Energy Efficiency Tips for the Garage

Save energy with the right garage door and opener system.

Everyone likes saving on their home energy bills, right? When making your home more energy-efficient, don’t forget that your garage door and opener choices offer opportunities to save energy too. Here are some important tips on that topic.

Use CFL Bulbs

Chances are, you’ve already switched most of the lightbulbs in your home from incandescent bulbs to CFL bulbs that use less energy and last much longer as well. But what about the light bulbs in your garage door opener? Can you switch those to CFLs?

The answer depends on what kind of garage door opener you have. When placed close to electronics, CFLs (and LEDs for that matter) emit infrared light rays that can interfere with the signals being sent and received by some devices, including garage door openers.

If you have an older garage door opener, it is probably not set up to withstand this interference. But, Liftmaster has at least two models of garage door openers that are specifically designed to use CFL bulbs. So next time you’re in the market for a new garage door opener, consider a Liftmaster model 8550 or 8360. These models also allow you to adjust the time-delay on the light so it doesn’t stay on too long after you’ve left the garage. Plus they have a stand-by mode that uses 75 percent less power.

Upgrade to an Insulated Garage Door

Even if your garage is not heated or air conditioned, it still needs insulation. This prevents the garage from sucking heat out of your home in winter or radiating heat into your home in summer, which would raise your energy costs. Here in southern California, the biggest concern is obviously summertime heat. If your garage door faces south or west, it can get exposed to a lot of solar heat gain and insulation will be very important.

A thick wood garage door is a pretty good natural insulator, provided it has adequate weatherstripping around the edges. However, for even better insulation you probably want a steel garage door with a layer of insulation sandwiched between the two panels. Insulated doors have the added advantage of being quieter than basic doors.

Remember to Shut the Garage Door!

Of course, your garage door isn’t going to be helping your energy efficiency if you forget to close it! Consider installing a garage door opener that can communicate with your smartphone to let you know if you’ve left the garage door open, and allow you to close the door remotely. This is excellent for home security too.