*This is a collaborative post.
If you’re thinking of implementing energy-saving measures to better insulate your home and reduce energy costs, you may not think knowing what a U-value is would be at the top of your need-to-know list. However, understanding its effect on energy costs is undoubtedly something to discover.
What is a U-value?
A U-value is how garage door insulation is rated. It helps buyers understand the energy efficiency of the product they are buying. Insulation within a garage door is likely to affect the overall energy efficiency of your home, no matter whether it adjoins your house. You regularly open the garage door to bring your car in or out, or whether you use it for extra freezers or storage, the level of insulation in your garage door will help keep a more temperate climate and reduce the energy wastage of your home, as well as providing a better working environment. The lower the U-value, the higher the level of insulating properties your new garage door offers. If you are in the market for a new garage door, are concerned about the rising energy costs, and want a durable, sustainable solution. You can do no better than contacting leading residential door specialists like those at Hörmann UK to find a range of garage doors and complementary residential exterior and interior door solutions.
How can knowing a little about U-values help?
The need to ensure a home is suitably insulated is a vital component of the design and build process and one that, as a developer or homeowner, is becoming a driver in product choice.
Materials with low u-value will better protect your home and help it maintain the required temperature and climate by reducing energy loss. Less energy is needed to heat or cool the building, which has a positive environmental effect and lowers energy costs for the homeowner or building tenants.
How to measure
U-values are measured in watts per square meter per kelvin and will look like this: 2.8W/(m2k). The lower the value, the better a garage door will protect your inside environment from the outside. To achieve a low u-value, you should consider garage doors that offer thermo LPU sections of 42mm or 67mm to achieve the best in the market.
Double-skinned sectional garage doors offer excellent LPU 42mm thermally insulated sections, as does an LPU 67 sectional door with thermal breaks. You should also look for garage doors that feature weather seals around the fixing frames to remove draught points.
Lower u-value garage doors are available from leading suppliers to retro-fit to existing properties and as part of a new build or renovation project, and are becoming increasingly sought after as people seek to insulate their pockets as well as their homes from the rising energy costs that are fast becoming a considerable expense that homeowners want or need to overcome. As a developer, offering your new homes with the lowest U-value rating garage and front doors can help your homes stand out to buyers seeking sustainable, energy-efficient houses.
The lowest U-value doors require no compromise on styling or features
Low u-value garage doors offer the same quality and features as those offering less energy efficiency, so you needn’t compromise on looks. It always pays to pay attention to the u-value of the doors you are considering. This could make the final purchase decision easier and stop your new door from costing you more money than necessary throughout its lifetime.
Used as part of an energy-saving strategy, low u-value doors can impact how much energy you lose, which could save you money as well as helping the planet.
