When we think of the most environmentally friendly spaces in the home, the garage is likely to be last on the list. The garage is where the exhaust-breathing car goes. And the power tools. And the… well, we might not have a full and recent understanding of what all is in there anymore. So what can you do to make your garage a more eco-friendly place? Here are our thoughts.
Power Your Garage with Solar
Fitting your entire roof with a solar system might be out of financial reach, but the garage roof offers the same opportunities for independent, clean energy on a more manageable scale. The amount of energy you can generate will depend on a whole host of unique factors, not least of which will be your location, as well as the orientation and angle of your roof.
Even if you’re in a spot that sees shorter or cloudier days, you could well be able to make your lights, your power tools and that garage door opener you’ve been thinking about run completely on solar energy.
If you tie the system into the grid, you’ll be able to pull power from your regular utility when there’s not enough sun, and feed energy back into the grid when you have excess. If you plan on DIYing a solar installation, your first stop should be to check with local and provincial or territorial authorities for permitting requirements, as well as for rebates and incentives.
Maximize Your Garage’s Energy Performance
Attached garages can bleed a lot of heated or cooled air from the home if they’re not properly sealed and insulated. You might think it matters less if the garage gets cold, but if it’s badly leaking heat, it’s also causing your home to be less energy efficient than it could be.
Get the Green Building Project Checklist
Use this handy checklist on your next project to keep track of all the ways you can make your home more energy-efficient and sustainable.
Do an air leakage test and identify any spots where heated/cooled air is escaping. Caulk and seal any leaks you find. The usual suspects for leaks are likely to be windows and doors, but check electrical outlets and any baseboards, as well. Make sure your garage has been constructed with appropriate ventilation – a properly ventilated garage is a must.
Since the garage door is the biggest door in your home, it’s likely to be the biggest culprit when it comes to drafts. Check the seals around the door, especially the bottom, and replace them or add weatherstripping when needed. If the door isn’t already insulated, think about adding insulation to it. There are inexpensive DIY kits that let you easily affix insulation panels to the door.
If the door is old it may not be functioning properly. Watch for misalignment and whether it fully closes or if there’s a gap remaining as this will create a major draft into the garage. Garage door repair is the most sustainable option in this case – seek out that option first before considering buying a new one.
Adding insulation to walls, ceilings and/or garage attics is also a straight-forward DIY weekend project that will make your garage more comfortable and your overall home more efficient. If you’re not heating the space, basic fiberglass insulation (or loose fill for attics) is enough to minimize heat transfer from your home’s interior space to the outside world. There are a lot of expensive insulation options on the market, but for an unheated space, the cost will far outweigh the value you get from them.
Be Efficient with Lighting
If you have windows in your garage, try to maximize the amount of natural light you can use by making sure there are no boxes or stored items blocking them. Maybe give the windows a little wipe down, too, to make sure they’re letting in all the daylight they can.
When it’s time to replace lightbulbs, replace yours with LEDs. This suggestion is really a no-brainer at this point. You probably don’t even need me to tell you that they use less energy than conventional bulbs. But they do.
LEDs are the lighting option of choice for garages because they can withstand colder temperatures better than other kinds of lightbulbs. They’ll also last much longer, so there’s less chance of them conking out on you while you’re navigating your way around piles of junk with a box full of delicate holiday ornaments on a cold, February night.
Make a Plan to Use Chemical Products Responsibly
You might be trying to avoid chemicals wherever you can, but in the garage, they’re sometimes unavoidable. Oils, solvents and other chemical products are sometimes the only options you have to run pieces of equipment or complete projects.
To make your garage more eco-friendly, however, you can minimize what you purchase and what goes to waste. If you have a project that calls for a chemical product, find out if there are eco-friendly alternatives. If there aren’t, ask if someone you know already has some.
We often need just a little of a number of different kinds of products, and we typically buy whole containers of things like varnish and then hold onto them until they’re dried out or unusable. So the chances are pretty good that someone has some hanging around in their garage. You’ll be doing them a favour by taking it off their hands.
If no one has the thing you need and you do have to purchase it, pass it on once you’re done with it so that you don’t end up hanging on to it until it isn’t any good any more. You can ask friends or neighbours, tool-sharing groups or local organizations like Habitat for Humanity.
Be Minimalist with Your Tools and Equipment
Which leads us to our final suggestion. Garages have the well-deserved reputation of being storehouses for rarely used tools and equipment. Before you purchase a tool for a project, consider borrowing it from a friend, neighbour or local tool library instead.
If there’s no local tool library around you, consider starting one, either formally or just among people you like. Sharing resources is cost-effective and community-building. It gives us access to a greater number of tools that we only need once and a while, and that minimizes the amount of resources that go into making a shiny new tool and the waste that’s generated when that tool reaches the end of its life.
When you make your garage a more eco-friendly place, you create a healthier, more efficient space for everything you use your garage for. Even if that’s just to park the car every night, the benefits are worth it.
Feature image: Thomas Griesbeck; Image 1: Aphiwat chuangchoem
