How To Cool A Garage In Arizona – What You Need to Know

Dealing with uncomfortable summer becomes obvious for people living in central and southern Arizona. Many homeowners avoid spending time in their garage finding the place heating up, even more, this time around.

Investing in an air conditioning system is one way to cool it, but on the flip side, it’s going to shoot up your utility bill. That’s why you’re better of trying other methods more sustainable than this. Don’t worry just yet. Because we’ve shared all the tips you need in this article.  

Let us be clear, however, that we share content only for informational purposes so that you know what approaches are feasible for your garage in different conditions. If you’re an avid DIY, it’s better to seek professional advice before implementing any methods.

Moving ahead, let’s see how to cool a garage in Arizona!

Methods to Cool Down a Garage in Arizona

1. Add garage attic insulation
2. Add door insulation
3. Mind your door material & color
4. Ensure proper air circulation
5. Plant hardwood trees
6. Attach an adjustable awning at the door
7. Invest in an AC unit/Garage mini-split system

There is your handy list on how to keep your garage cool in Arizona summer. Now, let’s explain each of them below.

Garage Attic Insulation

If you want to keep your garage cool for an extended period, first you must prevent the blazing heat from making its way in. It’s also important to keep the temperature stable in all parts of the garage.

But, how will you achieve this?

Well, the easiest answer is to add Garage Attic Insulation (aka Radiant Barrier). This keeps the heat outside allowing your AC to cool the garage in half the time and hence lowering your utility bill (by at least 20%).

You will also benefit from this during winter by keeping the heat locked inside.

Garage Door Insulation

Again the door is where all those cool air can escape, making it harder for the AC/Mini-split system to cool down your garage. Therefore adding insulation to your door is the next step you can take to keep your garage cool in Arizona.

You can buy a pre-fitted garage door insulation kit from any home improvement store and directly attach them to the door.

If you have the budget you can consider replacing the existing door with a pre-insulated model. These styles of doors have a range of R-value ratings to fit your specific requirements.

Yet with insulation, unwanted (hot) air can still seep into the garage through the loosely fitted door. If this is the case with you, get weather stripping from a local hardware store and seal the area across the door frame with it.

Even with the average DIY skill, you can do it without much trouble.

Door Material & Color

The door material and the color can play their part to keep your garage in Arizona cool. Unlike metal doors, fiberglass or wooden material doesn’t generate a lot of heat facing the sun.

Besides, you should consider avoiding black coating on the door. Certainly, because dark colors absorb heat, while white reflects it.  

Proper Air Circulation

Most garages in Arizona don’t an attached window/vent. This leads to poor air circulation due to the lack of natural air as the door is kept closed.

In this case, installing a permanent attic vent along with a fan can help. This helps the garage lower humidity since the fan will now move the hot air up and force it out through the vent instead of circulating it between the walls.

Planting Trees

Trees block sunlight from directly accessing the garage and will provide welcoming shade at the hottest part of the day.

Therefore, consider planting a tree, particularly a tall hardwood tree would work well. Hanging down an adjustable awning at the entrance will also help keep the garage cooler. 

Air Conditioning Unit

So far we’ve talked about ways to keep the heat outside of the garage so that the temperature inside is mild.

Despite this, you have to cool the garage especially during the hottest spell of the day in summer. And installing an AC unit is the easiest means in this regard. It will keep your garage comfortable all year round.

There is a misconception that installing a permanent air conditioner is expensive. However, with modern innovation affordable AC’s are available now without sacrificing much on qualities.

You can also opt for portable self-contained AC if you want to cool the place a little while at a time when needed.

The downside though is that with a portable air conditioner you’ll get less cooling power per BTU than a traditional model. That means, they can raise your energy bill to some degree by cooling down your garage in Arizona.   

Garage Mini-Split System

If your garage isn’t accessible to install a window air conditioner, a ductless mini-split system is the best alternative. In fact, setting up such a unit requires only a single port of ventilation through which an outside unit will be connected to an inside bar.

The bar can be mounted on the wall and it’s reasonably inconspicuous making it look more professional.

However, the biggest selling point is their ability to get the temperature of a garage down in the least of time (approximately 15min).

Last but not the least, with a zonal system and remote application in place (cooling & heating feature) you can control your garage temperature at different parts of the day with ease.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wrapping Up

I hope reading this article has helped you understand the range of options you can implement to cool your garage this forthcoming summer. Once again,

If you can’t figure out how to cool a garage in Arizona, it’s attic insulation along with installing an air conditioning/mini-split system that gives you the most comfortable garage for years to come.

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