I don't know which forum to post this under so I figured I'd start here. I live in a suburb of Manhattan (New York City) - about 20 miles north. We have fairly cold winters ~ probably averaging around 22-25 degrees Fahrenheit. The evenings can get very chilly. I am thinking of heating my garage for two reasons but mainly, my son's bedroom is over the garage and it gets chilly. It could get down into the 50s in his room. And the second reason is that I park my "toys" in the garage and want to care for them. So, with that said, does anyone have experience in heating their garages and what is the best way to do it? I thought i'd ask here before i call my contractor.
I just put a Heat Pump/ AC unit in my Garage. Insulated the ceiling before replacing the ceiling with new drywall. The system is called a split system meaning all the working parts sit outside on the ground and the air delivery comes from a small unit on the wall. Pretty good solution to moderate the Temperature. I dont expect it to bring the room down any lower than 80 degrees on a high humidy Northeastern summer day and I dont expect it to get the Garage any warmer than 50 degrees on the coldest of January days. But between 50degrees-80degrees I can dress appropriately and work in the garage. The other 10 months out of the year no problem. My input. Jon in Delaware
While the Midwest may get colder than where you are living, my problem in heating the garage is that eventual some one opens the stupid garage door! I was more interested in the times that I would be working in the garage versus overnight which may be your concern due to your son's bedroom temp. I finally gave up but would have installed a natural gas heater with enough BTUs to re-heat the space when needed quickly.
A couple of years ago, I installed an industrial surplus gas heater in my garage. We have natural gas in the house, and we just tapped into the line and added the heater. It does a great job heating the garage, more than enough for me to work out there in the dead of winter, if I let it run for a while before going out there. I only run it when I have things to do in the garage, not all the time. I don't have living space above the garage, so that's not a concern. Frankly, you might get more out of insulating the ceiling over the garage than adding heat to the garage. Garage spaces are notoriously under-insulated, and you might find there is little or no insulation in that ceiling. Alternatively, what about looking into some form of radiant heating for the floor in your son's room? A contractor can probably access the space from the garage and maybe that would solve the cold floor problem.
I put in radiant heat in the floor. It involved breaking up the concrete and repouring a new floor, but it is absolutely outstanding. Very even heat and very inexpensive to run.
Hey Darren, Hows Kenny.. Just finished my new Garage I am in the same boat..except my garage is detached from house. I have insulated walls and ceiling, put weatherstripping inside and outside the side and top seams of doors openings..{ Very Important } thats where biggest leak is perpetual. and now I am ready for a unit..cant decide..would love a woodburning stove, a heavy iron casting would do the trick..but..gotta light it each time.. one thing is for sure, 110 volts does not handle more than 2000 watts per breaker.. I have tried 2 1800 watt portable elec. heaters and it can get me up to 60 deg. in about 2 hours. not really what I want. I have 220 in the garage as well..anyone know of a decent 220 volt Elec. Heater?
The "Modern Era" garage, approx 2.6K ftsq heated with hydronic in floor. LOVE IT. Draw back is heat cycle to room temp. Takes a little longer to initially heat up, but, once to the temp you desire, relatively easy to maintain and is super comfortable. The "Chrome Era" garage, approx 1.4K ftsq heated by LP furnace via forced air. It is ok for what it is. Rapid heat cycle and can use up the LP quickly so this space is conservatily heated during the cold months and brought to temp on demand. Still, very comfortable. No need for cooling in my area. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/detailing-showroom/4374-garage-pics-383.html#post142663806 Best, DJ
Do any of you feel that a Dehumidifier is needed? I use one with it set from 50% to 55%. I would think that is more important than controlling the temp. Thoughts?
What's the size of the garage? Do you have forced air or radiators in the rest of the house? A very cheap solution is a propane heater with a portable take as a fuel source. A step up is a natural gas heater run off a gas line. Northern Tool + Equipment has a great selection of all kinds of heaters. Matt
QUOTE] A cast iron stove, even a small one would be grand. They can put off some serious amounts of heat, and after startup, not much wood needed. Just my 2c.[/QUOTE] Open Flame (even contained in a fire box) along with auto storage is generally frowned upon by insurance companies and as they usually require a building permit to install it might not be doable.
Get one of these: CarCapsule - The Original Car Bubble It won't help with heating the room above the garage, but the car will be ok.
I live in the same climate, and I swear by my Modine commercial heater. It runs on a hot water coil which is connected to my house boiler; a thermostat keeps the garage at the desired temp. I also have bedrooms above the garage, and the Modine keeps a nice even heat in the bedrooms and takes the stress off the main system on really cold days. It is very dangerous to have an open flame heater or an open coil electric heater in a garage due to the car's gasoline fumes. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thank you all for the feedback. Very helpful. We've heard from neighbors who have a similar setup that insulating the ceiling doesn't do much. I cannot believe that- we'll do it either way. Will check out the Modine too. Thanks again!
What about solar panels to run an electric system providing heat in winter and & AC in summer - a dual ststem which is prevelant in Florida. My wifes cousin used solar panels on the roof to heat their large in-ground pool and it was fantastic and this was 25 years ago when solar was far less efficient.
Have an attached garage well insulated. Have hot water heat. The new small furnace and tank were moved to the garage and the temp never drops below50 deg F. Residual heat keeps it warm enough. Used to check humidity but no longer since it always seemed to be right around 50% Bruce
No I am wondering which is more important, for a car in a garage. Keeping moisture out of a garage, or keeping a garage warm. I would think as long as the temps are not below say 32 degrees that moisture will do more damage. The OP asked about a heater for 2 reasons one of which was to care for his car(s)
My vote is moisture is more important. Moisture will generate corrosion on switch contacts, rotors, etc... If the garage warms, cools, warms and cools, you can get condensation on your colder car parts.
There are 2 downsides to Solar, I can deal with Clouds...Cant deal with 50 ft Oak and Beech trees BTW...speaking of Solar ....I am waiting approval from US Patent office that will Change solar collection devices forever.. I came up with a dynamic solar energy collection device 2 years ago, built it and now the wait....
^^^ This. You definitely have an issue in the room above the garage. Heating the garage is not the solution, some combination of insulation and ducting of your existing heating system in the house likely is. Heat the garage to make the garage more comfortable. Best, Rob Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2
I heated the floor of my garage with piping lay over the steel before the floor pour - works great keeps floor a 70 degress in the dead of winter in the mountains run off a 60 gal water heater with a thermal pump - totally closed system
