There are plenty of ways to make your home more eco-friendly. Unfortunately, most people forget about the garage. Did you know that your garage uses a lot of energy?
Making your garage greener is one of the easiest ways to lower your energy costs, reduce your carbon footprint, and ensure safety in your home. With the simple tips below, you can make a few sustainable changes to make your garage eco-friendly.
Change Light Bulbs and Fixtures
If your garage has incandescent lights, they may be consuming more power than you think. Incandescent bulbs waste up to 90% of their energy consumption on heat rather than light. Replace traditional bulbs with LED lights to help reduce energy waste.
Invest in an Energy-Efficient Garage Door
If you have an attached garage, a significant amount of hot and cold air likely escapes through the garage. Frequent opening and closing, coupled with a lack of insulation, can make for an uncomfortably warm or extremely cold garage in the summer and winter. Any room adjacent to your garage will experience energy loss.
However, a well-insulated garage door prevents the loss of hot or cool air significantly. In addition to utilizing proper insulation, you should also seal cracks and install weather stripping to prevent heat loss and save energy.
Insulate Around Light Switches and Outlets
Even a small change can significantly impact your carbon footprint and electricity bill. In addition to insulating your garage walls and door, inspect your garage’s electrical outlets and light switches to see if there are any small gaps or openings around them. If so, close up those gaps with insulated material or sealant to limit the transfer of cold and warm outside air.
Use Motion Detectors
A motion detector typically powers on the lights when it detects movement in your garage and shuts them off when there’s none. A motion sensor or detector will help boost your home’s security and energy efficiency while moving you a step closer to a green garage.
Capture and Reuse Rainwater
Another way to make your garage eco-friendlier is to collect rainwater. Did you know that you can use recycled rainwater to wash your car, water your lawn, and more? All you need is to purchase a rain barrel at your local hardware store and install it yourself or hire a garage door expert to install it for you.
Bottom Line
In addition to energy-efficient building materials and environmentally-friendly lighting solutions, you can also install solar panels on your garage roof to generate clean, renewable electricity. By taking these few simple steps, you can enjoy an eco-friendly garage and save money.
At Raynor Garage Doors, we offer an extensive range of premium residential garage doors, commercial garage doors, and industrial garage door products and operators. We can help you select, install, and maintain the perfect garage doors for your home. Contact us today for more information or with any questions you have.
