Hot days make for a cool house, but climate control rarely extends to the garage, whether it’s attached to your home or not. If you regularly use your garage to maintain your car or for other purposes, working up a sweat is no fun. When it comes to cooling your garage, you have several methods available to you. Depending on your budget and your desire to stay cool, one or more approaches should be right for you. Here’s how to keep your garage cool when outside temperatures are high. Open the outside facing doors, windows and other doors to increase air circulation inside the garage. If you have an attached garage, do not open the door connecting to the home — noxious fumes from the garage may seep into your living area. Strategically placed windows should help increase air movement and at least provide you with some relief as you work on your car. Garages are typically poorly insulated and for this reason, they can become unbearably hot in the summer and frigidly cold in the winter.

Batt insulation is inexpensive and easy to install where drywall isn’t present. Cover it with drywall or use foam board if your local building code allows. If the drywall is in place, then blown-in insulation can be used. ac unit for small roomInstall weather stripping, then caulk and paint the garage door. ac unit cost for houseBe sure to look for other areas in the garage where attention is needed.how central ac unit works If your garage has enough clearance (at least eight feet high), installing a ceiling fan is a cost effective way to keep your garage cool. Ensure the blades are between seven and nine feet above the floor and 10 to 12 inches below the ceiling. Fans with diameters measuring 36 to 44 inches are sufficient for most garages. However, if your garage is larger than 225 square feet, opt for one 52 inches or larger advises the U.S. Department of Energy.

Extending your home’s air conditioning system to your garage can be costly. More cost effective cooling methods include installing a window air conditioner or using a portable floor unit. Another option is to install a mini-split air conditioner as these units don’t depend on a window, nor must you run additional ducts to cool your garage. Not to be overlooked is a dehumidifier to reduce the relative humidity of the space. You can use a dehumidifier alone or in conjunction with your other cooling methods. Besides actively looking for ways to cool the inside of your garage, consider the outside, too. If your garage faces westward, then the afternoon sun will mercilessly beat down upon it. Paint the garage door a light shade as light reflects heat. When your home needs a new roof, choose a light color. Keeping your garage cool can range from the simple and less costly approaches to the more complex and expensive solutions. For more information on how to keep your garage cool, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your local NAPA AUTO PARTS store.

PACs typically fall in the middle ground compared with the costs of other cooling options. Portable air conditioners offer a distinct alternative to complex HVAC systems and basic cooling fans. These self-contained, mobile systems cater to spaces ranging in size from dens to garages, provided you have a nearby window through which to vent hot air. Like any electric cooling solution, however, the benefits provided by PACs come at a cost. The impact your PAC has on your electricity bill depends on the size of the unit, your utility provider's rate and other factors. Energy Estimates Portable air conditioners range from compact, rolling boxes to mini-fridge-size towers. Likewise, they vary greatly in energy ratings, which are measured in British thermal unit, the amount of energy needed to cool or heat one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. This measurement translates to how much heat your PAC can remove from the room each hour. Especially compact PACs cool about 150 square feet and feature a BTU rating of about 7,500.

Mid-range models cool about 300 square feet and output 10,000 BTUs while the largest PACs cover roughly 500 square feet and run at 14,000 BTUs. Converting Energy to Cents Converting BTUs to kilowatt-hours, a measurement equal to one kilowatt of power consumption per hour, you'll find that a 7,500-BTU PAC consumes about 2.2 kWh, a 10,000-BTU unit 2.9 kWh, and a 14,000-BTU unit 4.1 kWh. As of 2014, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that one kilowatt-hour of energy usage costs about 16.18 cents in California, for instance. At this rate, running a small, medium or large PAC for eight hours a day would cost roughly $2.84, $3.75 or $5.31, respectively. For 30 days of use, these figures come to $85.20, $112.50 and $159.30. Considering the Variables In addition to BTU ratings and hours of use, location plays a major role in PAC operating cost; for example, the EIA estimates that electricity costs 21.75 cents per kWh in New York, 9.78 cents in Tennessee and 12.74 cents in the District of Columbia, with a national average of 11.88 cents.

A longer hose causes your PAC to use more energy, as it diverts hot air through the length of the hose. Similarly, MSN Real Estate estimates that a 10-year-old air conditioner is only about half as efficient as a newly purchased unit. In Comparison According to 2013 reports from the “Rapid City Journal,” running a portable air conditioner uses as little as one-eighth of the electricity required to run a central air-conditioning unit, which roughly translates to one-eighth of the cost, as well. Unlike central cooling, which cools the entire house, PACs cool only one room at a time. In 2013, Home Energy Pros -- “Home Energy” magazine's website -- noted that PACs offer roughly half the cooling power of window air conditioners. Duke Energy estimates that ceiling fans consume about 23.4 kWh per month, placing them at an average operating cost of only $2.78 per month, according to EIA's 2014 national averages. However, ceiling fans only provide a breeze; they do not actually cool air.