Energy Efficient Garage Doors: A Guide to Garage Door Insulation U Values

When choosing a new garage door for your property you must take the door’s energy performance into the consideration, especially if there is a bedroom above the garage or an internal door leading into the house.

Also a well-insulated, draft-free garage door is essential if the garage is used as a home gym, a workshop or a utility room and may occasionally be heated.

How to choose a garage door by Insulation and Energy efficiency?

All main manufacturers certify their insulated garage doors with a U value to help customers to comply with the current building regulations.

Would you like to know more about U value of a modern garage door?

We are here to help.

U-values and garage doors.

The U-value signifies the heat loss through a given thickness of a particular material.
The best insulating materials have a u-value of close to zero – the closer the better and building regulations currently stipulate that for a new building, the elements must have maximum u-values as follows:
Wall – 0.3 W/m2k
Roof – 0.15 W/m2k
Windows – 1.6 W/m2k
Garage doors – some makes like Alutech are as good as 1 W/m2k

The thermal insulation properties for the modern garage are all far more important in the UK than ever before.

Therefore it is important to comply with the government Building Regulations that apply both to the new built and to replacement of existing garage doors.

Building Regulations on U value for garage doors.

Part L of the Building Regulations is dealing with garage conversions and states that U-Values for garages may be varied providing that the area weighted value of all building elements is no greater than a notional extension. If this requirement cannot be met a center pane U-Value of 1.2W/m²K may be used.
Building Regulations Part DL2A is dealing with New build garages and it specifies the thermal performance requirements for the contract as follows to meet the Buildings Emissions Rate.

Windows, garage doors and curtain walling

Whole element U-Value 2.2W/m²K.

High usage entrance doors

Whole element U-Value 3.5W/m²K

The best garage door types for insulation in order of performance are:

Please see below the brief description of insulation properties and U values of the three door types.

1. Insulated Sectional Garage Doors:

1.1 Alutech is the most insulated domestic sectional garage door on the market

Alutechpanel

This photo explains the Alutech sectional door insulated panel construction. This door is the best on the market at a U value of 1.0 Wm2.

Alutech doors are now sold nationwide at discounted prices by Arridge Garage Doors Ltd.
With a U value of 1.0 Wm2 for the fitted door, the Alutech 45 mm thick twin walled sectional door gives fantastic insulation, draft proofing and security.
Double blade all round draught seals made from soft neoprene rubber black out the draughts. Made in Germany.
All doors are made to measure to suit your aperture.
For an easy measure up use our self survey form on our website.

1.2. One of the main manufacturers’ Hormann LPU 42 mm insulated and EPU40 insulated sectional garage doors also offer one of the best U values on the current garage door market.

The U values apply to fitted Hormann doors without glazing and a size of: 5000 × 2125 mm

Thermal insulation

Double-skinned steel doors 42 / 20 mm – EPU40

Section U = 1.0 W/(m2∙K)

Door leaf U = 1.4 W/(m2∙K)

Fitted door U = 1.8 W/(m2∙K)

Double-skinned steel doors 42 mm – LPU40

Section U = 0.5 W/(m²∙K)

Door leaf U = 0.9 W/(m2∙K)

Fitted door U = 1.4 W/(m2∙K)

Single-skinned steel doors – LTE40

Door leaf U = 6.0 W/(m2∙K)

Fitted door U = 6.5 W/(m2∙K)

Doors with solid timber infill – LTH40

Door leaf U = 2.5 W/(m2∙K)

Fitted door U = 3.0 W/(m2∙K)

Hormann insulated Sectional Garage Door – has either 20mm or 40-45mm double skinned steel panel sections with foam core insulation in between.
It has rubber weather seals all around the fixing frame adding to the weather protection properties of this door.
To get the full benefit of an insulated sectional door is to install the door behind the structural opening so the door panels overlap the garage pillars and lintel – continuing the insulation offered by the garage walls itself.
Each individual sectional door panel has a rubber seal embedded in each of the profile joint sections to give the best possible seal between the individual panels and combined with seals on all sides including a large seal on the bottom panel.
There are additional seals now available on Hormann LPU40 doors to increase insulation further by up to 15%.

2. Insulated Side Hinged Doors.

This image is showing a solid 40mm thick panels of Carteck insulated side hinged garage doors.

Insulated side hinged doors are built with 40mm thick interlocking panels and an aluminium hollow section frame that provides excellent strength, rigidity, resistance to corrosion and insulation.
A double skinned, foam filled steel door set with rubber seals on a rebates edge all round.
With a bottom edge threshold also with a seal built in you stand a chance here of a pair of large garage doors effectively sealing an opening very well indeed.
Ryterna side hinged and Carteck insulated side-hinged are made to order with an aluminium fixing sub frame included and high quality stainless steel furniture.
Give us a call for advice on sizes and insulation values.

3. Insulated Roller Garage Doors

Made of foam filled aluminium slats. As a rule you really do only get what you pay for then you have to remember the same with insulation properties on these doors.
A good quality foam filled aluminium roller door like Aluroll insulated roller or a Hormann Rollmatic roller will give good levels of insulation if installed behind the structural opening like the sectional door does.
Please beware of some cheap, poorly constructed double skinned roller door using inferior aluminium slats will not give much insulation and probably will be quite problematic.
Hörmann uses environmentally friendly procedures for foaming, using 100% CFC-free PU rigid foam.

A roller door by its very nature is difficult to get a proper ‘U’ value for once installed as technically there is a small gap between every slat and there are about 20 slats in the average height door. However, if you install the roller door behind the lintel and add a full box, you will improve its U value.

Please note that our insulated roller doors Aluroll and Hormann Rollmatic are of a highest quality and supplied with a full box housing and deep guides for extra insulation.

Take a look our Aluroll insulated roller door and Hormann rollmatic insulated roller door – they are the best roller door manufactures in the UK.

Please do not hesitate to ask and give us a call on 01691 670394.

Our garage doors experts will be glad to help you to insulate your garage and to choose the door that you like.