Air conditioning the garage

[rslaback]

My garage gets unbearably hot and stagnant in the summer months which makes working on projects in there nearly impossible. I happened across a craigslist post last week of a 2 year old 18,500 btu 220v ac unit that I ended up buying for $150. It should serve me well as I don't need the garage to be climate controlled 24/7 and I already have 220 in the garage for my welder and air compressor. This will be going in the back wall of my garage sometime soon. I don't want it on the front for obvious reasons, nor do I want it on the gable wall as that faces the road.

However, I'm trying to identify the best place for it. One of the first things I did in my garage when I moved here was to build a 2' deep shelf all the way across the back of the garage wall about 6' off the floor. It is depicted in yellow in the picture. I've considered placing it in each of the three locations shown. I'm leaning toward putting it above the back door as the header is at the plate level already and there isn't a shelf to get in the way. The door isn't used that much so the condensate drip won't be a huge issue. However, I've also considered putting it in the other two spots as well. The blue would end up over top of my air compressor and the red is actually over my toolbox but close to the workbench. If I used the blue or red location I'd likely shorten the corresponding shelf on the inside, forfeiting storage space.

In case anyone is thinking of the space to the right of the door, that is where the radon system standpipe and fan are installed so that isn't a good choice.

So, if it were yours, where would you put it?

 

[JOHN 86GT]

Red or Green . Having it near work bench is a plus .

 

[MikeinNorthWales]

Red. No matter how little you use the door, the drip will get you. And if there is concrete below (looks like there is) ), there will be a stain on it in time.

 

[Kaizen]

plus header over the door probably not enough room

 

[TMcCay]

I don't know how the header across your door is constructed but I would place it in either of the 2 other places. The houses I was involved in building we always used 2x12 for all headers so putting anything above a door or window would be very difficult.

 

[tcianci]

None of the above. When you use the AC unit, the best location would be in the center of the space and as high as possible so that things would cool evenly. Depending on how strongly the unit moves air, you may have one side or the other in the space that wouldn't cool as well. And for sure not over the stoop, drips and concrete stains are a given.

 

[brownbagg]

you will need it center of garage to lessing the heat spots far away

 

[21bubba]

Center of the rear wall. Get a ceiling fan. Done.

 

[astroracer]

Center of the rear wall. Get a ceiling fan. Done.

^^^This^^^

 

[Cyberbear]

Did you check the SEER (seasonal energy efficiency rating)? In our state a 12 SEER rating was minimal (ten tears ago) for saving electricity during the summer months. Otherwise, if it's an old 10 SEER it will cost a bunch to operate.

 

[dbabicky]

center of the rear wall. Get a ceiling fan. Done.

ditto !!

 

[Jazz1]

If your garage is well insulated it should not make any difference where you install air conditioner.

 

[unslow1]

When I did mine I bought 2 smaller window units. Once I measured them I cut the wall in the center on each side and put in windows that once the glass was removed the units fit in. Now the glass is back in and it looks like normal windows. I wanted it to look normal and not have a built in AC unit. A friend of mine went the built in route and when the unit went out he couldn't find the same dimensions again. Plus it looks better if you ever want to sell or let some light in.

 

[David Paul]

Red block..you already have the unit so no need to look for anything else. Red block takes up minimal storage space on shelf and is more toward the center of the room. Ceiling fan to circulate the air and your done..