Five Ways to Make a Garage More Energy Efficient | Illinois

 Posted on October 31, 2024 in Custom Garages

Whether you’re interested in a more eco-friendly lifestyle or just looking to cut down on electricity bills, investing in an energy-efficient garage is a net positive for your home. Here are some insights from our Chicago garage-building and repair experts on easy fixes to garage energy consumption.

Add Insulation to Your Garage Door

If your attached garage is not properly insulated, it will take more energy to regulate the temperature in the rest of the house. To determine the amount of insulation required, garage experts will refer to the ‘R-value,’ a measure of any insulation’s resistance to flowing heat. Generally, you’ll want to keep the R-value at 7 or above.

There are a variety of ways to protect your garage door against the elements. Foam panels are a popular choice, since materials like polystyrene can be bought in bulk and cut to fit the exact dimensions of your garage door.

Locate and Seal Gaps

Even the smallest gaps in your garage can let in outside air, which will put a strain on your energy consumption. Caulk and spray foam are practical solutions for filling in tiny cracks. A good rule of thumb to determine whether the garage is adequately sealed is if you can see daylight coming in through between the door and the floor. If so, you may need a new garage door seal, as the rubber or vinyl these seals are made of can deteriorate over time. The garage repair experts at Blue Sky Builders, Inc. can assist with installation and identify any other drafty entry points that you may have overlooked.

Monitor Your Appliances

If you use your garage for other purposes than storing your car, keep in mind that anything plugged into an outlet will ramp up your energy consumption. For instance, a TV plugged into a garage living space still uses energy even while it’s turned off. You might also consider replacing the lights inside your garage with more eco-friendly fixtures, such as LED light strips.

Patch Up Your Windows

Your garage windows might be contributing more to your insulation problems than you realize. Air can seep into the area around your windows, which is equally problematic in Chicago’s chilly winters and sweltering summers. A quick fix to this problem is weatherstripping, a way of sealing potential openings around a window pane, often with vinyl or adhesive foam. Feeling a draft around a closed window is a solid indicator that the weatherstripping needs to be replaced.

Check Your Floors

In the winter, cracks and dents in your garage floor can sabotage your heating efforts. To remedy this, you’ll need to seal the cracks with epoxy, polyurethane, or caulk. A repair expert can get a good look at your floor and help you settle on the most efficient option.

Contact Our DuPage County, IL Garage-Building Experts

Diagnosing an energy issue in your garage can be a head-scratcher at the best of times. The Downers Grove, IL Garage-Building and Repair Experts at Blue Sky Builders, Inc. have been in business since 1979, and provide free on-site estimates for garage solutions. Call us at 630-852-8485 for more guidance on how best to insulate your garage.