This is a guest post by Chris Keenan of Precision Garage Door of San Diego…
In this recession a lot of homeowners are taking a closer look at their home energy bills. And they aren’t liking what they see – increasing costs while their salaries are stagnating. A number of simple solutions can help make your homes more energy efficient, such as installing CFL energy saving light bulbs or insulating around windows and doors. But the biggest home energy waster is often overlooked. The garage door.
The Garage Door – Your Homes Biggest Energy Waster
The walls in your home are made with wood, insulation, and sheet rock. They keep your house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Your garage door is no different; it’s basically just a giant moving wall. But you might be suprised to learn that your door isn’t doing a good job keeping out the elements. Cheap material, poor insulation, and eroding weather seal are causing your energy bill to climb. Here’s why:
Ever feel like you walked into a sauna in the summer or an icebox in the winter when going in your garage? It’s because of your garage door. And while most of us don’t care about the temperature in our garage, we do care about the temperature in our house. Any room adjacent to the garage is going to require more energy to heat or cool as the garage is leaching it away. This means our heating or AC system has to work harder, which results in higher energy bills.
Earn a $1,500 Tax Credit
Fortunately Uncle Sam doesn’t want us wasting energy any more than we do. That’s why the U.S. Government is offering tax credits for energy efficient home improvements made through Dec. 31, 2010. You can claim a 30% tax credit on qualifying home improvement costs. A tax credit is more valuable than a tax deduction because it reduces your tax dollar for dollar. That means you can get up to $1,500 back from the government.
How do you identify an eligible garage door? We put together a comprehensive list by garage door manufacturer so you know exactly what model you need to get the credit. You can also download the form for each manufacturer to claim your credit after you have it installed. If you aren’t sure if this is in your budget, even with the $1,500 energy tax credit, you can call Precision Garage Door of San Diego for a free estimate on new doors.
You’ll be out of pocket at first, but the energy savings will start to add up. And the $1,500 tax credit makes it even more enticing to act soon.
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