Insulated Garage Door

What Is an Insulated Garage Door and Why Is It Needed?

An insulated garage door is a door that has unique insulating materials inserted into the pockets of the door. The aim of this insulation is to serve as a barrier against air intrusion.

Insulation is used for those garage doors not made of wood. Wood itself has some natural insulating properties, but garage doors made of other materials generally do not. Most often, an insulated garage door is one that is constructed mostly from steel.

An insulated steel garage door is what is most commonly found available for purchase.

Benefits of an Insulated Garage Door

Why would somebody want insulation in their garage door? First and foremost, heat escapes through the garage door by the size of it alone. Almost a third of the energy that is lost in a garage goes through the garage door.

For this reason, an insulated garage door is used to protect against such energy loss by serving as an effective barrier. Insulation can increase a garage's energy efficiency by at least 1/3.

The additional cost of the insulation is minimal when compared against the potential savings in energy. Insulation typically costs less than 20% more than a garage door without insulation.

Houses with attached garage doors will obviously have more need of an insulated garage door than houses with detached garages. Houses with attached garages typically share at least one wall, and often times two walls in common with the living areas of the house.

So, not only will a garage door that is insulated help save energy in the garage, but the living areas of the house as well.

An insulated garage door still provides benefits for those homes that have detached garages. For people who spend time working in a garage, the insulation can make the inside area quite a bit more pleasant. This is especially so for those who work in a commercial garage.

The insulation not only protects against the cold, but it also provides relief from extremely hot temperatures.

Types of Insulation Used in Garage Doors

Polystyrene and polyurethane are the most common materials used in an insulated garage door.

Polystyrene is hard slats that are thrust into the openings of steel garage doors. This is usually done between the inner and outer panels.

Polyurethane comes in the form of foam. It is sprayed onto surfaces where it then bonds, forming a protective barrier. Polyurethane is generally believed to be more effective for insulation.

To a lesser extent, fiberglass is also a material used for insulation.

DIY Garage Door Insulation

Insulation kits starting at roughly $100 can be purchased by those without an insulated garage door. The price goes up from there and will depend, in large part, by the size of the garage door. Some kits will use insulation made of fiberglass, which helps in the installation of the insulation.