The temperature in your garage might be uncomfortable, depending on where you live. Winter temperatures can often drop below 5 degrees, while summer temperatures might regularly exceed 40 degrees.
You may have insulation in your walls, but your garage door is the biggest heat loss in winter and the main source of unwanted extreme heat in summer.
Installing garage door insulation is the best and most affordable way to turn your garage into a usable room.
Why Is It Important to Insulate Your Garage Door?
The single largest non-insulated surface in our home is our garage door, as your home is only protected from the elements by a thin layer of metal.
To see how much the door transfers heat in the middle of a hot summer day or a freezing winter day, go out to your garage. Then, press your hand on the door.
Garage door insulation will make a significant impact on the internal temperature.
Insulation may be added to both new and existing garage doors.
Insulating your garage door, in conjunction with garage door seals, will in summer significantly reduce the temperature inside the garage, and in winter, it will prevent heat loss and raise the inside temperature of your garage by 10 to 12 degrees.
This effectively addresses the “weakest link” in the insulation process (your garage door), improving the total indoor temperature of your garage.
Advantages of Garage Door Insulation
An insulated garage door will make your internal garage area warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
But there are many additional benefits other than just temperature.
Here are the additional benefits of installing garage door insulation:
- Comfort – Garages aren’t just spaces for storage and parking cars. You can turn this space into an extra bedroom, a living room, a hobby room, or a games room. If the wide garage doors are left uninsulated, they can be significant heat sources during summer. During winter, insulated garage doors can help keep the garage space warmer.
- Noise Reduction – People use their garages for DIY, handicraft, band practice, and many other hobbies. Noisy power tools and instruments can disturb your neighbours and other family members. Insulation in the doors, walls, and ceilings can help keep the noise within the room, so people outside can enjoy their peace. It’s a two-way thing. An insulated garage is as good a place as any to enjoy quiet alone time.
- Energy Efficiency – If your garage is attached to your house and any part of your HVAC system (Heating and Cooling) goes through, your utility bills suffer. When HVAC systems go through uninsulated rooms and areas, the systems are forced to work harder. This is because the uninsulated rooms can get extremely hot or extremely cold. Garage doors play a major part in the temperature of your garage area.
- Value – Anything that helps reduce utility costs is a welcome addition to any Australian home. This applies to energy-efficient appliances and solar panels, and it applies to insulated garage doors too. Like any other upgrades, it should be easy for you to recoup insulation installation costs if you decide to sell your home.
What Is the Best Insulation for Garage Doors?
The type of insulation will affect the results you experience.
Garage door insulation comes in three varieties: rigid foam, fibreglass, and radiation barriers. I’ll go through the fundamentals of each.
PIR
PIR is a Commercial grade super lightweight Thermally rated product used by KoolDoor. It’s one of the best on the market. It is strong, lightweight, and efficient and will keep out most of the heat in summer and keep your garage warmer in winter.
As you can see below, it performs well in all the feature tests.
| Features | Properties | Rating |
| Thermal Rating | R1.75 | ✅ |
| Thickness | 35mm | ✅ |
| Approx Weight
(16 panels double door) |
12kg | ✅ |
| Fire Performance | High (PIR Group rated product) | ✅ |
| Water Resistance | Closed cell will not absorb water | ✅ |
| Appearance | Clean white embossed foil surface looks good & strong | ✅ |
Polystyrene
Foam Sales use Polystyrene based products. It’s one of the second-best options but is not as good as the PIR KoolDoor solution.
| Features | Properties | Rating |
| Thermal Rating | R1.47 | ⚠️ |
| Thickness | 35mm | ✅ |
| Weight | 10kg | ✅ |
| Fire Performance | Medium (fire resistant foam with foil backing) | ❌ |
| Water Resistance | Closed cell will not absorb water | ✅ |
| Appearance | Clean white vinyl surface | ✅ |
Radiant Barrier
Of all the types of garage door insulation the Radiant Barrier product is the weakest. This product is made of “0007 Radiant Barrier foil.”
We recommend not using this product as it is not as good as the PIR product by KoolDoor.
| Features | Properties | Rating |
| Thermal Rating | Reflective surface | ❌ |
| Thickness | <0.1mm | ❌ |
| Weight | 4kg | ✅ |
| Fire Performance | Medium | ❌ |
| Water Resistance | will not absorb water | ✅ |
| Appearance | Bear foil finish looks industrial | ❌ |
Read a full article on a comparison between the top garage door insulation companies in Australia.
Which Garage Door Insulation Product Should You Choose?
The PIR product by KoolDoor is the best product on the market.
What is the cost of Garage Door Insulation?
The prices of garage door insulation are $189 – $660 for a standard panel double garage door.
The KoolDoor Product is the best product on the market. It also costs the most.
But when considering this cost spread out over a 10 – 20 year period, it makes sense to go with the best product no matter the cost, as your garage will be much cooler in summer and warm in winter over the 10-20 year period.
| PRODUCT TYPE | Cost |
| PIR by Kooldoor | $660 |
| Polystyrene by Foam Sales | $260 |
| 0007 Radiant Barrier foil | $415 |
| Reflecta-GDI by Green Insulation | $189 |
Click To find out the cost for your door.
How To Install Garage Door Insulation
You have two options when installing Garage Door Insulation. You can either:
- Do it Yourself
- Hire a professional installer
Find out more about getting your garage door insulation installed.
Hire a professional installer
At KoolDoor, we have a network of professional garage door insulation installers across Australia.
We can arrange to get someone to install the garage door for you.
The costs will range from $250 – $450 per double-panel garage door.
Call us on 1300 373839 to get a quote.
How to Install Garage Door Insulation Yourself
Installing garage door insulation yourself is easy to do, and it usually takes around 4 hours.
You can see how easy it is by watching the installation videos below:
Click to watch the full set of garage door insulation installation videos now.
What are Garage Door Seals, and Do I Need Them?
Garage door seals are added to the top and sides of garage doors to stop wind, heat, dust and creepy crawlies from entering your garage through the gaps.
They are highly effective, and we recommend adding them to your garage door to complete the insulation process.
Because of the extra cost, some homeowners opt to install the garage door insulation first and then install the garage door seals at a later stage.
What is the price of Garage Door Seals?
The cost of garage door seals for a standard double-panel door is $340 plus freight, including GST.
What does it cost to get garage door seals installed?
The cost to get one of our installers to install garage door seals is $200.00.
Can I Install garage door seals myself?
Yes, you can.
If you have a few tools in your garage or a quick trip to Bunnings, you can install garage door seals yourself.
See the full instructions on how to install garage door seals.
Does Garage Door Insulation come with a Warranty?
All garage door insulation products have different warranties.
KoolDoors warranty is ten years on the material.
If you have any issues with the product or our installation, we will promptly come out and fix them.
Find out more about the KoolDoor Warranty.
Can Garage Door Insulation Damage my Garage Door?
There is an additional weight garage door insulation added to your garage door.
But his weight is negligible and will not affect the door’s motor.
We always recommend you service your garage door as you would with any mechanical device, like a car or lawn mower.
This service will re-adjust your springs if needed and ensure the door is running at its optimum
Installing garage door insulation will not negatively affect the running of your garage door.
Summary
Adding garage door insulation to your garage will help turn your garage into a usable room.
It will save on energy costs and enable you to use the space better.
We suggest you get the best insulation on the market as the cost differences are negligible over a 10-20 year period.
If you want to speak to an expert, call us on 1300 373839.
