Tip/tricks for cooling garage on ranch-style home?

[Martinjmpr]

We've been in our Pueblo home for a little over 6 months now. So far we absoltuely love it. The house is fantastic, better than we could have expected. It's nicer in every way than the house we lived in in Littleton for the past 7 years, even though the Littleton house sold for about half-again what we paid for our Pueblo house.

We are also loving the community and the area. Heck, just not being in the Denver metro area is a huge plus that we appreciate every day. Sometimes I have to drive all the way across town to get something - that literally takes 15 to 20 minutes, maximum, even at rush hour (which we don't really have here anyway.)

However, as much as we love our house and area, I'm getting a little worried about the heat in the garage. Our Littleton house was a Tri-level, with living space above the garage. Because of that (I presume) even on the hottest days the interior of the garage never got unbearably hot.

But in our Pueblo home, which is a (ranch style home with a walk-out basement) the garage gets crazy hot by the end of the day. Even if we're not coming and going, it gets very hot - probably close to 95 degrees inside the garage.

Now, a few technical notes: The garage is a 3 car, I don't know the exact dimensions but I can back my F-150 Crew Cab Short Bed truck into it and still have room to walk behind, so it's probably at least 24' deep, and I'd guess at least 35' wide. I don't know if it's insulated or not, but the interior walls are all drywalled. House was built in 2003 and I don't know if it was normal to insulate exterior garage walls back then, but given the overall quality of the home and the neighborhood, I would guess it probably is insulated.

Because this is a ranch style house, there is no living space above the garage (which has high ceilings, probably at least 10 feet and maybe as much as 12 feet.) There is a gabled attic above the garage though, with an access panel in the ceiling.

The garage has no windows on the walls, and both garage doors are solid with no windows. The garage faces East.

So with all that in mind, I'm looking for some ideas on what I can do to keep the garage from getting so hot. I will be retiring in a couple of weeks and plan on doing a lot of work out there and I don't want it to be unbearably hot (though obviuosly, if I'm working out there, I can leave the garage doors open for ventilation which should help quite a bit.)

I have thought about getting one of those round spinning attic vents and putting it on the attic above the garage. I've also wondered about possibly putting in a window, although I would guess that putting a window in would be very expensive (FWIW our exterior is stucco, like the majority of homes in Pueblo.)

What other things should I consider? Are there vent options that I can put in the garage that don't require the difficulty or expense of a window?

Final point, at this time I'm really only interested in "passive" cooling measures (ventilation mostly.) I don't think air conditioning or swamp cooling would be viable or cost effective for my needs. I don't need it to be 72 degrees in there, I'd just like it to be under 90 degrees, and close to 80 would be better.

[gnihcraes]

Quiet cool makes garage vent fans.

I also put a wall mounted vent fan on mine with ventilation cuts on the eves. The fan is on a thermostat and comes on during hot times and draws air through the upper portion and vents through wall to outside. Makes a big difference even with only a 12 inch fan.

[Erni]

Check where the heat is coming from. The garage doors if they face the sun will become giant heaters. A bit of foam on the doors will help. Walls are not insulated where they do not meet the house. May want to pull dry wall insulate and replace. Ceiling too. Does it have insulation above the garage to the attic ? And yes do a fan with thermostat control if the rest fails.

[BushMasterBoy]

I got one of these and never installed it. Probably the cheapest solution. Fit it to a gable vent.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/OmniPV-Solar-Fans-1200-CFM-Black-Powder-Coated-Galvanized-Steel-Solar-Power-Roof-Vent/5014472277


https://www.lowes.com/pd/Master-Flow-14-5-in-x-14-68-in-White-Square-Aluminum-Gable-Vent/1000101237

[encorehunter]

Check the roof for roof vents, gable vent or soffit vents. Get in the attic and check for insulation. If you have soffit vents, make sure the insulation isn’t covering them. If you have roof vents, make sure roof is cut under them for air movement. The vent fans with temp control are great. I have a plug and play that is set up with blue tooth, and I have a hardwired that has a dial thermostat, both work great. There are also solar powered roof vents to help pull heat out of the attic.
As said before, insulation on the doors can help. They make kits to insulate doors, but they can be pricey. Check the walls for insulation as well. If there is no insulation in either the attic or walls, you can have someone come do blown in or spray insulation. Blown in is much cheaper. Some businesses you can buy the blown in and they will loan you the machine for free. More labor, less cost. Spray foam is expensive, but it can be great. Hire it out or buy the kits, the temperature has to be right for it to stick to the wood properly or it can separate.
A portable swamp cooler can go a long way to making it more comfortable for a relatively low price.

[gnihcraes]

Fan from amazon.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240618/ba29fa2be8cb1733d4acff7e4908fe9c.jpg

[eddiememphis]

A portable swamp cooler can go a long way to making it more comfortable for a relatively low price.

My suggestion as well.

I worked in a shop for a couple years that was miserably hot. The owner was a cheap, thief piece of garbage so he didn't care. I bought one of the big rollaround swamp coolers out of my own pocket and it made a huge difference.

If you buy or borrow a thermal camera, it will show you where the hotspots are.

I doubt there's any insulation in the attic or walls since the garage is not an occupied space. You are likely getting a lot of heat transfer from the roof and exterior walls so a vent or probably won't help much.

[DFBrews]

Piggy backing off of Eddie smart phone style FLIR cameras are under 300 bucks and will prove extremely useful

[def90]

Highly doubtful that the garage is insulated and even if it was without hvac/ventilation its just going to build heat regardless.

[ray1970]

Highly doubtful that the garage is insulated and even if it was without hvac/ventilation its just going to build heat regardless.

Probably what he said.

It?s hot outside and with no climate control it?s just going to be hot in the garage.

I?m lucky because I have an exit door to the back yard at the rear of my garage and if I open that door and the roll up door I generally get a decent breeze through my garage.

[rondog]

I know nothing about them, but my buddy in OK has a mini-split AC cooling his garage, and he loves it. Again, I know nothing about them.....

[Great-Kazoo]

check with flir for heat leaks & sources. Install vent fan.

Also spend the $$ to install a mini-split. Heat in winter, cool in summer, ability to dehumidify. Based on size of garage, i'd go with 2 smaller units, this way if one craps out, you're still in business.

All my out buildings (casita, reloading building, shop) have them. I have a few thousand into 4 units. But the peace of mind knowing you can work year round is worth it.
Where we're at is 4800' elevation, all 4 seasons, with over 100 on the rare summer day, down to single digits in winter.

[BushMasterBoy]

Insulate the door with Reflectix.

https://www.reflectixinc.com/

[buffalobo]

Insulate attic and walls then install mini split. DIY for less than $2000. When done you will say worth $10,000.

If you're unarmed, you are a victim.

[FoxtArt]

Considering that this time of year daily temps are into the high 90s in most places in Colorado, without resorting to active cooling there's not a lot you can do to get into the 80s - fans wont solve the problem. Insulation by itself will just change your peak curve to be hottest at 3pm and a couple degrees cooler instead of 1pm. Passive cooling (ground loop of pex with a transfer pump and heat exchanger) is waaaaay more work and cost than a mini split or swamp. So, look to the latter even if you didn't want to. DIY mini split is a good idea.

[Martinjmpr]

I'm circling back around to this now that I'm retired.

I'm thinking of doing the insulated garage door but wondering if the bang is worth the buck? Has anyone here gone from an uninsulated to an insulated garage door and was it worth it?

I'm guessing new garage doors (3 car garage with 1 16-foot door and 1 - 8 foot door) would run at least $3000 - $5000 installed, yes?

One reason I'm thinking of going to new garage doors is that it would give me a chance to get doors with windows in them. Right now the garage has ZERO natural light. No windows, and no windows in any of the doors.

When we lived in Littleton our garage never got this hot, but then again, that was a tri-level home and had (cooled) living space above the garage. I'm still thinking I've got to find a way to get the hot air out of the attic above the garage.

The other morning when I left the house around 10:00 AM it was already over 90 degrees in the garage!

For the mini-split AC, how much power do they use? We're already having high electric bills from AC use, and we don't use the AC all day (I typically turn it on around 11:00 AM - noon and turn it off around 8:00 or 9:00 PM depending on how cool it is outside.)

[ray1970]

I went from a non-insulated door to an insulated one and it made a big difference for me. My doors face southwest so they take a pounding from the sun and the old aluminum door transferred heat like crazy.

Your mileage may vary depending on if you get a lot of sun on the doors or not. If your garage is already hot it might just hold that heat in and make it worse?

[Great-Kazoo]

I'm circling back around to this now that I'm retired.

I'm thinking of doing the insulated garage door but wondering if the bang is worth the buck? Has anyone here gone from an uninsulated to an insulated garage door and was it worth it?

I'm guessing new garage doors (3 car garage with 1 16-foot door and 1 - 8 foot door) would run at least $3000 - $5000 installed, yes?

One reason I'm thinking of going to new garage doors is that it would give me a chance to get doors with windows in them. Right now the garage has ZERO natural light. No windows, and no windows in any of the doors.

When we lived in Littleton our garage never got this hot, but then again, that was a tri-level home and had (cooled) living space above the garage. I'm still thinking I've got to find a way to get the hot air out of the attic above the garage.

The other morning when I left the house around 10:00 AM it was already over 90 degrees in the garage!

For the mini-split AC, how much power do they use? We're already having high electric bills from AC use, and we don't use the AC all day (I typically turn it on around 11:00 AM - noon and turn it off around 8:00 or 9:00 PM depending on how cool it is outside.)

Before you replace them. keep in mind. Windows are an invitation to any curious people. As for the doors themself. Buy some of the foil insulation kits, cut to size, call it good.
We have some cheap thin wrapped insulation (1/4") left over from when they built the shop. It works very well, but it's also not in direct sunlight. However when it's 100+ you don't have any heat radiating off them if they were still bare metal.

As for natural light, the 12+ 4' LED shop lights, along with the walls painted semi-gloss white are more than adequate, illumination wise. If you want windowed doors, consider the crime rate for break-ins in your area. Windows are a magnet for the uninvited.

[ChadAmberg]

Check where the heat is coming from. The garage doors if they face the sun will become giant heaters. A bit of foam on the doors will help. Walls are not insulated where they do not meet the house. May want to pull dry wall insulate and replace. Ceiling too. Does it have insulation above the garage to the attic ? And yes do a fan with thermostat control if the rest fails.

On my previous house, I used that aluminum foil bubble wrap inserted into each of the door panels, and it dropped the garage temp by 15-20 degrees when they were getting direct sun. Didn't require re-tuning the door springs or anything.

[buffalobo]

"For the mini-split AC, how much power do they use? We're already having high electric bills from AC use, and we don't use the AC all day (I typically turn it on around 11:00 AM - noon and turn it off around 8:00 or 9:00 PM depending on how cool it is outside.)"

The TOSOT mini splits(18,000 and 12,000 btu) I installed in the house require 15 amp 220v circuits and for the month of July cost was $30-35 to keep 2200 sq ft ranch style home 70? or below at all times.

I would bet the 12,000 btu unit would keep an insulated attached 2 car garage comfortable for $20 or less a month.

If you're unarmed, you are a victim.

[buffalobo]

We have run both units pretty much 24/7 since early/mid July, they have done a good job cooling whole house versus large window unit cooling just over half of house adequately, barely, also running g 24/7.

On 100+ days we notice temps climb a couple degrees(68 instead of 66, oh darn) late afternoon/early evening. Some of that is a trait of log home.

Cost to operate has been $15-$20 per month during hottest 3 months of the year and negligible the rest of the time.

Total investment to purchase was $3000 and I installed both units myself.

Best quote I got to install a forced air system including AC was $12000(furnace/AC and ductwork). Projected electric cost to operate monthly was $40/month.

Very pleased with result, estimate $200 per month savings for 5 years.

Looking forward to see how well they perform as supplemental heat to wood stove this winter.

If you're unarmed, you are a victim.