It’s about now that many Kiwis will be hauling out their coats and scarves to ward off the chills of winter. Inside, the focus on warmer, drier homes in the last decade or so - helped along by Governmental subsidies - has enabled many people to have much-needed insulation fitted to their houses.
New builds have standards that protect future generations from the blanketwrapped nights on the couch that their forebears might have endured. Floors and ceilings no longer suck the heat out of the house, and wall insulation can be retrofitted into cavities via foam.
Once draughty and damp, more and more Kiwi homes are toasty and energy-efficient.
There’s still one corner that is often ignored in the loving wrap of insulation: the garage - even more neglected, the garage door. Up to 25 per cent of the heat from an average uninsulated home can escape through its walls [Source: smarterhomes.org.nz].
Take into account that an average garage door occupies 25 - 30% of the front of the house (in an attached garage situation), and that adds up to a lot of wall space. The metal construction of garage doors makes them good conductors of heat and cold, leading to a pretty clear case for insulation.
High purity graphite particles infused into the cell structure give heat reflective properties to the insulation and distinctive dark grey colour.
Dominator’s graphite-infused EPS insulation panels absorb infrared energy and reflect heat to provide up to 20% better insulation performance than traditional EPS [Source: Neopor Insulation Technology].
For those concerned about the harmful effects of chemicals, Dominator’s Insulated garage doors contain no harmful CFCs or HCFCs [Source: Neopor Insulation Technology].
Efficiency gets backed by good looks with the Mulflute that houses Dominator’s precision-cut insulation. Its carbon-grey finish tends to recede, adding a distinguished look to the internal face of the door.
The positive benefits of garage door insulation begin with heat transfer. If the garage is attached to your home, an insulated garage door provides an extra barrier between the warm confines of your home and a point of entry for cold air.
Temperatures inside an uninsulated garage become extreme, with winter bringing an unpleasant chill and summer creating an oppressive atmosphere. Insulation helps to regulate heat transfer, resulting in a more moderate temperature year-round.
Sound transfer can also be improved using insulation, which has a muffling effect on the noise coming into and out of the garage.
Suppose you like to use power tools or host parties in your garage, for instance. In that case, insulation can lessen the amount of noise exiting the garage, which can only be a positive for neighbourly relationships.
Conversely, noises such as traffic in the environment can be muted somewhat by having an insulated garage door, beneficial if you like to use your garage for more than car parking. Sounds from the garage door while in operation may also be muted by the effects of insulation.
