Suggestions for a cooler garage.

[Northerner52]

Hi TOV'ers. Any suggestions for cooling a garage that faces East? Don't want to spend any time in the garage but concerned about the contents and the car. I don't have a window but was thinking about adding one and getting this: Access Denied (https://www.costco.com/.product.100534788.html)
I do have small windows along the top of my garage doors.

[vintageogauge]

Hi TOV'ers. Any suggestions for cooling a garage that faces East? Don't want to spend any time in the garage but concerned about the contents and the car. I don't have a window but was thinking about adding one and getting this: Access Denied (https://www.costco.com/.product.100534788.html)
I do have small windows along the top of my garage doors.

I don't know if that unit will do you much good as garages are extremely hot when compared to an interior well insulated room, at minimum you will have to insulate your doors to help keep the heat out. If you do choose to do so you don't need a window you can put vents in the bottom of your garage door and use one of them for the exhaust. I have vents on my doors and an attic fan along with Owens Corning insulation on my doors which is much better than the solid insulation panels, it helps quite a bit.

[Chatbrat]

The only things you have to worry about are devices that have lithium batteries-they are not to be stored @ temps over 80 degrees

[DangeloInspections]

First, what direction does your garage face? Unless it is north, you may benefit from insulating your garage DOOR. You say you have windows on your garage door, you can add tint to them to lower the UV rays, and insulating the garage door will stop the RADIANT heat from the door from raising the garage temperature.

We typically do not recommend insulating ABOVE the garage unless you are adding A/C to the garage. Heat rises and when you insulate the garage ceiling you are also holding in the heat that comes from hot engines, etc. That being said, some folks swear that after doing so it has helped. Hard to say...it is dependent perhaps on shingle color and how hot your attic gets, which is another topic.

Some folks do add a garage ceiling fan that sucks the warm garage air into the attic. This MAY compromise the fire break dependant on model, but that too is another subject. When you do this you will need make up air, meaning an air intake.

Basically, the first step most often is just insulating the garage door. Many folks say that in itself will lower the garage temp about 10-15 degrees.

Hope that helps! Frank D.

[Bay Kid]

Insulate your door. Add a screen garage door.

[retiredguy123]

I haven't done anything to my garage. It has not been a problem. When I come home, I go into the house.

[John_W]

The first month I was here in our new CYV at the time, a neighbor found a rattlesnake in the garage. That was enough for me, plus roaches, lizards and flying insects, I'm surprised everyone who leaves their door up somewhat doesn't have a screen. I had one installed right away.

In a CYV we had only a 12' door, a 2 car garage would have a 16' door. The obvious choice is, are you in and out a lot. The screens that are motorized I find people washing their car or working in their shrubs, will put the screen up and leave it up while outside, which defeats the purpose.

We went with the horizontal slider like pictured below, and I would say in our villa community, out of 80 units about 25 have horizontal screens and maybe ten have the motorized. The reason it's better, especially on a 12' door is they are four 3' sections. So you only open one section to go in and out and the screen will stay shut the whole time you're outside. We had one installed in 2012 for $850, our neighbor got a motorized 12' screen from the Market of Marion installer for $1650, so you do save money with the slider, those prices are from 8 years ago.

Our laundry is in the garage and I like having the garage door up anyway, so I can go out anytime and not be in the dark. If you want even more air, I found cracking the the attic steps opening about six inches by just pulling it down and putting a small box or something in the gap to hold it open, creates a great breeze. However, this will defeat your garage wall fire protection, so you may want to remove it when you're not out there.

https://www.micheleshideawayscreens.com/images/gallery/large/p192hss0sk1enphns1vct1vl7n2to.jpg

[Altavia]

First, what direction does your garage face? Unless it is north, you may benefit from insulating your garage DOOR. You say you have windows on your garage door, you can add tint to them to lower the UV rays, and insulating the garage door will stop the RADIANT heat from the door from raising the garage temperature.

We typically do not recommend insulating ABOVE the garage unless you are adding A/C to the garage. Heat rises and when you insulate the garage ceiling you are also holding in the heat that comes from hot engines, etc. That being said, some folks swear that after doing so it has helped. Hard to say...it is dependent perhaps on shingle color and how hot your attic gets, which is another topic.

Some folks do add a garage ceiling fan that sucks the warm garage air into the attic. This MAY compromise the fire break dependant on model, but that too is another subject. When you do this you will need make up air, meaning an air intake.

Basically, the first step most often is just insulating the garage door. Many folks say that in itself will lower the garage temp about 10-15 degrees.

Hope that helps! Frank D.

What do you think of this option that has a fire stop? Could it meet code?

The GF-14 Garage Fan and Attic Cooler - Buy Direct (https://www.coolmygarage.com/shop/gf-14-garage-fan-attic-cooler/)

[Altavia]

Hi TOV'ers. Any suggestions for cooling a garage that faces East? Don't want to spend any time in the garage but concerned about the contents and the car. I don't have a window but was thinking about adding one and getting this: Access Denied (https://www.costco.com/.product.100534788.html)
I do have small windows along the top of my garage doors.

I have an East facing garage with attic and door insulation and an operable window that staus cooler than outside so far.

[retiredguy123]

What do you think of this option that has a fire stop? Could it meet code?

The GF-14 Garage Fan and Attic Cooler - Buy Direct (https://www.coolmygarage.com/shop/gf-14-garage-fan-attic-cooler/)
A neighbor installed that system, and he never turns it on because you get almost no air flow through those little vents in the garage door.

[retiredguy123]

When you insulate the garage door, that will only slow down, but not prevent, heat transfer into the garage. So, it may take a little longer for the garage to heat up during the day. But, the garage will still heat up to the same temperature as it would without the insulation.

[bumpygreens]

When I lived in Ohio, my garage had no insulation and no ceiling. Attic heat from the rest of the house got into the garage. On a sunny summer day my garage would be unbearable. Here I have a south facing garage, an insulated door, and insulation over the garage ceiling. The temperature in my garage is usually within a couple degrees of the outside temperature.

[biker1]

Install a radiant barrier or other type of insulating barrier on your garage door. The reason for doing this is essentially to remove the aluminum surface as an emitter of long wave radiation into the rest of the garage. This the primary mechanism of how your garage heats up; the sun shines on the outside of your garage door and heats the metal up and the hot metal radiates to everything in the garage. Conductive heat transfer from the outside to the inside of your garage through the garage door is also a mechanism at work but it is small compared to the radiative transfer. A radiant barrier or other type of insulating material on the garage door will substantially reduce the radiative transfer. The radiative transfer goes as the fourth power of the temperature so anything that reduces the temperature of the inside metal of your garage door will help. This is exactly the same primary mechanism that heats up your attic - radiative transfer from the underside of your roof sheathing. I have the white panels installed by Romac on my garage door and they are effective.

Hi TOV'ers. Any suggestions for cooling a garage that faces East? Don't want to spend any time in the garage but concerned about the contents and the car. I don't have a window but was thinking about adding one and getting this: Access Denied (https://www.costco.com/.product.100534788.html)
I do have small windows along the top of my garage doors.

[UpNorth]

If you have a basic non-insulated garage door you can buy a roll of reflective barrier material at Lowes or Home Depot. Cuts easily with scissors and easy to install. It did a good job of blocking the radient heat coming off the inside of the garage door for me. I also prop open my ceiling access a few inches to let some heat escape. Garages can turn into ovens during the summer if you don't do something to block or move the heat out.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

Been in Florida 30 years , 9 different homes all over state , I never did anything to the garage to cool it down and never had a problem . I think unless your living out there , it’s a waste of money . FYI during the virus I’m working out in garage , no Insulation , it’s fl it’s hot here

[Jubal Early]

The key here is to get the heat out of the attic. Heat from the attic will transfer down into the garage. So insulating the garage ceiling helps reduce the transfer. I install a garage attic fan which works great with 3 vents installed in the doors. You can feel the air flowing through the vents. However, I have determined this season so far with the stairway ceiling door opened 12" allows the air to flow into attic which helps keep the attic temps cooler.

[photo1902]

Been in Florida 30 years , 9 different homes all over state , I never did anything to the garage to cool it down and never had a problem . I think unless your living out there , it’s a waste of money . FYI during the virus I’m working out in garage , no Insulation , it’s fl it’s hot here

Exactly right. A complete waste of money trying to cool it, unless your bed is in the garage. No damage to cars, tools, or batteries, of which I have 11 Li-ion batteries for power tools.

[dewilson58]

insulate the ceiling. cheap and effective

[dewilson58]

Not naming names, but this is totally false: We typically do not recommend insulating ABOVE the garage unless you are adding A/C to the garage. Heat rises and when you insulate the garage ceiling you are also holding in the heat that comes from hot engines, etc.


Couple times over the last seven years I have been up in my garage attic in the summer and it is frig'n cooking up there compared to my garage. The insulation is keeping heat out of my garage......maybe my garage is magic.

[DangeloInspections]

Dear Robbie,
I have seen that garage ceiling fan installed in some garages here. It does not give the fire rating....I have also seen a few other brands that appear to have even a better firestop door. Understand that this may be overthinking, because of a few reasons....

1) There are already breeches in the garage drywall ceiling where plastic electrical boxes are installed in the garage ceiling.

2) Folks often install pull down stairs where the only material between the garage and the attic is 1/4 inch plywood, which has almost no fire rating.

3) There is no firestop between the garage attic and the attic above the rest of the home. (A requirement in some parts of the country.)

Remember, if you do install one of these fans, the GF-14 has 1350 CFM airflow, so you need to have that much open area for air intake. Some folks feel that cutting into a perfectly good garage door to install vents is not aesthetically pleasing, and may not be enough intake air. Also, when on this would disrupt the natural airflow in the attic by creating a positive pressure in the attic.

There are no easy answers. Bottom line is it gets hot here. It will always be as hot in the garage as it is outside. Comfort levels vary, what you do and how long you do it in the garage can also vary. Some folks do nothing and are fine...I have also seen garages totally insulated and Air conditioned with a Mini-split.

Frank D.

[Rapscallion St Croix]

I made my garage cooler by putting Chuck Norris posters all over the walls.

[DangeloInspections]

I made my garage cooler by putting Chuck Norris posters all over the walls.

That put a smile to my face. Haha!

[davem4616]

my garage faces north, so a little different exposure than you have....

We moved up from Ft Lauderdale, we never did anything special to the garage in Ft Lauderdale to keep it cool...and never had any issues

I had a fella blow insulation in attic above the garage here in TV....installed a pull down ladder going up to the attic and I also had an 'outdoor rated' ceiling fan installed over my workbench in the Garage....

reality is that we spend very little time in the garage

I agree with an earlier post, if you're planning to leave the garage door open, get a screen

[John_W]

I made my garage cooler by putting Chuck Norris posters all over the walls.

I don't know, I might have you beat. On my back garage wall framed with glass I've got Elvis, Marilyn and James Dean sitting at the counter of the Hollywood Diner, I just looked it up and they're selling for $400. I also have a nice Jim Morrison 1943 - 1971 The Doors Movie Rolling Stone poster framed with glass.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81pW4Oso%2BXL._SY606_.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/22/3a/80/223a80e1414913986eee43671b2fe6a6.jpg

[rjm1cc]

Mine gets no more than 10 degrees hotter than outside during the day. No heat problem .

[PJ_Smiley]

I installed fan above workbench in back of garage - Lowe's: Fanimation Studio Collection Blitz 56-in Brushed Nickel LED Indoor/Outdoor Ceiling Fan with Light Kit and Remote (7-Blade) provides airflow up to 7,241-CFM. I left the light kit off, so the height is just right. It may be 80 degrees in garage, but when the fan kicks in, it cools the area below, so it's comfortable to work.

[JohnN]

I had Solar Guys put in an electric (not solar) exhaust fan on the garage ceiling up into the attic and a couple of vents in the garage door. My garage is actually pretty cool and the cost was $100+ and uses very little electricity I've had it 8 years now and I'm quite happy with it.

[karostay]

When you insulate the garage door, that will only slow down, but not prevent, heat transfer into the garage. So, it may take a little longer for the garage to heat up during the day. But, the garage will still heat up to the same temperature as it would without the insulation.

My question if your door is insulated
Doesn't it have a reverse effect by holding the heat in when the evenings cool off

[bobnyce]

I have an attic fan which helped cool the attic and also reflective insulation on the inside of the garage door which seems to help. Also, when I replace my water heater in the garage, I plan on considering a heat pump style water heater which runs like your heat pump in the winter to heat water by taking heat from the air. I have heard that they may actually cool your garage while heating your water.

[retiredguy123]

My question if your door is insulated
Doesn't it have a reverse effect by holding the heat in when the evenings cool off
Yes, you are correct. In the evening, the heat transfer reverses, so it will take longer for the garage to cool off. Insulation slows down the transfer of heat energy from a hot space to a cooler space.

[biker1]

The best you are going to do is the outside air temperature. I am at the outside air temperature anyway with just Romac panels on the garage doors.

I had Solar Guys put in an electric (not solar) exhaust fan on the garage ceiling up into the attic and a couple of vents in the garage door. My garage is actually pretty cool and the cost was $100+ and uses very little electricity I've had it 8 years now and I'm quite happy with it.

[Yorkie]

Many opinions, and none are really wrong. I have a west facing garage and it gets very warm.

My experiences:
Insulated door, helped some.

Added vents to garage door, installed a ceiling exhaust fan, and a solar attic/roof fan, helped more but was still hot and fan noise was too excessive. Could hear the roar in the house. So, I closed the vents and fan off with insulation.

Final solution, while we were enclosing and finishing off our lanai, a Mitsubishi in-ceiling split was installed. Works great. So, I had a Mitz wall mount split added to the garage. It shares an single compressor outside that is rated for both. I leave it on low, set at 78-80 degrees. Keeps garage very comfortable for the very spoiled Corvette sitting there all summer.

But again, any of the other solutions cited here can improve temp.
Just my approach(s) to the problem. May be overkill and not for some.

Warning: Once it was approved by the boss, and installed, she informed me "Now I can spend matching funds on something for ME in the house." So, don't under-estimate the cost of your solution!!

[EdFNJ]

I had Solar Guys put in an electric (not solar) exhaust fan on the garage ceiling up into the attic and a couple of vents in the garage door. My garage is actually pretty cool and the cost was $100+ and uses very little electricity I've had it 8 years now and I'm quite happy with it. $100 !!! You can't even get Solar Guys to answer the phone for under $200. :D

[dadspet]

Many opinions, and none are really wrong. I have a west facing garage and it gets very warm.

My experiences:
Insulated door, helped some.

Added vents to garage door, installed a ceiling exhaust fan, and a solar attic/roof fan, helped more but was still hot and fan noise was too excessive. Could hear the roar in the house. So, I closed the vents and fan off with insulation.

Final solution, while we were enclosing and finishing off our lanai, a Mitsubishi in-ceiling split was installed. Works great. So, I had a Mitz wall mount split added to the garage. It shares an single compressor outside that is rated for both. I leave it on low, set at 78-80 degrees. Keeps garage very comfortable for the very spoiled Corvette sitting there all summer.

But again, any of the other solutions cited here can improve temp.
Just my approach(s) to the problem. May be overkill and not for some.

Warning: Once it was approved by the boss, and installed, she informed me "Now I can spend matching funds on something for ME in the house." So, don't under-estimate the cost of your solution!!


Interesting since I've been thinking about a mini-split in our garage. I need some clarification on the
"Mitz wall mount split added to the garage. It shares an single compressor outside that is rated for both"

Is this also a Mitsubishi mini-split but connected to the main house compressor outside the house? I assume its a cheaper solution than a full mini split. Or is it something else. Who installed it?



I already have a radiation barrier over the garage (and other areas) and I can tell anyone interested it makes a major difference in the storage area above the garage. This is based on a few people who have been up in the storage area and have commented on the major difference in temperature there compared to other houses they have been in. I also have the garage door insulated.
I've recently tried the largest portable floor standing ac unit with a hose vent out the garage window and it wasn't worth the noise it made or electric it used, I returned it as a bad idea. My plan is to only turn on the unit perhaps an hour before using the garage and not leave it on all the time.

BTW don't talk too loud I don't want my wife to hear, she isn't big on things that go on in the garage and gets confused. She might think we don't need it or there is a better place to spend the money. :icon_wink:

[Yorkie]

I put a ceiling mounted Mitsubishi split in the lanai when we enclosed it. The garage Mitsubishi wall mounted split shares the same compressor as the lanai Mitsubishi unit.
The house A/C still uses the original home compressor. Lanai and garage don’t put any load on the house A/C that way. We are very happy with this set up.

[Toymeister]

A neighbor installed that system, and he never turns it on because you get almost no air flow through those little vents in the garage door.

You should always take free advice with the price you paid in mind.

Proper garage door vents and not cheap foundation vents allow for a great deal of air movement. They are not the ones installed by handymen. Try these and you will be pleased. Garage Door Vent - Residential Garage Doors, Openers & Accessories - Doors & Windows - The Home Depot (https://www.homedepot.com/b/Doors-Windows-Residential-Garage-Doors-Openers-Accessories/Garage-Door-Vent/N-5yc1vZaqy0Z1z0pg53)

[Bosoxfan]

I haven't done anything to my garage. It has not been a problem. When I come home, I go into the house.

I'm hearing that. Who cares if your garage is warm? Unless you're out there hours upon hours in the middle of the day with the door closed🥴🥴

[Toymeister]

You can't beat hard facts to make the right decision for you.

Since there have been references to savings with solar attic fans some might find this data from a guy with powered attic fans and some cool technology to monitor useage.

In 2019 my attic fans ran a total of 213 hours. They often ran after dark (when a solar fan would not) they are thermostatically controlled. An average home improvement store fan would of used $9.18 annually at current SECO rates.

So, it might not be worth the premium for solar fans, in fact it is not.

[eyc234]

:) Good thing I looked at some of the other post. I read the subject line and a few things came to mind. A 70" flat screen, full set of tools & tool boxes, maybe a few politically incorrect posters from the 70's, really comfortable barcoloungers and a kegerator.

Sorry no suggestions, been here 10 yrs and nothing has melted or dissolved in the garage that faces south everyday.

[Wing-nut2]

I also have a garage that faces east. I called the Solar Guys. I had them install three things. First I had the garage door insulated. Second, I had has their Solatube garage ventilation system. Third I had two Solas Star Attic Fans. The fans come in two sizes. Based on the size of my home, I had two of the large models installed.

The Solatube is great. The amount of air coming through the vents in the door is unbelievable .

If you would like to see mine, send me a PM. or go to their web page: Solar Attic Fans & Solar Ventilation Experts | Central FL - The Solar Guys (https://thesolarguys.com/ventilation/)

[Northerner52]

The garage metal does get hot with the sun on it. I am going to have a motorized screen installed and let it keep the garage cool

[MandoMan]

One way to cool your garage a bit is to leave the garage door open at night with the screen door closed. If your garage faces East, at least, open the garage door in the morning while the sun would be shining one it, screen door closed, and close the garage door when the sun is high enough so it no longer shines on the door.

If you want to HEAT your garage in the summer, by contrast, park a ton of burning hot metal inside and close the door. If the ambient temperature is 90°, a car with a hot motor that has been parked in a sunny parking lot somewhere will radiate heat into your garage for hours. If you don’t want an even hotter garage, one good choice is leaving your car parked on the driveway until a couple hours after sunset if it is hot.