Garage - Heating, Cooling, Humidity, and Dust (Northeast Climates)

[dtbingle]

I see lots of info pertaining to garage heating and cooling, but how do you all handle humidity and dust? Specifically those in Northeast climates where winters are cold (sometimes sub 0F) and summers can get pretty warm and humid.

You can pick any number of heating/cooling methods, run a dehumidifier, have a ceiling fan, and install one of those hanging box air filtration system, but adding all of these up starts to eat into usable space let alone managing runtimes of each.

Thoughts:
A mini-split system seems like it would be a great option for heating, cooling and humidity (based on nature of AC). Fans are a common option to keep the air moving, prevent dust from settling, and mold/rust from starting. Running a hanging box air filtration system with large CFM seems like a better alternative to a fan because it actually filters out dust while moving air.

Concerns:
1) Only looking to keep garage around 40-45F. Enough where paints, glues, and batteries don't freeze and get ruined. Mini-splits appear to struggle with sub-zero temps. Will it be able to handle keeping the garage @ 40-45F for periods throughout winter when temps are very low in the Northeast?

2) In theory, the hanging air filtration system can move a decent amount of air, but how effective would this be in keeping dust down and moisture from sitting and causing mold/rust compared to a fan?

 

[slimcake]

I was told that Mini splits dont like dust. I was all set to go that route then heard I would have to flush the head out couple times a year. That and in MN it gets to cold for the mini split. I put a hanging forced air furnace in and am thinking about a window unit ac. Trouble is it has yet to break 70 degrees in there as the crete is cold yet from last winter. It was not heated last winter during construction. Humid as all hell though. So I run the de-humidifier and it gets pretty comfortable. I like that air filter idea. Thats my next stop is to see what one of them would set me back.

 

[Streetbu]

Mini splits wont cut it in the north east during the winter. They were never meant to work that cold. Get a forced hot air furnace sized properly and a cheap, plain thermostat. I keep my garage at 40° all winter unless im working out there, which takes 30 minutes to warm it up to 65. Luckily mine is in shade from 1pm on so it usually stays pretty cool. I would do a window a/c unit run by 220v if I needed one.

 

[dtbingle]

Got it. Mini-splits are out for heating in the Northeast.

So definitely a hanging vented gas heater for heating. Do you guys think just running a window AC would dehumidify enough? In the winter, it's pretty dry anyway and in the summer with the AC running, it should keep humidity down.

Then for settling dust, a fan should work to keep it airborne or hanging air filter to trap the dust.

 

[Firebrick43]

The better mini splits are running down to -13. Pretty hard to rule them out with all the advantages. How often do you seen temps that low for a consistant time. Other than the international falls area of Minnesota, most places seen that temp but one or two days a year on average. An electric resistance heater could assist on those few days with a low capital cost.

One could also place chemicals, paints, and other sensitive items in an insulated cabinet or old refrigerator. A single incandescent bulb would keep things from freezing.

Second with a mini split you can get good dehumidification even while not needing cooling. Again, most advanced have a "dry" mode. A dehumidifier is an ac unit but gives you no cooling as it pumps its heat back into the same place it cools. And it adds latent heat to the air due to the compressor motor running it. With a mini the compressor heat is outside and if cooling is needed it's there. A window unit can't provide the dehumidification on moist spring days when cooling is not called for.

A stand alone filter is great for health reasons. Placement and size is the factor in how effective it would be in capturing most of the dust and keeping condensation at bay

And on the dust/cleaning a mini split bit. We have a dozen Mitsubishi minis running in the factory where I work. They cool the CMM rooms, cool down room, break rooms and supervisor offices. Not only do we have dust but airborn water soluble cuttings oils that coat everything over time. The CMM rooms actually had traditional split systems and everything else had window shakers. The shakers were lucky to make it two years or so. The traditional split systems had condensor plugging issues and were space hogs. The mini splits are easier to clean and have been longer lasting than the systems they replace. Just wish Mitsubishi would make a line of electrical cabinet air conditioners. They **** to maintain.

 

[dtbingle]

The better mini splits are running down to -13. Pretty hard to rule them out with all the advantages. How often do you seen temps that low for a consistant time. Other than the international falls area of Minnesota, most places seen that temp but one or two days a year on average. An electric resistance heater could assist on those few days with a low capital cost.

One could also place chemicals, paints, and other sensitive items in an insulated cabinet or old refrigerator. A single incandescent bulb would keep things from freezing.

Second with a mini split you can get good dehumidification even while not needing cooling. Again, most advanced have a "dry" mode. A dehumidifier is an ac unit but gives you no cooling as it pumps its heat back into the same place it cools. And it adds latent heat to the air due to the compressor motor running it. With a mini the compressor heat is outside and if cooling is needed it's there. A window unit can't provide the dehumidification on moist spring days when cooling is not called for.

A stand alone filter is great for health reasons. Placement and size is the factor in how effective it would be in capturing most of the dust and keeping condensation at bay

And on the dust/cleaning a mini split bit. We have a dozen Mitsubishi minis running in the factory where I work. They cool the CMM rooms, cool down room, break rooms and supervisor offices. Not only do we have dust but airborn water soluble cuttings oils that coat everything over time. The CMM rooms actually had traditional split systems and everything else had window shakers. The shakers were lucky to make it two years or so. The traditional split systems had condensor plugging issues and were space hogs. The mini splits are easier to clean and have been longer lasting than the systems they replace. Just wish Mitsubishi would make a line of electrical cabinet air conditioners. They **** to maintain.

Ah really? That's pretty good then. Like you said, temps might hit that for the occasional day or two, but typically up around maybe 20F-30F.

When the lower temperature range of the heat pumps are reached, say it's -10F out, do the heat pumps stop working or just become very inefficient to run? For example, I'm not expecting to have a 65F comfortable working area during the cold days with a mini split, but only keep it above freezing - maybe 40F. Would a mini-split be able to handle keeping it around 40F when it's -10F out?

EDIT: Looks like the models that work down to -14F will shut off if the coils reach that temperature. If I have to have a backup heat up for these few days, might as well just go vented gas heater and separate window ac.

 

[6768rogues]

I have a Reznor natural gas hanging heater and two window air conditioners. Once it a while I open both overhead doors and take the leaf blower to the place, especially when it gets full of the white stuff from poplar trees. Cold western NY.