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More and more homeowners are moving toward eco-friendly home improvements. But one area that’s often overlooked is the garage door.
Eco-friendly garage doors are constructed from high-quality materials and offer excellent durability, so they need to be replaced less often. Learn more about environmentally friendly garage door options and whether they’re the right choice for your home.
“The biggest toll garage doors take on the environment are with the loss of heated or cooled air, increasing energy consumption.”
How Can a Garage Door Be Eco-Friendly?
Like any other aspect of your home, garage doors can be eco-friendly. However, this broad definition can refer to everything from sustainable production to green packaging.
Here are some important factors in eco-friendly garage doors:
Eco-Friendly Materials
Eco-friendly garage doors are constructed from materials that are recyclable and sustainable. The door should be made from at least 88% recycled materials with insulation free of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
With Woodrage doors, they should be harvested in an eco-friendly manner. Wood composite doors can also be eco-friendly and use previously cut materials that don’t contribute to extra waste. Some metals, such as steel and aluminum, are recyclable. Whatever the material, garage doors shouldn’t be painted with harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Energy Efficiency
Your garage door is one of the largest moving components in your home. There’s a lot of potential for energy loss and excess consumption. In fact, the biggest toll garage doors take on the environment are with the loss of heated or cooled air, increasing energy consumption. This not only hurts the environment but your wallet.
Eco-friendly garage doors have superior insulation that uses high-quality materials to ensure you have a comfortable temperature throughout the year. Garage doors with windows should have weatherstripping to reduce air leaks.
Environmentally Friendly Production
Materials aren’t the only aspects of garage doors that have an environmental impact. How they’re manufactured and transported also plays a role in greenhouse gas emissions.
Eco-friendly garage doors follow high recycling standards and commit to minimal waste in excess materials. They’re packaged with as little material as possible – without risking damage – to reduce packaging waste.
Durability and Lifespan
Finally, eco-friendly garage doors should be built to last a long time. If they need to be replaced frequently, that contributes to excess waste in materials, production, and transportation. Choosing durable and long-lasting doors reduces the consumption of energy and natural resources to produce new doors.
Tips for Choosing an Eco-Friendly Garage Door
Now that you know what makes a garage door eco-friendly, how do you know if you’re making the right choice? Here are some tips to get the most environmentally friendly garage doors for your home.
Choose a Door That Will Last
As mentioned, it takes energy and natural resources to produce garage doors – not to mention the waste from your old ones. If you choose a garage door with inferior materials that will need to be replaced every decade or so, you’re not getting the most out of your expense or creating an eco-friendly home.
Choosing a durable garage door is a smart investment as well as a sustainable choice. A garage door made from quality materials that are designed to last for a long time helps you reduce waste. Make sure you get professional garage door installation as well, which can add years to the lifespan of your garage door system.
Choose the Right Installation
Beyond your garage door materials, it’s important to choose doors that are properly insulated to reduce energy consumption. If you have cold or hot air leaking into your home – or your cooled or heated air leaking out – it forces your HVAC system to work harder to keep your home comfortable. The result is higher bills, more wear and tear on your system, and less consistent heating and cooling.
Garage door insulation is measured in R-values and U-values, which tell you how well the material insulates. Insulation isn’t just for cold climates, either. Even the Texas heat requires proper insulation to ensure that you’re not losing conditioned air from leaks – especially if your garage is climate controlled.
Opt for an Energy-Efficient Garage Door Opener
Garage door openers work hard to open and close your garage door multiple times a day. This contributes to energy costs over time, so it’s important to choose an energy-efficient garage door opener for an eco-friendly home and long-term savings.
If you have an older garage door opener, consider upgrading to a newer and more efficient model that saves energy and gives you better operation.
Repurpose Your Old Garage Door
If you have to replace your garage door, consider options besides sending it to a landfill. Many garage door materials are recyclable, so you may be able to recycle some of it and reduce the total waste.
Repurposing or upcycling your old garage door gives it new life. You may be able to use the materials to create furniture like bookshelves or a bench or décor like a privacy screen or wall panel. If you have a garden, consider turning your garage door into raised flower beds.
Upgrade Your Home with Eco-Friendly Garage Door Replacement in Pflugerville
Looking for eco-friendly types of garage doors for your home upgrade? A garage door contractor in Pflugerville can help you explore your options and find eco-friendly garage door solutions for your home. Contact us today to schedule a consultation!