Is there anything you can do or will you have to start limiting your garage time?
You’ll be pleased to know that there is plenty you can do! We might be garage door installation and repair specialists primarily, but indirectly we do help to make garages across Loveland more energy efficient too!
Before You Start…
There's one very simple question you should ask yourself before you dive too deeply into uncovering why your garage energy costs have been spiraling out of control:
Have your habits changed?
For example, if you never used to spend hardly any time in the garage before, and now you're in there every single day, it’s only natural that there will have been an increase in your energy costs. It’s simple maths. This can’t really be helped.
But if your habits haven’t changed all that much, there has to be something that is causing the increase, and that’s what this article is going to help you try to discover.
Some of the following tips are relatively straightforward to implement, while others are a bit more involved either financially or in terms of the time investment required. They all have one thing in common though – they’ll reduce your energy bill significantly!
1) A New Garage Door Installation
This might seem like we’re starting off strong, but the truth is a beat-up garage door that is no longer capable (or maybe it never was) of adequately insulating your garage may be one of the biggest contributing factors in your rising energy costs.
You see, a poorly insulated garage door will struggle and ultimately fail to keep out extreme weather conditions. So in the summer, your garage will be unbearably hot and you’ll spend a ton on air conditioning to keep it cool. While in the winter, it’ll be freezing cold, and your energy bills will rise because you need to have the heating on so often.
A new garage door installation that is made of better materials and provides a higher insulation value will pay off big time in the long run, as it'll maintain a more stable temperature in your garage year-round, reducing the need for air conditioning and heating.
2) Upgrade to a More Efficient Opener
Like anything, the technology used in garage door openers moves on. And as technology moves on, it has a habit of becoming more efficient and using less energy to perform the same actions. If you had your current opener installed 10+ years ago, it might be time to start thinking about replacing it. A newer model will undoubtedly reduce your energy use by quite a bit, and you’ve already had your money’s worth from your old opener anyway.
3) Hunt Down and Seal Air Leaks
It’s not just an old garage door that might be letting the weather outside, inside. Air leaks are a common problem in garages, as they’re often not built to the same rigorous standards that are expected inside the liveable part of the home.
Areas where you might find air leaks include around power outlets, light switches, where the floors meet the ceiling and where the walls meet the floor. You will often find small gaps in these areas that could be allowing air to blow in, increasing your heating and cooling costs.
If you find any air leaks, they need to be filled in using either caulking or weatherstripping. Doing this might not have quite the same impact as a new garage door installation, but it can still be significant.
4) Invest in More Efficient Lighting
If you don't have your door up and there aren't many windows in your garage space, you probably have your lighting switched on most of the time you're in there. Something that is used so frequently could save you a packet if you can find a way to make it more energy-efficient. And when it comes to lighting, there's certainly one quick win that you could investigate.
What are we talking about? Why LED bulbs, of course. Replacing old, incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs will help you lower your energy bill as they cost significantly less to power. Another big benefit (and cost-saving) is that they will last significantly longer too.
5) Insulate the Walls and Floor Too
This is a bigger project, on par with a new garage door installation. But it can have similar results. A huge amount of energy can be lost through poorly insulated walls and a garage floor that is cracked and in poor condition.
Insulative wall sheathing with an energy rating of R5 or R6 will make your garage space a significantly more comfortable place to spend time in. And adding an epoxy coating to a garage floor that is beaten up, containing cracks and pits, will definitely help to restrict the flow of heat energy.
All of this leads to one thing: using your heater and air-con significantly less, which lowers energy bills massively.
Want a More Energy Efficient Garage? We Can Help
When people think of garage door installation or garage door repair, they immediately think of the visual or functional impact these things will have on your home and life. But the truth is, a lot of the work that we do has a big impact on the energy efficiency of your garage too. If you’re in Loveland and want to find out more about how we can help you, call 970 663-7335 today!