It’s almost here. Scorcher after scorcher under the bright Florida sun can mean great time spent outdoors. However, it is also a massive cooling bill if your home relies on air conditioning units to keep it cool. The garage presents a particular challenge when it comes to cooling. It doesn’t have a lot of insulation, and when the door is open hot air can rush right in and get trapped for long periods. You might have noticed we mentioned the most significant part of the problem right there. Tackling your lack of insulation is a proven method to keeping your garage cool in the summer.
Where to Start
Most garages in America do not have insulation. It’s a cost-saving strategy most builders and property owners employ. However, it winds up costing you in the long run. Like weather stripping, insulation keeps cool air from getting out and hot air from getting in and dampens the effect of heat conduction through the material of your garage door and walls. As a bonus, it will also keep your garage warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Garage insulation kits are available in most places, and they have several benefits. No matter the weather, an insulated garage will help keep you comfortable. When shopping for insulation, look on the packaging for a high R-value. This score grades the insulation on many qualities, and the better the R-value, the better the insulation you’re purchasing. However, different types of insulation can have their R-values calculated differently, so keep that in mind.
Other Benefits
While temperature and energy use is probably the most significant reasons to insulate your garage, there are more reasons to insulate it if you’re still on the fence. Insulation helps reduce noise from your garage door opening and closing as the added padding keeps it from rattling around so much, and the material dampens the rattles that do get through. When you close the door, it helps block noise from the outside as well. In addition to protecting you from noise, it also protects your garage door from impacts inside your garage.
Falling tools, moving vehicles, or other accidental impacts that might dent or damage your garage door can be deflected and absorbed by insulation paneling instead. Even impacts from outside disperse into the insulation, though the effect is undoubtedly most moticeable inside. Any bit of extra reinforcement that you can add to your garage door is worth it, as repair costs can be just as pricy as the installation or your garage door system in cases of severe damage – If not more, if you wind up needing to repair other parts of your garage as well.
Final Considerations
Insulating your garage is the right thing to do. Not only does it keep the ambient temperature of your garage more stable, reducing the amount of work needed to change the temperature to one you might desire, but it adds durability and noise reduction that make your garage a comfortable place to be at any time. That said, the various ways to measure R-value and the precision needed to cut and install your insulation panel kits can be daunting. This is one job you’ll want to be sure is done right – so call the experts at Straight Up Garage Doors to learn more and find out what we can do to help keep your garage cool and comfortable.
