The garage can be very useful space, whether you like to work on your car, or just want some dedicated space for exercise. But in the summer, your garage may get too hot to be comfortable. You can make your garage more practical for the hottest months of the year by adding some cooling solutions. Whether you want something simple and cost-effective, or a solution that will bring your garage right down to room temperature, we have a solution for you.
Fans and Ventilation
Many garages have poor ventilation and so they trap the heat from noon and keep it all day and night. If your garage feels much warmer than your house, or even than the outside air, it may have poor ventilation. You can add a dedicated local ventilation system to keep it cooler. You can also pair that with freestanding fans on the warmest days.
Shade and Flooring
When you’re trying to air out your garage you probably open up the door to try to let out the heat. If you’re using fans that can be helpful, but it can also let in a lot of sunlight that heats up the space and the flooring. If you have concrete flooring, it will soak up the heat and retain it all night, making your garage much warmer than it needs to be in the evening.
Consider adding flooring above the concrete to insulate it from the sun. Or, add shade at the front of the garage to block the sun. Curtains, screens, and umbrellas are all great options for shade. As for flooring, vinyl and even carpeting can help.
Dedicated Air Conditioners
At the peak of summer, a fan is often just not enough to keep your garage at a comfortable temperature. You can add a dedicated air conditioner to your garage for just this purpose. You may need to add insulation to your garage to reduce the cost of running the air conditioner.
Which kind of air conditioner? A ductless mini split is the perfect solution for a garage. It doesn’t require you to run any ducting, so it’s convenient to install in a garage. Ductless mini splits are also very energy efficient, so they will help keep the costs of cooling your garage down.
Incorporate Your Garage
You can incorporate your garage into your home’s existing HVAC system in many circumstances. This does take a bit more work than adding a dedicated air conditioner to your garage, but it can also be more convenient if you need your garage to be cool almost all of the time.
In order to add your garage to your home’s HVAC system, your HVAC professional will need to make sure that your air conditioner is large enough to handle cooling the extra square footage. If so, they’ll need to run new ducts to the garage. They will also likely need to add substantial garage insulation, or the cost of keeping the garage cool will be too high.
Your HVAC professional can help you decide which way to cool your garage is best for you. So if you’re looking for an HVAC professional in Turlock, Modesto, Tracy, or anywhere in between, we would be happy to help.
