Garage Ideas

[chrsbabr]

Tossing around the best options for heating and cooling my detached garage. It is two story; 750 sq feet garage bay with 450 sq feet on the 2nd floor. Currently only the 2nd floor is insulated / finished, with a window A/C unit and electric baseboard heat. I will be insulating the garage area walls soon. Floor /structure separating garage from upstairs is engineered wood I joists which allows for easy storage of light materials between the joist bays. Since this area is not desired to be insulated, it somewhat complicates things I suppose. Maybe I am over thinking.

I am thinking an 18k unit for garage and 12k unit upstairs. Do I go with a multizone system or two separate systems? Neither area is used daily and but I am tired of working in the cold or heat in the garage or dealing with existing systems upstairs and this area will eventually get more regular use.

10' walls in garage with eight foot vaulted ceiling in 2nd floor with knee walls on sides. Quite a bit of roof area facing E and W to gain heat in summer. My calcs show 18k and 12k to be the way to go but again, I may be missing something.

 

[jmarkwolf]

You have exactly the same square footage and ceiling height as my two story detached shop. I have a 45K BTU heater and a mini-split for cooling in my downstairs, with R19 everywhere. Which is just about right for the winters in southeast Michigan. 18K BTU would be inadequate here but your winters may be mild.

My upstairs is not yet insulated nor heated.

 

[vavet]

Well hello neighbor!
I don't have a second floor to my garage but I insulated and drywalled my 768 sq ft garage over the last year. Me and a friend recently installed a 18k Mr Cool mini split. It has been perfectly adequate for the space. I don't try to keep it 70 degrees. I leave it set at the minimum of 62 degrees. I wish there was a lower setting because I don't mind it being a bit cooler out there when I'm working...or I could leave it set to 50 and then bump it up when I know I'll be out there.