New Garage Door - Energy Efficiency Test Shows

[Rolando Cartwright]

A garage door can make a difference in energy savings on a solar home,
preliminary test finding from a case in Utah show.
Those findings come in relation to a garage door Martin Door
Manufacturing contributed to a solar home project in Holladay, Utah in
March. Ned Hart, marketing director for TerraSun Energy, provided
initial test data on the home conversion and said the data shows the
new door is making a difference.
The findings include the following details and data:
- The new opener cut down significantly on power usage. The homeowner
found the old garage door opener was heavy on energy usage in
comparison to the new opener. It takes approximately 40 watts of power
to operate the opener, according to Hart. He said the old opener used
about 440 watts to open or close the door The family cycles the garage
door about 600 times a month, so Hart estimated a substantial savings
in energy, with the new opener.
"This is a dramatic energy savings over the course of each month,
reducing energy consumption from 4500 watts to 435 watts each month,
or 48,000 watts annually. For a solar home, this is a REALLY big
deal," Hart said.
- The new opener also facilitated use of CFL or LED bulbs, while the
old opener did not. That cut energy usage from 120 watts to three,
according to the energy official.
- The double pane windows used in the insulation make a big difference
in energy savings in the garage. Hart said the added insulation factor
from the door has made a noticeable difference in the temperature of
the garage, and thus has impacted the temperature of the home itself.
As part of the solar conversion, workers applied a coat of Temp-Coat,
an insulating paint, to the walls of the garage adjacent to the home.
Test data and measurements are constantly being taken. Hart was eager
to note that the thermal images of the home showed the concrete was
radiating more heat than the garage door.
Before the project began, the home's gas and electric bills for
January 2009 alone totaled $460. The goal for the home is "0" monthly
gas and electric utility bills. Various measures are being taken to
accomplish this.
For example, during the day the surplus electricity generated by the
solar panels actually backs up the meter. At night, the meter moves
forward as electricity is consumed form the landline.
Updates to the home include the insulated Martin Garage Door, Martin
DC3700e-o opener; energy efficient heat pumps, a biomass boiler, solar
electric and hot water panels, extra insulation, tree management
(shading solar panels) new roof shingles, etc.

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