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Tips for Keeping Your Garage Cooler During Summer

Aside from being uncomfortable, a hot garage can become an unsuitable storage facility for certain chemicals and products that you don’t want to keep in the house. The heat built up in your garage can also seep into your home under doors or through ventilation, raising your electrical bills. While you can leave your garage door open a crack to allow for natural ventilation during the day, there are other solutions to keeping your garage cool.

Cool Your Garage with a Fresh Coat of Paint

Black and dark colored objects absorb all wavelengths of light meaning they heat up faster, and reach higher temperatures when in the sun. Therefore, black, brown or other dark-colored garage doors absorb sunlight, which and ultimately heats the interior of your garage.

For a relatively simple and cost-effective way to cool your garage, paint the door a lighter color. You can also consider a lighter tone on the exterior walls of your garage or home to lower heat intake.

Increase Airflow

Stagnant air in your garage is more likely to become blistering hot. Ventilating your garage with a powerful fan can help relieve some of the heat. You may not be able to decrease the temperature to lower than the current outdoor temperature. But you can prevent the air in your garage from exceeding outside temperatures by circulating it properly.

Try this for fan placement:

1. Open your garage door slightly – either a crack, or halfway open – to allow the air to exit your garage
2. Place one fan each on the left and right sides of your garage, aiming towards the open door
3. Alternatively: place the fans directly next to the door opening, aiming towards the center of your garage

This placement will create circulation and move stagnant, hot air out of your garage, forcing relatively cool air back into the space.

Install Weather Stripping

While you want to keep air circulating, you don’t want unregulated hot air getting inside on particularly sweltering days. To ward off humid air, add weather stripping to the outside of your garage door and any windows in the space.

Keep in mind that there may also be openings in less-than-obvious places, such as near plumbing. Types of weather-proofing materials include:

• Foam tape
• Steel door sweeps
• Tubular silicon and rubber
• Caulk

With these cooling methods implemented, you can say goodbye to a garage that feels like an oven. Perhaps now is the time to consider an entirely new door to seal your garage from hot temperatures entirely. If that’s the case, call the experts at Hill Country Overhead Door to set you up.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]