The importance of insulation in a steel garage door cannot be understated. Insulated doors basically regulate the temperature inside your steel garage by allowing less heat to leave and get in during the cold and hot months respectively. Consequently, this significantly cuts the amount of energy needed to either cool or heat your steel garage, which saves on energy bills. The level of insulation a steel garage door provides is embodied in its R-value, representing its opposition to heat flow. You should choose a steel garage door featuring an R-value that is representative of your local climate and way of life. The following questions will determine which R-value best suits your needs.

What is you local climate?

If you live in an area that experiences extremely cold and hot weather conditions, then you definitely need a steel garage door featuring a high R-value. In terms of comfort, a higher insulation R-value maintains comfortable temperatures inside the garage during winter and summer seasons by either keeping heat out or in during summer and winter seasons.

Is your garage temperature controlled?

If you normally heat or cool your steel garage using a furnace or air conditioner, you'd better go for an insulated garage door featuring a higher R-value. This would probably be the case if you often use your steel garage as a recreation area or a workshop. The higher the resistance to heat flow, the better the comfort inside your garage and the lower the charge to cool or heat the garage.

Is your steel garage attached to your house?

If the answer to the above-mentioned question is yes, then you are probably aware that your garage door's insulation value has an effect on the insulation of your entire home. This is because the R-value of your garage door determines the amount of heat that leaves your home into your garage. A garage door with a higher R-value will allow less heat to pass through the door itself from the house. Consequently, this cuts down the cost of heating your home since less heat is being allowed to escape. Additionally, higher R-values result in a quieter garage and home.

What to choose between polyurethane and polystyrene insulation?

There are two forms of garage door insulation, namely polyurethane and polystyrene. Polystyrene is often thicker and is positioned between the front and rear panels of the steel garage door. It resembles the meat inside two buns of a hot dog or hamburger. It lies inside there and is not fixed to anything. In contrast, polyurethane appears much thinner and actually fastens to the outer layers of the garage door, creating a robust structure. A polyurethane insulated garage door might appear thinner but has a higher R-Value when compared to polystyrene.

For more information about steel garages and the best way to insulate them, contact a local garage door company.