If you’re planning to add an open or enclosed metal carport to your property, be sure to do a little legwork before your Carport Empire professional installer arrives, especially when it comes to wiring. Although Carport Empire does not provide electrical wiring services, your new or existing structure can be wired for electricity and phone service. Your best bet is to talk with an electrical contractor or telephone service provider first, as your plans, as well as the locations of your existing underground utilities wiring (including not just electrical and phone, but gas lines too) may affect the placement and orientation of your new carport.

In planning your electrical wiring, a prime consideration is lighting. Wiring likely will come from the same wiring that powers and lights your home or existing attached garage, depending on how close your new detached carport is from your house. If your carport is small, one or two lighting fixtures may be adequate. A larger, double-bay or triple-bay metal carport, metal garage or metal building may require multiple fixtures to provide adequate lighting. And if you plan a corner workshop table, for instance, you’ll need to be sure that an electrical outlet for a plug-in lamp is nearby.

If your carport is enclosed, most any standard lighting fixture should work fine. Open carports, however are subject to moisture conditions, particularly in rainy, snowy or humid coastal climates. If your new carport will have an open or partially open configuration, you’ll need to install appropriate outdoor lighting fixtures that are resistant to moisture. Consider adding floodlights around the corners of your open carport, and pathway or driveway lighting in the ground leading up to your carport to help ward off vandals and thieves.

For open carports, solar-powered lighting costs more than electricity-powered lights initially, but will save you money on energy costs in the long run. A solar light with a motion sensor assures the light will come on only when someone is around, then automatically turn off after a period of non-movement. This avoids wasted energy and money when no one is around, plus helps to alert you if a unwanted prowler – whether a thief or a four-legged visitor such as a rascally raccoon looking for a free meal – has approached your carport.

Among the least expensive, yet effective ways to insulate your enclosed carport, metal garage or metal building is by installing reflective insulation. This lightweight, moisture-resistant insulation made with polyethylene foam and aluminum foil acts as a barrier against air infiltration and is resistant to all three types of heat transfer: conduction, convection and radiation. Carport insulation, when installed properly, it acts as a thermal break, radiant barrier, vapor barrier and sound barrier. These factors mean that it helps keep your structure warm in the winter and cool in the summer, reduces energy costs and condensation, and muffles outside sounds coming into your enclosed carports space.

Developed based on technology first used by NASA, reflective insulation works by reflecting heat away from surfaces, unlike other insulation methods that simply slow down conductive heat transfer. The carport insulation’s aluminum foil content reflects 95 to 97 percent of the radiant heat that strikes it, allowing only three to five percent to be emitted through the installation. This is important in metal carports, steel car cover, metal garages and metal storage buildings because during the winter, heat inside a climate controlled metal structure is reflected off the insulation’s surface back into the building, keeping it toasty inside. During the blazing summers, heat radiated through the roof is reflected off the insulation’s surface back to the roof, never getting inside your structure.

Reflective insulation is non-toxic, fire resistant, mold and mild mildew resistant and helps ward of pests including insects. It can be used in most any area of your new metal carport, metal garage or metal building including stud walls, side walls and around pipes and duct wraps. Since it’s moisture resistant, it can be used with other insulation materials in any type of climate or weather condition. And it’s easy to install, around any enclosed car port, using just pair of scissors or razor knife, staple gun and high-quality foil tape with no protective gear (such as gloves and breathing masks) needed.

Many reflective carport and garage insulation products on the market today are Energy Star qualified and eligible for Energy Tax credits. Be sure to check with your insulation provider or manufacturer for Energy Star certification and tax credit eligibility.

Among the most effective and easy-to-install insulation choices for your enclosed carport, garage or metal building is foam board. The same stuff that NASA has used to insulate a space shuttle’s external tank, keeping its liquid hydrogen fuel at minus 423ºF and its liquid oxygen tank at near minus 297ºF to prevent ice buildups on the inner fuel tank’s exterior surface, can be used to keep your metal carport toasty in the wintertime and cool during the summer.

While fiberglass insulation works by slowing down the rate of passage of heat into your home during hot summers and out of your enclosed carport, garage or metal building in winter, foam board insulation brings that passage to a halt by completely sealing all cavities and spaces in your structure’s walls. These unsealed voids are the primary source of energy loss, which means more money out of your pocket and into your energy provider’s coffers.

Enclosed car port foam board is a bit more expensive than fiberglass and may require professional installation. But its “R value” (its measure of thermal resistance) can be three times that of fiberglass. The higher a structure’s R value, the better its insulation’s effectiveness. If you plan to spend lots of time in your carport, garage or metal building (for instance, if you plan to use it as a workshop, office or recreational room), the long-term energy cost savings over fiberglass can be significant.

Foam board insulation can be applied to steel carports, enclosed garages or pole building in several ways: as rigid panels attached to your carport, garage or metal building inner walls or as a chemical mixture prayed from aerosol containers or a pressure sprayer (A third method involves foam board in the form of loose beads poured into masonry blocks in more traditional construction). Rigid foam board insulation typically comes 4’x8’ sheets and can be cut to fit your structure’s walls using a craft knife or fine toothed handsaw, then applied to your walls using construction adhesive. Two important notes: 1) Because foam boards absorb water vapor, you must cover the insulation with a moisture or vapor barrier and 2) because foam board is flammable, building codes in virtually all areas require that it be covered with fire resistant paneling or drywall.

Foam board also can be sprayed directly on to your walls via aerosol containers or pressure sprayers. It is recommended that you hire a professional installer for this method, as it can involve complex equipment. And because foam boar seals your enclosed carport, garage or metal building so tight, an air exchange may need to be installed. However, this results in superior indoor air quality because air pollutants such as pollen and dust have no way in. Foam board insulation also can help ward off mold, pest and insects for most enclosed carports.

Insulating your enclosed carport, garage or metal building conserves energy, saves money, reduces pollutant gases and controls noise and condensation. Several types of insulation work beautifully for metal structures. Among the best is fiberglass.

As the name suggests, fiberglass is made of tiny fibers of glass and works by slowing down the flow of heat into or out of your home. For example, during the summer, your air conditioner cools the air inside your home. Nature kicks into gear, trying to balance out temperature levels by sending heat through your roof, walls and window panes.  Fiberglass insulation won’t completely stop the transfer of heat into your home (or out of your home during the winter) but the glass fibers trap and absorb much of the heat, slowing its movement significantly. As a result, your air conditioner doesn’t wear itself out competing with nature to keep your home cool and you don’t get sticker shock when your cooling bill arrives in the mail.

Fiberglass insulation also prevents harmful condensation that causes corrosion and facilitates the growth of mold. It limits transmission of exterior sounds into your structure, plus absorbs reverberating sounds within. And it helps to boost lighting efficiency with reflective, laminated facings that make for attractive wall and ceiling treatments.

Fiberglass comes in sheets and is attached to inner walls and attic ceilings. Drywall can be installed over non-laminated fiberglass layers in your enclosed carport, garage or metal building for a finished look. It’s easy to install, but can be irritating to the skin and harmful if it gets into your eyes or mouth, so be sure to wear long sleeves and pants, safety goggles and mask and follow all safety recommendations.