Picture this: you walk to the mailbox, open the latch, and pull out a stack of bills. On top: the most dreaded one of all, the electric bill.
In the winter, it seems like the heat costs you an arm and a leg. In the summer, when you’re finally able to stop paying for heat, the A/C kicks in and takes its place.
If your garage has central air and you haven’t taken the time to make it more energy-efficient, you’re throwing money away.
Read on for seven super simple energy saving solutions to cut your electric costs and do right by Mother Earth at the same time.
Besides saving you tons of money each year, it’s good for the environment.
The U.S. uses 56% less energy since adopting energy saving solutions across the country. That’s 56% less non-renewable, natural resources being ripped from the Earth every year.
By thinking green, you’re also lessening greenhouse gases around the world. Non-renewable energy consumption creates a huge carbon footprint that contributes to global warming.
By finding energy saving solutions in your home, you’re becoming a part of the solution.
Going green in your garage is easy as can be. There are plenty of energy efficient moves you can make to minimize both your carbon footprint and your electric bill.
If your home is a little older, it’s likely that the insulation in your garage walls is pretty minimal. Lots of contractors use only radiant sheathing and a layer of particle board to keep your precious heat and A/C inside.
The good news: you can DIY this. All you need to do is find the correct insulation for your home and install it in between all your joists. You can also blow it in through a hole in your drywall in the walls and ceilings of your garage.
It seems strange that this would be an energy saving solution, but clutter in your garage creates the perfect nesting ground for pesky rodents that love to chew on insulation.
Cleaning up and buying a few storage bins will help keep the pests away, keeping your insulation free of teeth marks!
An added perk: a cleaner garage!
Drastic changes in temperature create tiny cracks in cement floors, some that you may not even be able to see. Despite their size, their contribution to energy inefficiency adds up. Moisture in the air can even cause your floors to expand, making it difficult for your garage door to close.
Buy some concrete caulk and go around your garage, sealing up all the tiny fissures. It’s a good idea to repeat this process once a year.
You can also cover your garage floors with rugs, carpets, and mats to protect your floors from temperature changes. These additions will also add to the aesthetics of your space!
Quality caulking is an absolute essential when it comes to energy saving solutions. Over time, the compression foam that seals the space between your walls and cement floor will change. It’ll swell and shrink according to the weather, creating space for heat and A/C to escape.
Head out and grab a sealant or silicone/latex caulk. Run it along the space where your walls and floor meet to reinforce the seal.
A lot of people only enter and exit their homes through their garage. It’s where you pull in, after all!
You might not think about how much energy your garage lights actually use, considering you mostly use them when you’re on your way out or eager to get home. In the reality of a busy life, they’re constantly being turned off and on.
Replace your bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs. They last five times longer than regular bulbs.
If you’re always forgetting to turn the garage light off, install a timer so they’ll turn off automatically when they’re not in use!
It’s essential that you check the weatherstripping not only around the door from the garage to the outdoors, but also around the door from the indoors to the garage. Heat and A/C can escape easily and abundantly through poor weatherstripping.
To check the quality of your weatherstripping, turn all the lights on in one space and all the lights off in the other. Stand in the dark area and check to see if you can see any light peeking through around the door.
Be sure to check for the light around the doors’ thresholds, too! If you see it, replace them.
Your garage door itself could be the biggest culprit for your high energy bills. If you’ve got a builder-quality garage door, it’s likely that it’s one of the least energy-efficient doors on the market.
Most garage doors are made of aluminum, a metal that’s best known for its temperature transferrence abilities. That means your door will work to slowly make your toasty garage as cold as it is outside in the winter, and your perfectly cool space sweltering in the summer. That’s exactly what you don’t want.
The good news: you can replace your garage door with an insulated one. It’ll often come with a hefty price tag, however. If you’re into doing things yourself, you can also purchase an insulation kit to help insulate your existing door.
Kits usually include sheets of insulation which you’ll apply to the interior side of the door. They’re pretty simple, and usually only require about a day’s work. You can also use foam board insulation!
Energy efficiency is definitely key, but if all this seems like too much to DIY, let the experts help.
If you’re in the Virginia Beach area, get in touch with us today to discuss how we can build your custom, specialized garage building. We’ll take all the necessary steps to ensure that your new garage is as energy efficient as possible.
It’s good for the environment and good for you!