Heat Pump?

[lynchmob723]

I dont want to run gas to my garage. I dont know much about a heat pump besdies that it acts as heater and a/c unit. Correct?

Would it also be more efficiant than a resistance only heater? I just want something to heat or cool the garage on occasion. I wouldnt need to constantly heat the garage. Maybe just 1 day a weekend.

650sq.ft garage, 2x6 with r-19. I will prob do R-25 for the ceiling.

Can you guys recommend a heat pump to purchase?

Or recommend the best way to heat it for occasional use

 

[lynchmob723]

I also noticed the dayton G73. AC is really not that inportant here in MN. nothing a ceiling fan cant handle. I may just go with a electric heater instead of a combo unit

 

[HoosierBuddy]

A heat pump uses about 1/3 the power to heat as a standard resistance heater.

That being said, they are not ideal for occaisional heat. Heat pumps put out very cool air relative to, say a gas furnace, and are not sized or suited to bringing a building from a cold state up to a warm state. They are best suited to holding a building at a set temperature.

When you ask a heat pump to do more than it can do, it reverts to electric resitance heating strips for the extra heat, which we refer to as "meter spinners".

Think about what you want to do. If you want to set the garage at 55-degrees and leave it there, a heat pump would be a very economical way to accomplish that.

The most economical way of heating the garage would be to NOT heat it unless you were out there working, and use a fuel powered appliance to heat it up at that point. You can size it to have the extra "umph" you need to quickly bring the building up to a comfortable temperature. If natural gas is available it would be a good way to go.

I would avoid resistance electrical heating at all costs. It is 3 to 4 times more expensive to use than your natural gas.

Phil

 

[redsky49]

The efficiency of heat pumps begin to fall rapidly once the outdoor air temperature drops below 40 degrees. As a result, many users in northern climates such as Minnesota utilize "earth-coupled" heat pumps which utilize the relatively constant, and warmer, below ground temperatures.

The installation costs for these units are higher than a typical air source heat pump, but they recover the initial costs very quickly.

August in Minnesota can be pretty warm. The added benefit of air conditioning, when needed, comes at virtually no additional equipment cost, as opposed to heating only.

The discharge air temperature of heat pumps is lower than a fuel burning appliance, say 80-85 degrees as opposed to 110. This sometimes results in user complaints in residential use. For a garage I would think it would be a non-issue. Heat pumps are slower to recover from low setback temperatures, but that depends a good bit on user requirements. Having an unoccupied temperature setting of 45 degrees in a well insulated garage, a 60 degrees occupied temperature should be achievable in a short time. As the delta between occupied and unoccupied temperature settings increase, the recovery time will lengthen.

Heat pumps are on average, 2.5 to 3.5 times more efficient than plain resistance heat.

As always, offered only as opinion