Do I Need an Insulated Garage Door?

Insulated garage doors are among the latest home remodeling trends because they’re eco-friendly and reduce energy costs. If you’re shopping for an overhead door, you’ll quickly notice most come with optional insulation. Why are so many homeowners jumping on the bandwagon, and is an insulated garage door worth it?

Garage door insulation offers many benefits to homeowners, with even more advantages in certain situations. For example, here in Minnesota, insulated garage doors are more beneficial than they are in moderate climates. At Crawford Door Sales, we’ll help you determine if you need an insulated garage door and recommend some styles you’ll love.

Benefits of an Insulated Garage Door

An insulated garage door limits the heat transfer between your garage and the great outdoors. It keeps warm air from escaping in the winter and seeping in during the summer. An insulated garage door offers many advantages, including:

1. Comfort and Convenience

An insulated garage door alone can turn your garage into a vestibule for your home. It creates a warmer buffer zone between the cold outdoors and your heated house. Your garage shouldn’t greet you with a blast of cold air every time you walk in. Raising the temperature a few degrees by keeping the cold air out can be an extra convenience in your busy life. 

When you’re bringing in groceries, buckling kids into their car seats or digging through your storage containers, you’ll appreciate the added warmth provided by an insulated door.

2. Energy Savings

Without insulation, your garage door represents a massive gap in your home’s energy efficiency. If you have an attached garage, it likely shares at least one wall with the main part of your heated home. Many homeowners have a heated room directly above their garage. When your garage is properly insulated, your heating system doesn’t have to work as hard to keep your home comfortable. Improving your insulation by installing a garage door with a high R-value lets you realize energy savings.

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3. Quieter Operation

When Clopay® tested the sound levels for an insulated vs. uninsulated garage door, the analysis revealed insulated overhead doors are incredibly quiet by comparison. Specifically, an Intellicore® overhead door produces just 80 decibels (dB), compared to an uninsulated door’s 96 dB. Intellicore® doors are three times quieter to a human ear. Insulation reduces the noise garage doors make while in use by absorbing the vibrations. It can also hamper the sound a basketball or other airborne object makes if it hits your door.

The door’s quieter operation lets you use your garage without disturbing your family, pets or neighbors.

4. Durability

Garage door insulation comes from either polystyrene or polyurethane foam. It creates a thick, rigid layer between the panels of your overhead door, providing extra reinforcement. After repeated use, an insulated garage door will hold up better to daily impacts with fewer dents. A dinged-up overhead door will require repairs if the dents affect the door’s free movement. It can also lower your curb appeal, making an energy-efficient garage door a smart, long-lasting investment.

Reasons to Get an Insulated Garage Door

Almost any home can use some extra insulation on their overhead door, and some will reap more benefits than others. A few circumstances can make an insulated garage door worth the investment — it can even be a must-have.

You might need an insulated overhead door if:

1. You Want Protection From the Elements

A warmer garage is more comfortable and can have other benefits for your car and stored items. Here in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the winter’s average temperatures get as low as 7 degrees Fahrenheit and even lower as you travel farther North. Cold weather can cause problems for your vehicle and cause it to wear out faster. 

Storing it in an insulated garage can let you go longer between trips to the repair shop and protect your battery, fluids and tire pressure. By keeping your garage warmer, you can also preserve the automatic opener and door hardware. 

An insulated garage door, alongside effective weather stripping, can also keep out moisture. You can feel more confident storing photos, clothes or other items prone to moisture damage.

2. You Have an Attached Garage

If your garage connects to your house, a lack of energy efficiency makes it more expensive to heat your home. Heat escaping through an inefficient garage door will lower the temperature above or adjacent to your garage. Your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system will work harder and use more energy to compensate. An insulated garage door can provide more comfort throughout your home and reduce your energy bill.

3. Your Garage Is an Extension of Your Living Space

Many people treat their garage as a workshop, office or home gym. Some turn their garage into an entertainment room. Whatever you do with your garage, if you’re in there often, an energy-efficient door can add some extra comfort. If you spend lots of time in your garage, you might even have a space heater or permanent heating system hooked up. In that case, an insulated garage door is crucial to heat the space efficiently.

4. The Rest of Your Garage Is Insulated

If your walls and garage door windows are all properly insulated, one thing stands in the way between you and a more comfortable, energy-efficient garage — the door. Any uninsulated portion of your home is a chance for cold air to seep in and reduce your energy efficiency, including the door.

Is an Insulated Door Worth the Value?

One of the main reasons homeowners choose an insulated garage door is for the energy savings. An insulated overhead door can reduce your expenses in some other, more subtle ways. When taken together, the savings make insulated garage doors well worth the value. Plus, you can’t put a price tag on the extra quiet and added comfort you’ll experience.

Besides the energy savings, an insulated garage door makes smart economic sense for four reasons, including:

1. Longer-Lasting HVAC Equipment

With comprehensive insulation that includes the garage door, your HVAC system doesn’t need to work as hard to heat your home in the winter or cool it in the summer. Insulation usually translates into direct benefits to your energy efficiency, with the added advantage of less wear on the equipment. The system will last longer, reducing its lifetime cost.

2. More Protection for Your Car and Belongings

In a warmer garage, you’ll experience fewer cold-weather car troubles, including longer battery life and consistent tire pressure. You’ll spend less money replacing faulty batteries and spark plugs. Your transmission, engine and brake fluids will maintain better consistency. Any other fluids you store in your garage, including paint, motor oil and cleaning supplies, will last longer, too. You’ll waste less money throwing out and replacing these items prematurely.

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3. Added Resale Value and Curb Appeal

The average homeowner recoups 94.5% of their garage door’s value at resale. Insulated garage doors are in high demand thanks to their improved energy efficiency, which can add to your home’s value.

Even if you’re not quite ready to sell your home, consider investing in a durable, insulated overhead door. Since insulated garage doors are more durable, they look newer for longer, with fewer dents. A new overhead door will add to your curb appeal, which can entice more buyers and higher bids when you’re ready to sell. If you invest in a sturdy insulated door now, you’ll retain that curb appeal for years to come.

4. Flexible Price Ranges

When choosing an insulated garage door, you have a range of options. You can weigh the level of energy efficiency you want to achieve against your budget. 

The two types of insulation are available at various thicknesses to suit your needs. Choose a 1 3/8-inch thick polystyrene-insulated garage door for moderate insulation at a lower price point. Or, go with a 2-inch thick spray-foam polyurethane door for maximum energy savings and insulation properties. Polyurethane foam expands to fill the entire cavity of your garage door, providing increased R-value and durability alongside quieter operation than polystyrene.

Order Your Insulated Garage Door From Crawford Door Sales!

Crawford Door Sales offers insulation options on most of the styles in our residential overhead door selection. Choose from polystyrene or Intellicore® insulation in several thicknesses and 2- or 3-layer construction. Find your stylish, energy-efficient garage door from Crawford Door Sales. We’re a locally owned business in West St. Paul, MN with over 50 years of experience delivering reliable overhead doors and helpful customer service to our community.

Browse our collection of residential garage doors and insulation options to find the perfect fit for your home. When you’ve found some you love, request an estimate and get connected with a helpful expert today.