Out in the desert of Arizona, it gets quite hot. In fact, it is an extreme heat. I keep large freezers and such in my garage (not much room for inside). However, the radiant heat transfers through the overhead garage door quite easily. Here is a simple way to reduce the heat and thus reduce your electricity consumption and electricity bill for the Summer months. Here is what I did to reduce the garage temperature by more than 20 degrees.

First, I took cardboard and taped them to the windows. I don’t like people looking in. Besides, it blocks the sun’s direct heat transfer through the glass.

Next, I got some sheets of Styrofoam insulation at the local hardware store. I used 2″ sheets that are 4′x8′ This will give an insulation R-rating to about 7 (about a 1/3 of what would typically be in your exterior walls). The costs for the Styrofoam for a 2-car garage is about $50. Cut the Styrofoam to fit in the panels. If you measure correctly, they will fit in snugly. I also taped a few sides with duct tape (just in case).

The overall process took about 2 hours to cut the Styrofoam and install the panels. You’ll want to make sure they look uniform. I sort of messed up and put the first one in backwards (as you can see in the photo. The overall effect was a reduction in the garage temperature by more than 20 degrees.

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