Garage Doors Insulated With Polyurethane Foam Are More Energy Efficient

No matter where you live having an insulated garage is a great feature on any home. There is nothing worse than walking from a warm house to a cold car even if it is inside your garage. You really cannot start your car and warm it up in the garage without endangering the rest of the family with carbon monoxide poisoning. The only alternative is to insulate your garage. If you happen to have a workshop in or attached to your garage you will find that it is only comfortable to work in during the fall and spring months due to excessive heat or cold. If the walls of your garage are already insulated then you will have no problem making it more energy efficient.  Of course garage doors insulated well are also necessary.

storm doors with screens

An insulated garage that features insulated windows and garage doors insulated correctly will make your garage into a four season comfort zone. The same goes if your garage has a side entrance door. It also should have more than a simple uninsulated storm door. Purchasing a quality insulated door will go a long way to keep your garage warm or cool depending on the season. Of course the greatest energy is lost is through the garage door. Most garage doors insulated with Styrofoam sheets are not very energy efficient. In terms of garage doors prices a quality insulated garage door will save you money.
 
Garage doors insulated with loose sheets of Styrofoam have lots of gaps for cold air to escape through. Most garage door companies use this cheap form of insulation because it is basically cheap. They defend the practice by saying it is cheaper to replace a damaged panel by simply using the same insulating panel. Polyurethane foam filled panels provide a much higher R value than the less efficient styrene panels at about the same cost. Garage doors insulated with polyurethane have no gaps because the foam fills and attaches to the inside of every part of the panel. No air gaps to let cold air in or out. In addition garage doors insulated with urethane foam are stronger making them more secure.
 
Good foam panel the garage door must have good joint seals between panels. Good seals are also needed along the door header and sides as well. Most quality doors will have a good seal on the bottom panel. It should be thick enough and flexible enough to fit the contour of the garage floor. All door seals should be able to remain flexible no matter what the temperature is or their insulating value will be greatly reduced. Garage doors insulated with polyurethane foam generally will have good long lasting vinyl end, top and bottom caps to protect the foam insulation from environmental degradation.
 
Making the effort to insulate your garage will pay dividends in energy conservation while giving you a warm garage in winter and a cool one in summer. In many cases the heat capture from that escaping from the residence will be enough to keep the garage comfortable on most winter days. Remember garage doors insulated with polyurethane foam provide the highest R value if they are constructed with the proper seals. A quality garage doors cost can be recovered can easily recovered through energy savings.

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Garage Doors Insulated With Polyurethane Foam Are More Energy Efficient

James Kesel, MS, is the publisher of the Garage Doors Pricing Website located at http://www.garagedoorspricing.com - Providing information on garage doors insulated with polyurethand and the purchasing, installing and operation of a garage door.

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Make Your Water Heater More Energy Efficient

In today's economic and energy crunch it is important to make the necessary adjustments in your household to help save you some money and use less power to do your part for energy efficiency and of course your own financial savings.

shower doors lowes

A great way to get ahead, at least a little bit, already lies within your own power (pun intended of course). That is with your water heater. If you have the normal water heater that is common in today's homes, the ones that hold anywhere from 40 to 100 gallons of water and use either electric or gas to keep the water inside warm until you are ready to use it, then you already know that it uses energy even when you are not using hot water.

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The reason why this occurs is because your water heater needs to keep that water warm at all times so it is ready when you actually do need it. Now you could switch to one of those water heaters that heat it as you use it, but that could be quite costly. Instead use these tips I am about to give you and save some money.

Wrap It

For about to , depending on the size of your water heater you can go to your local Home Depot, Lowes, or home center and purchase a water heater wrap or blanket. This blanket is an insulated material, similar to what you would see as insulation in your walls that is wrapped around the heater to prevent and slow down the rate at which your water heater cools down.

It is very simple to do. Simply take the blanket and wrap it around the water heater as per the instructions that come with it. Make sure you cut out the square at the bottom of your water heater so the temperature gauge and door to the pilot light is still exposed, tightly fasten the tape that it comes with it and you are done. This will help keep the water inside warmer for a longer period of time without having to fire up the burner.

Turn it Down

One of the easiest things you can do is simply turn the temperature down. There is a setting on your thermostat on the water heater that has something called the "suggested" setting. This is either indicated by the word "suggested" (or another similar word) or by a large white line. If you set your temperature on that setting the water won't be too hot and won't be too cold. By reducing your temperature setting by just a degree or two you really won't notice a difference and over the long run you will save on your energy use and costs.

If all 300 million people in America implemented just these two techniques alone the amount of energy we could save would be extremely significant.

Make Your Water Heater More Energy Efficient

About the Author:

You can read more of Mr. Tuckers articles by visiting: Triond.com

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