Your garage helps protect your car from ravages from the environment. Why not pay that convenience forward and use your garage to help protect the environment back? Going green with a more energy efficient garage and garage door is not only better for the earth — it’s also great for your energy bill. Here are 4 ways to design your garage to be more environmentally friendly.
LED Your Lighting
Traditional light bulbs guzzle energy and are so ‘90s — and not in the good kind of retro way. Convert all your garage door lighting to LED. Their expensive upfront cost is easily offset by the energy savings. They also last longer. You’ll use less energy, pay less on your bill, and contribute fewer burned out bulbs to the landfill. It’s a win-win all around.
Install Exhaust Fans
Garages can get congested, especially during those hot summers we get in Rancho Cordova. Plus, the fumes from car exhaust can be dangerous, especially if you do your own mechanical repair work. If you paint as a hobby or professionally, or if you do woodworking or other craft or trade, a ventilated garage is also a good idea. (You might even be able to write it off your taxes!) And when you are able to circulate the air, you’ll pay less to heat and cool the garage, as well as your home itself. These energy savings contribute to a real bargain on your electric bill.
Install an Insulated Garage Door
We know what you’re thinking. If you live in a place as warm as Rancho Cordova, what do you need an insulated garage door? Well, an insulated door keeps the hot air out of a garage as well. That means it’s not only cheaper to cool your garage, but it’s cheaper to cool off your house. When you are considering insulation, the key thing to pay attention to is R-Value. This measures how much insulation a door provides. Considering how hot the summers out here can get, you probably should go for an R-value of at least 16.
Paint Thoughtfully
We don’t often think about what the color and type of paint we use on a garage door does for efficiency. There are a number of companies that have developed more environmentally friendly paints that are designed to save energy. They do this by the type of paint as well as the color. Talk to your local garage door company to see what kind and color of paint they’d recommend.