Keeping Your Garage Cooler in The Summer and Fall

If you are like many Bay Area and Greater Sacramento Area home owners, you know our Summer and Fall months can hit triple-digits and stay between 90 degrees and 100+ degrees for days, even weeks.  A garage can get up to 20 degrees hotter than the temperature outside. Here at Graham Garage Doors, we want you to have as much information as possible when it comes to choosing how to improve your overall garage experience.

This information is about more than a hot garage door. It’s also about the interior of a hot garage, which can be very uncomfortable during the summer months. And this is even more important if you have converted your garage into a recreation or office space, or are using it for storage. Additionally, many residents have a 2nd refrigerator located in their garage. Most refrigeration units are designed to operate with ambient temperatures within a reasonable range. Once your garage hits 90+ degrees, that refrigerator is going into double-time to keep things cool inside, drastically reducing its service life.

Do you have a plan for cooling down your garage when the need arises?

The first question you should ask yourself is: Why does my garage heat up?

There are a number of reasons that could cause your garage to feel like you opened a huge oven door. One reason could be if you have a windowless garage or limited ventilation in the garage. Garages without windows that open or some form of adequate ventilation, collect hot air rather quickly. With no ventilation, there is no way for air to circulate through the garage and it heats up as a result. Another top cause of garage warmth could be a lack of insulation on the structure walls and on the garage door itself. Most Garage Doors consume a large portion of interior and exterior space, while many assume insulation is only needed for cold winter weather, it also plays a role in preventing heat from getting into your garage through radiant heat. The location relative to the sun's path of your garage could also be a big factor. Of course, you can't easily change the orientation of your garage, but the direction the Garage Door faces can help determine how much effect an insulated door can make to your overall experience.

Best advice for mitigating garage high temps:

• Encourage natural ventilation. Consider installing roof and attic vents, which help with passive ventilation. If you are looking for a quick fix, you may also want to check out options like pedestal fans or a powered shop fan to keep air in the garage moving. These solutions are at the top of our suggestions due to their effective results.
• Get that Garage door insulated, or replaced with an insulated door! Graham Garage Doors installs insulation on most common doors as well as replacement doors with thick foam insulation. This is a VERY effective solution.
• A weather seal fitted to the full perimeter of your garage door helps to prevent excessive heat from being blown in. If your seal is broken or you have no seal at all, you can expect intense heat to quickly seep into your garage. Don’t let broken or missing weatherstripping cause your garage to unbearably heat up.
• Install insulation on your exterior garage walls. You can get a double-benefit if you take this time to finish the garage with sheets of OSB or plywood. This will allow you to use those walls for hanging most garage-type items. So much better than hanging items on drywall!
• Declutter your garage. If you need to use a portion of your garage as storage (as most of us end up doing) keep it minimized and organized. A cluttered and/or full garage traps and retains heat, so don't dismiss an easy fix.
• Cool your vehicle before parking. If you are able, park your vehicle outside for an hour then pull it inside. The massive amount of heat your vehicle produces is about 100 degrees HOTTER than the outside ambient temperature. So let it cool for a while first.

If you would like to learn more, we are always happy to chat! Give us a call, email, or IM today!
Graham Garage Doors