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220V Heater with Smart Thermostat?

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allthingsgiant

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Feb 11, 2023
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Hi - I have 1550 feet of insulated / drywalled garage/workshop space here in the Pacific NW. I had a fire suppression pipe burst this past winter from our singular freeze event, and I need to prevent this from happening again. From a BTU perspective, I don’t want/need to heat the space up to 70 degrees in the winter - I really want to just keep it above 40-45 degrees, and the occasional 50-60 degrees when I’m working outside.

I have both a 220V and a propane line plumbed to this space. I’d prefer an electric option as it will be easier for me to install, and the heat is drier. A propane option will require venting that is not currently in place.

Can you recommend an electric option and a propane option for a heater that can be controlled via a smart thermostat? I want to be able to remotely monitor/control the temperature. I can’t seem to find any of the popular options that connect easily to a smart thermostat.

Thanks!
 
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rlitman

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Do you have access to any plumbing? Heat trace tape tied directly to the pipes is going to be far more effective than heating the space. Also, heating to just 40-45 F may not be sufficient, since pipes in exterior walls for example will be much colder than the space temperature. There's a reason that pipes freeze, even in heated houses, so sealing air leaks near pipes, and insulating pipes from the outside, while also NOT insulating them from the heated space is paramount to your plan.

What sort of fire suppression system do you have? Is this residential or commercial? A dry-pipe system may cost you a lot less in the long run than heating.
 
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allthingsgiant

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Feb 11, 2023
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Darn... I wish I wrote this thread right after it happened. It's a wet, residential system - it covers a 4-car garage + 700 sqft apartment above the garage. It is tied into the toilet so not to allow stagnant water. And, I did have access to the plumbing when I had to gut-rehab the whole building 4 months ago. My contractor didn't recommend heat tape at that time, and he didn't recommend insulating the peach-colored pvc. I wasn't aware of a dry system. I'm not sure what the codes are here in WA state / King County; perhaps he was going with that. I think it's all a scam as I have a fire hydrant 30' from my property, but 400' from my dwelling.

The fire suppression lines are all internal to the building, but about a 10' run is in the ceiling of the 'unconditioned' garage space.

That said, I guess I'll want to upgrade my initial request to have a heater that holds the temp around 500 degrees without breaking the bank. I only have a 500 gallon propane tank, but from what I have read it's less expensive than electric.
 
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rlitman

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Peach sounds like CPVC. Nothing in particular wrong with that, as it's commonly used for residential sprinkler systems, though it's very freeze sensitive, which is why people usually run PEX (without fittings) through spaces that may freeze. Well, if it bursts again, I'd suggest you switch that to PEX.

Toilet huh... are you on city water or well? A trickle of running water can do a lot to stop a pipe from freezing, and you could easily set that up with a toilet. It's pretty wasteful of water, but depending on your location, it may make more or less sense whether to spin your electric or water meter. Anyway, if the sprinkler pipe supplies the toilet, then a dry pipe isn't going to work for you.
 
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allthingsgiant

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Feb 11, 2023
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Agreed. We thought about removing the toilet from the circuit, and I could drain it for the 1-2 weeks when it freezes here in Seattle. But alas, we didn't. I can still do this --- just that the toilet will be non-functional (not a big deal, this unit isn't 100% in use).

And I was told the CPVC is code up here, and PEX wasn't an option. I have PEX-A on the rest of my build.
 
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dogdog

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allthingsgiant said:
Hi - I have 1550 feet of insulated / drywalled garage/workshop space here in the Pacific NW. I had a fire suppression pipe burst this past winter from our singular freeze event, and I need to prevent this from happening again. From a BTU perspective, I don’t want/need to heat the space up to 70 degrees in the winter - I really want to just keep it above 40-45 degrees, and the occasional 50-60 degrees when I’m working outside.

I have both a 220V and a propane line plumbed to this space. I’d prefer an electric option as it will be easier for me to install, and the heat is drier. A propane option will require venting that is not currently in place.

Can you recommend an electric option and a propane option for a heater that can be controlled via a smart thermostat? I want to be able to remotely monitor/control the temperature. I can’t seem to find any of the popular options that connect easily to a smart thermostat.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

There are always those self regulated heating tapes for pipes or what nots they have on sale. They have other brands and longer length of cause .. just as an example. Even thousand feet on spools if you wanted to diy yourself.

 
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allthingsgiant

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The pipes are all covered up with insulation, drywall and paint. I'm not opening up two ceilings; I'm past the point of heat tape.
 
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