Insulated Garage Doors

Garage doors don’t only provide cover to protect your vehicle and secure your assets — they have numerous other benefits, too. An insulated door is especially beneficial because of its heat retention and temperature-control properties that help you reduce electricity costs.

An unheated garage or uninsulated garage door only retains the heat lost from your home, specifically the surrounding rooms. Newer model garage doors have an airtight seal around the frame and between the panels, preventing cold air from entering your garage.

Learn more about why you should invest in garage door insulation below.

Advantages and Considerations of Garage Door Insulation

Any internal or external upgrades to improve features in and around your home have their benefits and drawbacks. There are more advantages to having your garage door insulated than not. They include:

• Improved durability: Garages are inherently tough to withstand strong winds and other forces. Insulation reinforces its strength, improving its performance in extreme weather conditions.
• Quieter operation: Added insulation promotes smoother, quieter garage door operation. 
• Insulation options: Two insulation options are available to choose from. The first is polystyrene or styrofoam. This is sandwiched between the two metal door layers but offers less insulation support because it doesn’t fill the door’s entire inner layer, meaning tiny gaps may still allow air to pass through. The other is polyurethane, a more commonly used and effective material. It is a pressure-injected foam substance inserted between the garage door’s steel layers, filling it completely to close all gaps. About 90% of our Clopay insulated garage doors are installed with polyurethane foam.

Aside from the initial investment, adding insulation has no significant disadvantages. Note that insulation is less effective if the garage door is kept open extensively or opened and closed more frequently. 

Money-Saving Benefits of an Insulated Garage Door

An insulated garage door is an investment that will serve you long-term. We’ve listed some benefits that will impact your pocket in different ways.  

1. Lower Energy Costs

A room built above your garage adjusts to the temperature in the garage. Other adjacent rooms are also affected because you’ll use the HVAC unit to heat and cool your home. You’ll likely use more electricity in doing so. An insulated door can keep a garage warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

Let’s consider the following example. After learning that an insulated garage door would make a difference to the temperature inside his garage, a Markham homeowner installed one. He recorded some temperatures inside and outside the garage before and after the door was installed to determine the difference.

These were his findings:

• Before installation: With an outside temperature of 10 degrees, the inside temperature was 36 degrees. 
• After installation: With an outside temperature of minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit, the garage temperature was 43 degrees.

This meant the insulated doors kept the garage 7 degrees warmer, even though the outside air was 15 degrees cooler. Although this is an example, it demonstrates the efficiency of insulation, especially how you’ll benefit from heat gain and loss in the cold and hot seasons. 

R-Value Insulation

Insulated garage doors have varying measures to determine how well they can resist heat transfer into and out of your garage in extreme weather conditions, whether hot or cold. This measurement is called the R-value. The rule of thumb is that the higher the R-value, the better the insulation.

For example, an R-value of 0 means there’s no insulation, while a higher R-value provides a higher insulation. Most of our Clopay doors have an R-value of 12.9 or 18.4, while others have an R-value between 8 and 10. This makes our garage doors suitable to achieve your insulation goals.

2. Longer-Lasting HVAC Equipment

An insulated garage door helps control the temperature in the garage so the HVAC unit is used less frequently in surrounding rooms. You save on energy costs by keeping your home cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Your heating and air conditioning equipment will not switch on and off as often. It also won’t have to operate as long, helping extend its usage life span. 

3. Reduced Strain on Your Car

While your car will start up in the colder temperatures, it endures more strain. The insulated door in the example above maintained a 48-degree difference between the outside and inside air versus a 26-degree difference for the uninsulated door. That means your car is starting in about 10 degrees colder temperatures. 

An insulated garage door will help control the temperature to avoid extreme cold in the winter. This reduces the effort it takes to start and cuts down on time to warm up, extending the motor life and making your vehicle more comfortable to drive in less time.

4. Added Home Value

If you sell your home, an insulated garage door can impact your asking price. You can highlight the different benefits prospective buyers could enjoy. These include saving on energy bills, equipment storage costs and extending their car’s life. Insulated garage doors also keep the garage quieter. They look better, last longer and drown out noise pollution. New homeowners can even convert the garage for added living space like a playroom, home office or gym. 

Call Markham Garage Doors for Your Insulated Garage Door Installation

Installing an insulated garage door is a necessity if you consider the advantages. Markham Garage Doors has an impressive range of suitable doors in various materials, styles and colours for all homes in the Markham area. We meet your requirements and tailor installations to your unique specifications. Trust us to get the job done right.

Request an estimate for your new insulated garage door today! You can also visit our showroom in Markham to view our selection.