Imagine a twentieth-century garage, and you’ll probably think of a cold, draughty outbuilding - a place to keep your car, your lawnmower and maybe a freezer humming away in the corner. If it was freezing cold in the garage, it didn’t really matter.
Fast forward to the 2020s: the way we use our homes has changed - and so have our standards for indoor spaces. Increasingly, garages are used as functional spaces beyond storing vehicles and gardening equipment; homeowners are converting their garages into gyms, workshops, offices - even beauty salons. Furthermore, we are living during a cost-of-living crisis, and with unpredictable energy prices, UK homeowners are now much more conscious of thermal efficiency. For the past thirty-plus years, the popularity of loft insulation and double glazing has gone through the roof. Yet, for those homeowners who have not had a garage conversion or new door installed, old or cheap garage doors represent a significant drain on their property’s overall level of thermal efficiency.
Poor insulation doesn’t present much of a problem in a standalone garage (but remember, damp and cold can damage stored tools and equipment). However, if you have a poorly insulated integral garage (i.e. one attached to the side of your home), it can silently steal warmth from the adjoining rooms. This might not seem like a huge issue, but your energy bills may beg to differ!
So what’s the best way to get around this?
Choosing a quality, insulated garage door helps to minimise heat loss during winter, whilst maintaining a stable internal temperature all year round.
This guide examines what makes an energy-efficient garage door - exploring the different types and styles, whilst answering the question of how to increase your garage’s insulative properties without spending a fortune.
Understanding Heat Loss in Your Garage
In order to understand the science behind a well-insulated garage door, we need to know by what means a garage loses heat.
Heat loss happens through:
- Conduction - heat escaping through a solid material. Older garage doors often comprise a single sheet of thin steel which is a very good conductor of heat. Heat is therefore very easily transferred outside.
- Convection - heat moving through the air. It doesn’t really matter what material your garage door is made of if you have gaps around it; heat will effortlessly drift away.
- Thermal bridging - this essentially means a conductive material provides a means for thermal energy to bypass insulation. For example, if insulation is held in a metal frame that touches both the inside and outside surfaces, heat will still be lost through that frame. It doesn’t matter how good the insulative material is!
If you are to improve the energy efficiency of your garage, you need to choose a garage door that effectively minimises these three forms of heat loss.
Which Garage Door Type is the Best Insulator?
Let’s set aside marketing and individual garage door brand properties for a moment; it’s time to think about the four main types of garage doors found in the UK to consider what their typical design principles mean from an energy-efficiency point of view.
Up-and-Over Garage Door
Up-and-over garage doors came to prominence after the second world war, owing to their low cost and simple operation, but they are still frequently seen on British driveways. However, they represent extremely poor energy-efficiency - arguably the worst among popular garage door designs.
As we have already explored, up-and-over garage doors are often made from a single sheet of steel, and without any insulation. This material is very easy for heat to pass through. On top of this, the very nature of the up-and-over design means that gaps around the perimeter of the door are required to give clearance. You can add a seal or brush strips to reduce air flow, but it is extremely difficult to seal it completely.
Ultimately, regardless of the individual properties of your up-and-over garage door, there is no way around its inherently poor level of insulation.
Side-Hinged Doors
A traditional option, providing easy pedestrian access, the insulative properties of side-hinged garage doors varies, largely depending on the material used in construction.
Timber Side-Hinged Doors
As a natural insulator, timber is much more effective at keeping the cold out than single-skinned steel. However, choosing a wooden garage door comes with a major drawback; timber is naturally prone to warping, and this creates gaps around the garage door frame, letting warm air escape. On top of this, wooden garage doors require regular maintenance to avoid damage and the need for expensive repairs or replacement!
Modern Side-Hinged Doors
Modern insulated side-hinged doors are available, and these are much more effective at keeping heat in. However, regardless of the material properties of a side-hinged garage door, the central rebate (where the two doors meet) can allow air to easily escape if it is not well sealed.
Sectional Garage Doors
Generally speaking, sectional garage doors boast good insulative properties owing to their thickness and modern design properties. They usually feature insulative foam as well as rubber seals around the edges to prevent air leakage.
However, sectional garage doors are bulky; the overhead tracking mechanism requires significant headroom and inside ceiling space. This restricts available storage room, as well as limiting how the garage can be used. They require very precise installation to avoid gaps around the door.
Roller Garage Doors
A good quality electric roller garage door provides an energy efficient and practical option, whilst also helping to save space.
Roller garage doors like those offered by Garolla, are manufactured with double-walled aluminium slats, with insulative foam filling the gap between the two skins. The foam virtually stops warmth from transferring through the door.
Furthermore, the inherent design and mechanism of roller garage doors allows for an effective seal to be installed around the edges. A good quality seal can create an airlock effect, minimising heat loss from convection.
Another advantage of having a roller garage door is their space-saving properties, with the door rolling vertically into an overhead box. This means you don’t lose ceiling space, whilst also allowing you to insulate the ceiling, further enhancing your garage’s energy-efficient properties).
The Importance of Good Installation
You could buy the most energy efficient garage door on the planet, but if it is badly installed its insulative properties are virtually irrelevant, and you are throwing money away.
Ultimately, the energy efficiency of your garage door is heavily dependent on the quality of the fit; you should always have a garage door fitted (and repaired) by a professional. It needs to be fitted square and level to seal out the elements. This is very difficult to achieve through DIY installation. Just a tiny gap between the door edge and the floor / door frame can lead to huge heat loss over time.
Garolla offers measuring and installation as standard by a local professional engineer to ensure your new garage door offers an effective insulative barrier.
Improving Your Garage’s Energy Efficiency
Choosing a new insulated roller garage door is the most effective step you can take to reduce thermal-leakage from your garage. However, once you have done this, there are other steps you can take to improve your garage’s energy efficiency.
Roof Insulation
Open rafters allow heat to rise and escape from the roof - the biggest surface area in your garage. Adding insulation can make a huge difference.
Wall Insulation
Most integral garages feature cavity walls, whereas older freestanding garages are often single brick. If you are converting your single brick detached garage, adding insulation boards can hugely improve its insulative properties.
Draft Proofing
Look for any gaps or thin areas in your garage door, and seal them if you can.
What is the Most Energy Efficient Way to Heat Your Garage?
Importantly, the best way to heat a garage is to ensure it is well insulated first! Heating a poorly insulated garage door is akin to trying to fill a colander with water.
After you have adequately insulated your garage, you can then look at different heating sources (if you still need to, depending on how you intend to use it!). Among the most effective and energy efficient heating options for intermittent use (e.g. for a garage conversion - home gym, workshop) are:
Infrared Heaters
Whereas fan heaters waste energy by heating a volume of air (this heating method takes a long time, and the air cools down very quickly), infrared heaters heat physical objects and people directly. For example if you go into your garage workshop, you don’t have to waste energy by having the heating on for half an hour beforehand; infrared heaters provide instant warmth.
Oil-Filled Radiators
An electric oil-filled radiator provides steady, gentle background heat, with the oil retaining heat for a long time after the thermostat reaches the desired temperature. An oil-filled radiator provides a good option for a converted garage that is used for long periods throughout the day.
Heat Pumps
If your converted garage is in use all day, a mini-split air source heat pump offers the best option in terms of efficiency. However, installation costs are very high when compared to other options available, so a heat pump is only generally worth the initial investment for fully converted garages that you intend to use throughout the year, and for a number of years!
Garolla: Leading the Way in Thermal Efficiency
When searching for the most energy efficient garage door, the credentials of Garolla garage door speak for themselves. Garolla roller garage doors provide a full thermal barrier system, as well as all the modern conveniences, security and safety features you can expect from a leading modern garage door.
- Double-Walled Aluminium: Tough and well-insulated, the dual layered slats prevent direct conduction of heat.
- CFC-Free Foam: Every slat is pressure-filled with high-density polyurethane foam, providing the critical insulative layer that prevents heat leaving. It also has the effect of adding strength and rigidity to the structure, making the door more secure.
- Insulated Fixed Side Guide Rail System: Our fixed side guide rail system prevents draughts from sneaking through the edges of the door, with bristles providing an extra layer of insulation.
- Heavy Duty Weather Seal: The heavy-duty bottom rubber slat seal compresses against the floor, preventing weather and icy air from entering the garage at ground level.
Garolla Garage Doors: An Investment that Pays You Back
Deciding to upgrade to an energy-efficient garage door is about more than comfort - it’s about economics.
Think about it - every penny you spend heating a house that is attached to a cold garage is working harder than it needs to. Choosing a Garolla insulated garage door minimises thermal breach, reducing the cost of heating your home, preventing damp in your garage and allowing the space to be used all year round.
Your garage doesn’t need to be the weak link in your home’s energy efficiency; choose a new garage door that has kerb appeal, protects your home (and belongings), whilst helping to reduce your energy bills at the same time.
