Eco-Friendly Garage Doors: Sustainable Options for Your Home
When it comes to sustainability, energy consumption is always a central topic, usually beginning at home. Why not start with one of the first things we see before entering our houses?
Eco-friendly garage doors are now available, crafted from sustainable materials or designed to lower electricity bills and leave a smaller carbon footprint. In this article, we’ll walk you through the basics of eco-friendly garage doors and their materials, features, and designs.
The Need for Eco-Friendly Garage Doors
Our traditional garage doors have served their purpose for decades but weren’t built with the environment in mind. Many traditional doors have non-recyclable materials that don’t degrade, ending up as additional waste in our landfills.
Adding to that is the lack of temperature control features, which results in higher energy consumption.
With eco-friendly garage doors, the benefits extend far beyond improving the welfare of our planet. These include:
- Energy efficiency: Eco-friendly garage doors provide better insulation, so you’ll maintain optimal temperatures in your garage. This means you can rely less on your heating and cooling systems and save more on consumption.
- Improved aesthetics: There are a variety of design and material options for eco-friendly garage doors. These include repurposed wood, steel, PVC and composite materials which are easily designed by manufacturers with your curb appeal in mind.
- A healthier indoor environment: Some traditional garage door makers use volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These chemicals can off-gas into the air and lead to air pollution inside your garage. Eco-friendly garage doors have little to no VOCs, reducing the risk of health issues they can cause.
It’s clear that eco-friendly garage doors are a wise investment for any sustainable household.
Materials for Eco-Friendly Garage Doors
As mentioned before, there are a number of options when it comes to the materials used for eco-friendly garage doors. Here’s a closer look at some of them:
- Wood: This material provides a classic aesthetic while being renewable, recyclable, locally grown, and biodegradable. Just keep in mind that wood may require a bit more maintenance and isn’t an ideal choice for very humid regions.
- Recycled steel: Easily one of the most durable choices for eco-friendly garage doors, this material is the strongest and most cost competitive of them all.
- Composite: Doors made from composite materials often combine recycled wood and plastic, making them a sustainable, durable, and energy-efficient choice. They are more expensive, but for select homeowners, the dramatically improved curb appeal is worth it.
- Aluminum: This is quite similar to steel in terms of recyclability. Furthermore, aluminum is naturally resistant to corrosion and rust, making it a low-maintenance material for eco-friendly garage doors. Usually, glass panels are used in conjunction with the aluminum frame for a high end contemporary look.
- Insulated vinyl: You’ll get dent and rust resistance from this material. Even better, insulated vinyl provides enough insulation to help you keep optimal temperatures in your garage. Due to the significantly increased cost, vinyl doors are primarily used in coastal areas where rusting due to sea salt is a significant concern.
Tip: When looking for an eco-friendly garage door, make sure to consider the local climate, the style of your house, and your budget.
Design and Features of Eco-Friendly Garage Doors
Eco-friendly garage doors don’t just come in sustainable and energy-efficient material options. To take their environment-friendliness to the next level, manufacturers include additional design options and features:
- Improved sealing and insulation
- Windows with controlled light transmittance
- Recycled materials
Simply put, these garage doors let us do more while still helping preserve our planet in this era of environmental awareness.
Ready to make this leap? We at The Door House are happy to assist. Our professionals can help you find sustainable options that fit your needs. Contact us today to learn more.