If you’re considering adding a new insulated garage door to your home, you’ll see a lot about “R-value.” This term is used quite a bit in the garage door repair and replacement industry, but it can seem confusing if you haven’t upgraded your garage door before.
This article will help you understand how to evaluate garage doors based on the R-value. The more you know about the R-value for garage doors, the more confident you’ll be when selecting a new insulated garage door.
How the R-Value for a Garage Door Works
The R-value is a number showing how well a garage door insulates the space it encloses. Why does this matter? Let’s say your garage is attached to your home, which is extremely common across the country. During cooler weather, you want to make sure heat doesn’t escape from the garage. Likewise, in the summer, you don’t want to lose cooled air through your garage. A well-insulated garage door helps keep the temperature in your home stable and your bills down.
An insulated garage door can help prevent heat transfer and contain any hot or cold air within the garage. The R-value is expressed as a number, such as R-8, and represents a material’s resistance to heat flow. The higkher the R-value, the better the material insulates.
Generally, thicker insulation means higher R-values, but the type of material and its density matter, too.
What Garage Door Features Affect R-Values?
As you look through different types of garage doors, you’ll see a variety of R-value ratings. Garage doors that look similar may offer very different R-values because of a few factors:
- Door thickness: A thicker garage door material helps trap in hot or cool air and improves R-values.
- Door material: The R-value of garage doors differs based on the materials used to construct the doors. Solid wood is naturally a better insulator than thin steel.
- Door insulation type: The insulation used along with the garage door material can also affect the R-value. Insulated garage doors are often made with polyurethane or polystyrene.
Purchasing the Right Garage Door Based on R-Value
Understanding what the R-value means on garage door specifications sheets is an excellent start. However, R-value is just one consideration when you’re thinking about upgrading your home with a new insulated garage door. Ultimately, you want to find the right garage door for your home based on all the available information, as well as the way the garage door fits in with your home’s unique design.
At Consolidated Garage Doors, we’re here to help you understand the full extent of your choices. Get in touch with Consolidated Garage Doors today to get an estimate for your garage door replacement.