It's COLD outside...and your heating bills are going through the roof (along with the hot air). So you put insulation in the attic, do all the weatherstripping you can for the windows and doors, and tell the kids to put on a sweater.

Forgetting something? How about that enormous Garage Door that accounts for massive surface area on the side of your house? Its a big, flat door that probably has not been updated in years. That means its inefficient, porous and lets your valuable heat (or air conditioning) escape like no other opening in your home.

If you have updated and purchased a new garage door in the last 5 years you probably remember that thing called "R-Value." This is a value that is given to garage doors which indicates its ability to withstand strong winds and retain heat (or cooling) via its internal insulation. The higher the R-Value, the more "insulated" and energy efficient the garage door. Values can range from about R3 to R18, average being around 4-7. This insulation is typically either a polyurethane material insulation, injected foam or polystyrene compound which increases thermal efficiency.

But what if you cannot afford to upgrade your current garage door and still would like the benefits of quality insulation? Well, these days there are what are called "Garage Door Insulation Kits" that conform to just about any residential garage doors. They are easy to use kits that will allow you to retrofit your existing garage door into a money saving, protective shield from the elements. Makes sense when you consider the garage door is usually the largest surface area of your home that is not insulated.

A garage door insulation kit is usually made for an 8 foot single car garage door or a 16 foot double car garage door. The kits are usually made out of polystyrene which is a very good insulator for this purpose which will give you about the equivalent to a R-value of about 5.

If you are trying to keep your home warmer in the winter or cooler in the summer, don't overlook the huge door in the garage. A simple, fairly inexpensive investment of garage door insulation will keep your costs down for many seasons to come.