Best and most cost effective way to heat?

[The Money Pit]

My garage is 36X26' with a 33X12' room with plumbing and I need to keep the pipes from freezing and or bursting during the winter. I'm sure it's been rehashed before but I have to ask. What's the best and most cost effective way to heat and cool this sucker? Due to local building codes I can't put an indoor handler in the vacant area upstairs behiend the walls because it won't pass code. They don't want any exhaust fumes from vehicles seeping into the system. I am going to insulate the entire garage and finish the upstairs room. I don't want to have horrendous electric bills for running equipment but I have to have something.

 

[CraigFL]

Recently I did a cost comparison between Natural gas and electricity here in NW Florida. I found that there is only a 10% difference in the cost of natual gas -- lower. This means the cost of 90% efficient gas furnace and an electric furnace are equal to operate. There used to be a lot bigger difference which made nat gas less expensive to run. Now, if you include a heat pump in the choices, you will find it will save you the most money. Of course, the initial cost is higher and the maintenance costs tend to be higher. The bonus is you get to enjoy cool. dehumidified air in the summer -- if you want to pay the cost!

 

[JohnZ]

My garage is 2500 sq. ft., fully insulated (R-28 walls, R-58 ceiling, insulated overhead doors and 5/8" foam under the floor slab), and I have a 125,000-BTU Reznor power-vented gas forced-air ceiling-hung unit heater with electronic ignition (no pilot flame). As it turns out, I could have gone with a much smaller unit due to the effectiveness of the insulation package - I only run it for 40 minutes first thing in the morning to bring it up to 75*, then only cycle it once every three hours or so for about 15 minutes per cycle through the rest of the day when it's below freezing outside. It doesn't run at all from 9:00 PM to 9:00 AM, and the garage has never been below 55 degrees in the morning, even during periods of extended single-digit temperatures.

 

[krooser]

I like my gas-fired Radiant Heater...kinda like woking under the sun...toasty!

But in your neck of the woods you may want to consider a heat-pump.