As eco-friendly home improvements become increasingly popular, it’s key to remember your garage door as well. Eco-friendly garage doors are made from high-quality materials and offer superior durability. Plus, you can feel good about purchasing a sustainable product that doesn’t harm the environment. In this article, we’ll review the basics of green garage doors so you can choose the right one for your home.
The Pillars of Eco-Friendly Garage Doors
All eco-friendly garage doors share four main characteristics: sustainable materials, energy efficiency, green manufacturing, and long-lasting durability. Let’s explore each of these in more detail.
Sustainable Materials
To be considered environmentally friendly, garage doors must be constructed from materials that are both sustainable and recyclable. Look for a Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) label, which certifies that the door was made from at least 88% recycled content and that its insulation is free from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which damage the ozone layer.
Wood garage doors should be sourced from suppliers that follow eco-friendly harvesting techniques and meet global environmental regulations. Wood composite doors are another eco-friendly choice that use already-cut materials to avoid creating new waste. Steel and aluminum are also recyclable, although aluminum doesn’t provide as much insulation as steel. If you choose a painted door, ensure the manufacturer uses paints that are low in harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Energy Efficiency
Your garage entrance is the largest opening to your home, so there’s a lot of potential for energy loss. In fact, the majority of a garage door’s negative environmental impact can be attributed to hot or cold air loss. Over time, this leads to an increase in energy use and costs, which hurts both you and the environment.
Eco-friendly garage doors have enhanced insulation with high-quality materials to maintain a comfortable temperature all year round. They also have energy-efficient windows, if applicable, and plenty of weatherstripping to reduce costly air release.
Green Manufacturing
Along with environmentally-conscious material sourcing, the manufacturing and transportation process must also be green. Turning virgin wood, steel, and aluminum into garage doors is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It also uses far more energy than recycling existing materials. In fact, it takes 95% less energy to recycle aluminum than to source virgin products.
Eco-friendly manufacturers must follow specific recycling standards and reuse all leftover materials. They should also focus on improving transportation efficiency to reduce carbon emissions and fuel consumption.
Durability and Longevity
Last but certainly not least, eco-friendly garage doors should be built to last, ensuring they’re replaced less frequently. This reduces the consumption of natural resources and energy required to produce new doors. When you choose a sustainable door, you’re making an investment in the long-term health of your home and the environment.
Innovative Eco-Friendly Materials
Environmentally-friendly garage doors often feature cutting-edge products using sustainable manufacturing processes. Let’s take a closer look at some of these unique materials.
Accoya Wood
Accoya is a biodegradable wood material that’s non-toxic, fully recyclable, and has low CO2 emissions for minimal environmental impact. It’s a sustainable alternative to slow-growing hardwoods and other carbon-intensive man-made materials often used in garage doors.
To create Accoya, the manufacturer adds moisture-resistant hydrophobic acetyl groups to natural wood, while reducing the number of moisture-binding hydrophilic hydroxyl groups. This process boosts the wood’s performance through enhanced biological durability and dimensional stability.
Tricoya Composite
Like Accoya, Tricoya is manufactured from fast-growing, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified timber. It follows the same acetylation process, resulting in a durable, moisture-resistant, and dimensionally stable product. This keeps carbon locked in a useful form rather than being continuously released into the atmosphere and further damaging the ozone layer.
Extira Panels
Extira panels are manufactured from sustainable leftover wood that has no commercial timber value. It’s specifically designed for exterior applications and has proven superior to medium-density fiberboard (MDF). Extira is treated with EPA-registered zinc borate, an environmentally-friendly, naturally-occurring biocide. There’s also no added urea-formaldehyde, and its overall formaldehyde emissions are equivalent to background environmental levels.
Shou Sugi Ban
Shou Sugi Ban is an ancient Japanese technique that preserves wood by charring it with fire. Once charred, the wood is cooled, cleaned, and finished with a natural, environmentally-friendly oil coating. Shou Sugi Ban-treated timber is also made fire-resistant without the use of potentially harmful chemicals.
Complementary Eco-Friendly Choices
Sustainable manufacturing processes and eco-friendly materials aren’t the only ways to ensure a green garage. Here are some additional considerations:
Energy-Efficient Garage Door Openers
While it may not seem immediately obvious, electric garage doors are a significant energy draw. Look for a solar-powered opener or one that uses very little power on standby mode to boost efficiency and save money.
Proper Insulation
Properly insulating your garage is a great way to reduce your environmental impact and spend less on energy costs. Most homeowners use fossil fuels to heat and cool their homes, which release carbon emissions and greenhouse gases. When your garage is properly insulated, your HVAC system doesn’t have to draw as much energy to control temperatures.
You can start by adding sustainable materials like cotton fiber around the perimeter of the door. If your garage door has windows, make sure they’re caulked properly and reseal them as necessary.
Regular Maintenance
Eco-friendly garage doors are built to last, but staying on top of regular maintenance will extend your door’s lifespan and keep it looking like new. This includes cleaning, lubricating moving parts, and addressing any issues promptly to prevent further damage.
Choose a Sustainable Garage Door Solution
If you’re interested in an environmentally-friendly garage door, look no further than mwdoorservice.com. All of our lumber is responsibly harvested from sustainably managed forests, and we reuse leftover materials whenever possible, recycling everything else. Additionally, we use energy-efficient lighting and equipment, along with waterborne finishes as opposed to solvents.
Our Medallion, Benchmark, and Benchmark 2 product lines are all FSC certified, ensuring the wood is sourced from responsibly managed forests. And our TimberLife door, made with Accoya wood, is a perfect eco-friendly choice for any home.
Remember, going green doesn’t stop at the door itself. Consider compatible energy-efficient garage door openers, professional installation for optimal performance, and eco-friendly maintenance practices to keep your garage door in top shape for years to come. With the right choices, you can reduce your environmental impact and enjoy the long-term benefits of a sustainable garage door solution.
