Living in San Diego, many believe that insulating a garage door is unnecessary. They associate insulation with keeping heat in, and keeping cold out. With an average temperature around 70 degrees year round, many San Diegans don’t see the need in insulating their garage doors. However, there are a couple of other benefits to insulating the garage door that a customer should consider. Like we have mentioned before with windows, insulation can be added after the initial installation, but is easier and usually cheaper if it is done at the time of installation.
Temperature control: Not only does insulation keep cold air out and warm air in, but visa versa. If you live inland, or your door faces the sun, you know that it can get pretty toasty in the garage. A layer of insulation can definitely protect your garage from becoming a sweatbox while you are trying to do laundry, or any other activity in the garage.
Energy efficiency: Going hand in hand with the prior point, an insulated door keeps in all of the overly priced air conditioning and heating that seeps through the walls of the house into the attached garage. If that air was lost, the home would be cooler or warmer, and would thus need more air/heat to achieve the ideal temperature. This all results in a higher bill at the end of the month.
Sound muffling: Insulation also acts as a sound barrier in the garage. This could be helpful if a lot of recreation time is spent in the garage, and it is located close enough to neighbors for them to be bothered by noise. If a layer of insulation was added, one could play all the ping pong tournaments, or watch all the football games that they wanted without disturbing others. It could also be helpful if one worked out of the garage and wanted a nice quiet environment to concentrate in.
Structural reinforcement: Lastly, insulation just makes your door stronger. Over time, the opening and closing of a pan door causes sagging, bending, and sometimes ripping of the panels. The added polystyrene or polyurethane prevents this from happening and can drastically extend the life of a garage door. Also, by adding an additional layer to your garage door, it usually moves more smoothly and with less noise than a standard pan door which can rattle going up and down.
