Easiest way to heat the garage?

Question

My husband works out of our garage and it is very very cold now. What is the best easiest way to heat it?

Answer 1

It will be hard to heat a garage because most are not insulated. Having said that, a little portable electric heater probably won't do much and to run several would be pretty expensive (not to mention the danger from the electrical load). It would take about 30,000 btu's to reliably heat a garage (unless your in a very cold climate, then up it to about 50,000 btu's) and you can't use an open flame heater because it is a garage, so your other altenative is a large electric heater that has a plug similar to what an electric dryer has - you need an electrician

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Been there and done that a lot in Northern Wisconsin.
What kind of work is he doing in the garage? If he spends most of his time in a particular area, say by a workbench, I've found the easiest way to be comfortable is to put a thin sheet of foam insulation on the floor and a small radiant type heater overhead. Having some kind of "thermal break" between his feet and the cold concrete makes a big difference, even if it's a sheet of cardboard or a carpet scrap. Rubber "work mats" work well too.
The overhead heating with a radiant type heater helps a lot because we lose a large % of heat from our heads. Radiant type heaters only heat what they are pointed at, and don't try to heat all the air in the space, which is difficult in an uninsulated garage. They are available in electric, or gas models. Some of the larger gas models will really put out a lot of heat.

If his work involves a lot of crawling around under cars, that's tougher to handle, although again the cardboard, carpet or other thermal break between cold concrete and your husband makes a huge difference. Another problem with winter work is how cold the tools can get, where they can sting your hands just picking them up! I've used regular heat-lamps in clamp-on fixtures to direct the heat where my hands are, and so far have kept all my fingers intact.
Another thing I've done is tack a sheet of foil faced foam insulation over my work area, which both holds some heat below it and reflects the radiant heat back down. Helps a lot.

The ideal heating system is "in the floor radiant", which is every cold weather garage users dream system...but expensive to do as a retro-fit. When I poured the floor in one of my garages, I installed piping in the pour and pumped hot anti-freeze from a heat exchanger on a small wood-stove through it, and it was amazing how raising the floor temp to just 50F increased the comfort level. I could work in relative comfort when it was -20 outside.
Oh...don't bother with the "oil filled" heaters. It would have to run forever,would cost a bunch and not do much. They work by heating the air, and trying to do that in an uninsulated garage takes a huge amount of energy. Better to direct the heat exactly where it's needed by radiant heat. All electric heaters are 100% efficient, the biggest difference is how they deliver that heat.

Answer 4

One thing you should consider is the height that the heater needs to be off the floor. I believe there is a set standard of 14" but be sure to check with your fire department for codes in your area. The height is required because flammable gases tend to be heavier than air and by keeping the open flame higher than the gas avoids a major problem.

If it a large garage, a high volume heater will be necessary. There are models which use gasoline, propane or natural gas and also use a high volume fan to move the warmed air into the desired space. These are also portable as they have wheeled bases.

There are also wood burning heaters made for garages, but they are still dirty and anything but automatic, ie you have to build a fire, maintain it, and wait for the stove to heat up before it will start to warm the garage.

I would be looking for something more permanent and mounted up out of the way. Like a wall mounted natural gas or propane heater with high volume fan or a natural gas or propane radiant heat heater.

Check for recommendations from your local gas and propane companies. They should also have information on the comparative cost of operation and maintenance.

The above is also assuming that the garage has been at least dry walled and/or insulated.

Answer 5

If you can insulate the garage and the ceiling of the garage it would help allot. There are vents in the eve and gables that will let any heat you put in there out. You can drywall and insulate the cieling or you can goto Homedepot and get the stryfoam insulation sheets and screw them to the ceiling with screws and trim washers and tape the seams. If you wanted to drywall later you can put it over the foam. Get a heater made for a garage or shop. If there is no gas line avalible then you can use a propane bottle. You can go to www.Northerntool.com and find various heaters.

Answer 6

How To Heat Garage

Answer 7

type of construction, if it is metal and not insulated, for get it, I attempted that, I finished my job wearing a rain coat and boots. Got water in every thing.

If it insulated and no natural gas in available, check out these new electric heaters. They have two the larger one will take care of 1000 sq ft. Price some where in the $500.00 range. I have had experience with several of them, and am happy to report they work well, and are cheap to operate.

Really the best way is with an over head furnace, natural gas, we are talking important money, and unless its a high ceiling its a head ache on the way. But it will do by far the best job. Stop by any car agency and check out their work area.

Answer 8

A space heater can be turned on when it's needed, doesn't cost a lot, and would be more than adequate for heating a space the size of a garage. I'd suggest an electric space heater -- could use the portable kind that looks like a small radiator and heats oil inside. These generally run either 600W, 900W, or 1500W with both switches on.

Answer 9

A vented propane heater will work great in the garage . They generally mount right to the wall , are easily installed and maintained .

Answer 10

a propane or natural gas unvented radiant wall mounted heater, they are very easy to install and a 20,000btu model will heat an area of 600 square ft. and cost only 169.00,they have larger and smaller units available and can be purchased at lowes and home depot. i have a 20,000 btu model in my living room kitchen area and thats about 350 sq. ft it does a great job and i only need to set it on low.