Heating/ cooling new garage?

[Holland.david1970]

Hey everyone!
We are currently in the process of Moving from Maine to the Athens GA area. Got a nice spot behind the house to put up a shop for the company. (Dump truck/ excavation company) and looking for some advice on what’s the best way to heat and cool the new shop. ( this shop project is about a year or so out, but want to research and be ready when the time comes!
the shop is going to be somewhere around 40x40x18 to maybe 60-60x18 ( have to decide what size we want to go, bigger never hurts!)

Heating: I’m not too sure how cold it normally gets in the winter. Obviously not as cold as Maine! But was thinking about a waste oil heater? Or does it not get cold enough to even need heat?
Cooling: thinking forced air central air with a run down the middle of the shop and then branches off that probably? Anyone done anything similar with pics?

 

[NUTTSGT]

A waste oil heater id going to require plenty of oil to run. I doubt a regular DIY'er could accumulate enough oil to use one like it needs to run.


EDIT: Just realized you have an excavation business. You maybe be able stock up enough oil for winter heat. Especially if you make some other local contacts and get their used oil.


Best advice, insulate, insulate and insulate. It'll make whatever source of heat/cooling work easier.

 

[PoorUB]

Keep in mind burning waste oil isn't free. It takes some man hours to keep the heater running. They need cleaning fairly often. If you go with waste oil I would have a second source of heat. You may want to go with a residential furnace with air conditioning for those hot sticky days.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I think you'd be a good candidate for heat pumps. They can provide both cooling and heating. Adam Booth on YouTube just installed some in his shop in the Florida Panhandle, the video may be useful.

Part 1:

Part 2:

 

[MushCreek]

Insulation and heat pumps, unless you have a source of waste oil you want to use up. I'm not far from Athens; we're a bit colder in the winter. My uninsulated, unheated shop got down to 38 this past winter, but it was a fairly mild winter. During a serious cold snap it gets below freezing.

 

[racecougar]

That is prime climate for a heat pump.

 

[firebirdparts]

In georgia, it's the ideal climate for a heat pump. End of story. You probably won't need heat at all, depending on what you're doing out there. I am farther north and I pretty much never turn the heat on. i would certainly encourage you at this point to have no electric heat strips/furnace/stage 2 whatsoever. If the installer insists on installing it, cut the wires. Just a waste of money in that climate in a shop. You'll want plenty of air conditioning unless you're really, really tough.

 

[Holland.david1970]

I think you'd be a good candidate for heat pumps. They can provide both cooling and heating. Adam Booth on YouTube just installed some in his shop in the Florida Panhandle, the video may be useful.

Part 1:

Part 2:

I’m not a big fan of mini splits, I think they are okay for residential applications but don’t make sense for a shop, especially in his case. I think a ducted system would be much better option

 

[Steve in UT]

This is how I did it. Heats/cools 3 rooms. About 2,700sqft total. Don't have a/c hooked up yet, still need to buy the condenser and run the lines. I have the opposite condition of you, summers are mild with low humidity and winters can be evil.

 

[glentre]

Even if you choose not to heat or cool, you should at least invest in enough dehumidifier capacity to control the humidity in the building. Especially at this time of year when the building and floor slab are still cold from the winter and you hit a warmer humid day, opening the big doors will result in a flash condensation over every surface in the garage, including the floor, vehicles and all of your tools. Same thing happens but to a lesser extent in the fall. Don't ask me how I know!

Glen

 

[dcg9381]

Ductless - I did 48K BTU for about $4500 (two units).
Heat pumps - you can get heat pumps designed for cold climates. I'm in Texas, and below 30 degrees, a standard "heat pump" gives up 50% capacity or more. So for the FEW days that we get blow 30 degrees, our ductless systems cannot heat the building well enough. We added propane heating (ventless systems) - work great in cold temps and are more efficient than ductless below 30 degrees.

Heating/cooling is a function of insulation also.. So there is that.

 

[Renegade1LI]

For your location a central air, ducted heat pump system might work out well, I use one for my house & love it, very efficient. Depending on your winters you can can add a back heating coil, which comes standard on most of the air handlers. here in NY i run the system 10 months of the year, when it goes below 32 deg it switches to an oil boiler for back up heat or I can switch it to the electric coil. If your area doesn't go below 32 you won't need a back up heat source, but for a few times a year the electric coil would work.

Goodman GSZC180361 3 Ton, 16 to 18 SEER, 2-Stage Heat Pump, Comfortbridge Communications System Compatible, R-410A Refrigerant

www.alpinehomeair.com