Obviously not all of us can afford to ‘go green’ to the extreme as Jay Leno has when building a garage. Ironically it can sometimes cost a lot to reduce our carbon footprints. However, there are plenty of ways to go green without completely breaking the bank.
10 Ways to Think Green When Building Your Garage
- Energy efficient windows and doors
- Materials that are renewable and sustainable
- Water efficiency
- Insulative materials with a high R-value
- Light timers and senors
- Low-impact materials
- Low or no VOC paints
- Durable materials
- Buy locally
- Solar design
A great way to conserve water consumption in your garage is to collect rain water from the roof in a rain barrel and use it for washing your car, cleaning tools or for every day garage cleaning needs.
Something else to think about is that old refrigerator you have in the garage for beer. If the fridge is old chances are it is a big energy consumer, particularly if the garage is not insulated because the fridge will have to work harder. New refrigerators use 60% less electricity than a fridge made before 1980. Sure, cold beer is important but so is a cheaper electricity bill!
