Electric Garage Heaters - Educate me

[Cypress]

Looking for opinions / advice on what electric heater to install in my 24' x 24' x 11'(ceiling) garage. I live in the mountains and it gets cold through the winter. I spend most of my time in the garage during the evenings / weekends. I'll be installing a 240v outlet up high in a corner for power.

Fan forced vs. Infrared vs. ceramic?
Thermostat required?
Watts needed?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks,

 

[u2slow]

A forced-air or convection heater works better down low. Otherwise you need some kind of fan to push the warm air back down to you. Insulation and air sealing is key for any setup that primarily heats air. Matching your heater wattage to your welder will let you use the same circuits.

Radiant 'shoots' the heat in the direction you face it - these do better up high.

Do consider what you pay for electricity, and how happily a 'set-it-and-forget-it' thermostat will spend your money.

I prefer fuel for heat whenever possible.. especially for heat only when you're in the shop.

 

[James-W]

Living in the mountains you likely don't have access to natural gas. So if you don't use electric for heat, you will need oil or propane. I have no idea what oil or propane would cost in your area, but if I were you I would check into the cost for all three, then do a comparison and figure out which would be the most economical to use.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Looking for opinions / advice on what electric heater to install in my 24' x 24' x 11'(ceiling) garage. I live in the mountains and it gets cold through the winter. I spend most of my time in the garage during the evenings / weekends. I'll be installing a 240v outlet up high in a corner for power.

Fan forced vs. Infrared vs. ceramic?
Thermostat required?
Watts needed?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks,

I generally recommend a unit heater, similar to this: https://www.marleymep.com/products/qmark/industrial-unit-heater-iuh-series This is just one brand, there are many others. They can be configured with an integral thermostat or with a wall mount thermostat. You have to do a heat loss calculation to determine what size is required; there are many online heat loss calculators out there, I'd run the numbers through several of them to make sure you get a consensus. Of course, the better insulated and sealed the garage is, the smaller heater is required.

 

[Cypress]

Thanks for the input so far guys. I appreciate it.

One reason I am wanting the electric is because I have a PV panel system on my roof which offsets almost 100% of my homes electrical load.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Radiant and Infrared units heat the objects in the room, not the air. Makes things nice to work on. Forced units only heat the air, so if your only going to run the heat when you go out there, whatever you're working on will still be cold. Engine parts or other metals will sweat.

Tommy

 

[ilikedirt]

I used this one in my insulated shop that was 700sqft 12' walls. Worked great and heated quickly. I wouldn't run it all winter long though.

I will be using it in my new shop as an aide to a mini split when it is very cold.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/t...OK9AOT-mwrPX2BSVOjRoCz6AQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[trashmanssd]

My detached garage has a full split heat pump system. But my attached garage has a 240 electric heater (link below) with digital thermostat and remote. I love both they work great and don't cost to much when left at a low setting all the time 50-55 and turned up to 70 when I am out there working.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200680244_200680244

 

[joey1320]

I use a Dr. Heater 988 electric heater in my attached 2 car garage. In the middle of winter, I turn it on about 1/2 hour before I go out to the garage and it usually raises the temperature 25-35 degrees. Enough to make it comfortable.

https://www.drheaterusa.com/dr-infrared-heater-dr988.html

 

[nadogail]

My 5 KW heater is tapped off my 50 Amp Welder Circuit, using the 10 foot rule with a 30 Amp fused disconnect to protect the 10 gauge conductors feeding the heater.

Because of my location it gets very little use and the Solar Panels on the roof keep the operating cost very affordable.

 

[Showkey]

It’s is not free power when the panels cost $50k and last 25 years.

My power is $100 month times 300 months is $30k. With no financial or up front costs.

 

[iced98lx]

I had an ECO 2S line of heater from KING (they sell various wattages: https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...ge-heater/kb2407-1-b2-eco/p-1461692447268.htm) in my 24x30 and really liked it. Modulated between full power and 1/2 to try to keep cycle time high and comfort high as well.

I never noticed the additional power usage vs the hot tub and salt water fish tank.

I hung it from the ceiling on a single piece of threaded rod, worked great in my low ceiling space.

 

[Cypress]

It’s is not free power when the panels cost $50k and last 25 years.

My power is $100 month times 300 months is $30k. With no financial or up front costs.

I bought the house with them already installed and they are paid off by previous home owner. The cost of the panels was not put into the selling price. I should also specify that I do not intend to run the heater than much... Just when I am out in the garage working in colder months. Shouldn't be too much of a cost hit on the meter with relatively low usage.

Thanks for all recommendation guys. It's very beneficial getting first hand knowledge like yours on this stuff. Every website I look at online says their product is the best but when you start reading reviews, it becomes quite challenging to make decisions. Appreciate it.

Paul

 

[Cypress]

My detached garage has a full split heat pump system. But my attached garage has a 240 electric heater (link below) with digital thermostat and remote. I love both they work great and don't cost to much when left at a low setting all the time 50-55 and turned up to 70 when I am out there working.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200680244_200680244

I had an ECO 2S line of heater from KING (they sell various wattages: https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...ge-heater/kb2407-1-b2-eco/p-1461692447268.htm) in my 24x30 and really liked it. Modulated between full power and 1/2 to try to keep cycle time high and comfort high as well.

I never noticed the additional power usage vs the hot tub and salt water fish tank.

I hung it from the ceiling on a single piece of threaded rod, worked great in my low ceiling space.

Sounds like the KING brand is worth checking out. Appreciate it fellas.

 

[Steve in UT]

I have one of these. Very nice, cheap, free shipping, well built, quiet and good reviews.

https://www.landmsupply.com/comfort...ic-utility-heater-with-remote-control-cz230er

 

[jvitez]

How is your garage insulated and to what R value?

My previous house had an attached 22' x 24' garage, R12 walls, R40 ceiling, insulated double garage door. I heated it with a hanging 4800 watt electric heater. In our prairie winters it would take a couple of hours to heat up when -25°C outside, and the heat did stratify, but it was able to keep up without a problem.

 

[Spacey_G]

Does anyone know the difference between the $400-500 King 7500W heater and the ~$150 ones from Comfort Zone, ProFusion, etc.?

 

[Cypress]

How is your garage insulated and to what R value?

My previous house had an attached 22' x 24' garage, R12 walls, R40 ceiling, insulated double garage door. I heated it with a hanging 4800 watt electric heater. In our prairie winters it would take a couple of hours to heat up when -25°C outside, and the heat did stratify, but it was able to keep up without a problem.

I'm guessing code minimum for my climate zone. R-21 in exterior walls and R-49 roof. Non insulated garage door.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I'm guessing code minimum for my climate zone. R-21 in exterior walls and R-49 roof. Non insulated garage door.

You really need to check this out so you'll know for sure. It seems strange to me that "code minimum" for an unheated garage would be the same as for the rest of the house....and that anyone would insulate to R-21 and then install a non-insulated door.

Step 1 (for me) would be figuring out exactly what I have and doing a calculation as is for heat loss. Then do a theoretical on how much less the heat loss would be if I corrected deficiencies. Then you can make an informed decision on equipment sizing an whatever additional work will be required to make your solution work.

Phil

 

[Cypress]

You really need to check this out so you'll know for sure. It seems strange to me that "code minimum" for an unheated garage would be the same as for the rest of the house....and that anyone would insulate to R-21 and then install a non-insulated door.

Step 1 (for me) would be figuring out exactly what I have and doing a calculation as is for heat loss. Then do a theoretical on how much less the heat loss would be if I corrected deficiencies. Then you can make an informed decision on equipment sizing an whatever additional work will be required to make your solution work.

Phil

I'll try to confirm. 2 of the walls in the garage have interior space behind them, so I would assume those have R-21. The other two walls maybe not insulated as you say... one is the garage door wall and the other is on the exterior of the home. I'll have to poke my head in there and see what's going on. Its a new house for me, so I don't have my head wrapped around what's what quite yet.

Thanks for the info Phil.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Sure thing. If you do find no insulation, you may want to rectify that as part of your project, both in the exterior walls and in the attic space.

A part time electric heating solution is going to mean resistance heat....which is going to be marginal and expensive to operate. I understand you are getting a lot of your power for free, but presumable, if you aren't running a surplus, you will have to pay up for KWH for these new heaters...and resistance electrical heating is going to use a lot of power.

You'll want to minimize it as much as possible.

Phil

 

[Cypress]

Sure thing. If you do find no insulation, you may want to rectify that as part of your project, both in the exterior walls and in the attic space.

A part time electric heating solution is going to mean resistance heat....which is going to be marginal and expensive to operate. I understand you are getting a lot of your power for free, but presumable, if you aren't running a surplus, you will have to pay up for KWH for these new heaters...and resistance electrical heating is going to use a lot of power.

You'll want to minimize it as much as possible.

Phil

Agreed on all accounts. Thanks again Phil.

 

[pr3dict]

Does anyone know the difference between the $400-500 King 7500W heater and the ~$150 ones from Comfort Zone, ProFusion, etc.?

I'd like to know this as well.