If you find the air in your home stuffy and musty, then it is high time that you take some active steps to rectify it.
Subpar air quality in houses can cause unpleasant living conditions and leads to breathing hazards especially if there are small children in the house.
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More often than not, this is caused by garages as lack of proper infrastructure can cause thermal energy and carbon monoxide fumes to seep through the walls and into your home.
If you are looking to decrease this risk by making your garage more energy efficient, then you have come to the right place. Hop on the energy train!
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1. LED Lights
The first and most natural step that you can take is substituting your regular light bulbs with garage LED lights.
They are approximately 25-80 % more efficient and last as much as 25 times more durable than standard bulbs.
Although LED lights might be on the pricier side, you will soon find that you need to spend less money in the long run as they are highly reliable!
2. Organize and Unplug Non-Essentials
You need to get rid of any old wooden shelves or benches lying around your garage as they are hotspots for pests and termites.
Also, if you are hoarding appliances like empty refrigerators in the hopes that they will be of use in the future, then it is time to get rid of them as well as they are producing and using up excess energy.
Reorganize your tools and free up as much space as you can.
3. Insulate and Seal the Garage Door
Typically garage doors are made of aluminium, thus causing hot or cold air to be transferred back and forth into your house.
To correct this, you have two alternatives, i.e. investing in an already insulated door or buying an insulation kit and doing it yourself.
Both options are easily affordable. Moreover, if there are any cracks in the door itself or the wall surrounding the door, you can use weatherstripping in order to seal it completely.
This will allow your radiator to spend less energy maintaining a comfortable temperature inside the house as there will be no external factors weighing in on its performance.
4. Sealing Floor Cracks
At first glance, it might seem like a couple of cracks in your concrete floor are no big deal. However, hot/cold air, as well as water, can get into these cracks.
In cold weather, these cracks can expand and cause your whole floor to shift and become crooked. Therefore it is necessary to seal any cracks that you find on your garage floor.
You can do this by investing in a concrete sealer from your local hardware store and pouring some over all those cracks.
5. Installing Solar Panels
Manually powering your garage and maintaining temperature using an electric heater or air conditioner can rack up quite some utility bills. Therefore it is more efficient to install solar panel over the roof of your garage.
This one-time investment will yield maximum efficiency in the long run. This will reduce both costs and energy usage in your house. In addition to temperature control, solar panels can also be sure to light your garage from the inside.
You can also control the level of light by covering the solar panels if you wish to do so.
6. Windows
If your garage has windows then ensure that they are adequately sealed because they are a massive source of draughts or replace them with energy efficient ones so that little or no moisture and air can seep through.
You can also use double paned windows with a vacuum in the center to prevent excessive heat energy from entering your garage during warmer seasons.
Conclusion
Creating an energy-efficient environment in your garage can significantly upgrade the overall living conditions of your house and make a healthier and happier household. Good luck!
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