New Home/Garage Heating System....

[rich6490]

I live up in Maine, so our winters can be pretty rough...

I'm building a new home in a few months time, It's going to be a 50x28 ranch on a sloped lot with a drive under garage from the right side. The garage will be around 26x26 or so. I've been thinking about doing radiant heat in the floor of the garage, just to keep it at bearable temperatures in the coldest months of winter to work on the sled (45-50). The house will have standard baseboard heat. The garage itself, being part of the house footprint will probably stay at a decent temperature anyway (hopefully).

My dilemma is, I know people that have a standard oil boiler, with an extra zone included for the garage. This setup is extremely easy, and adding on the radiant PEX lines to the system is very cheap. The hot water would be off a standard heat exchange water tank using a boiler zone to pump the hot water through it.

I don't really feel like messing with wood, but are there any alternatives (no on road natural gas, this is somewhat rural) to an oil burner, that would be somewhat efficient, but not cost me too much of an arm and a leg up front? I know I'm going to hate heating the house and garage with an oil boiler, but it may be my best option. Will the radiant heat in the garage burn a hole in my pocket?

Any help from the HVAC experts is much appreciated.

Zach

 

[dave67fd]

Consider all your options. Compare your oil/electric/propane rates. Here in NH none of them really outweigh each other which is probably similar for you. I can't comment much on the infloor setup as i don't have any real experience with it but if you plan on being on the floor alot i would consider it. A propane, Forced Hot Air hanging furnace for the garage is a popular choice is as some of the 5KW electric heaters.

Being a 26x26 and if well insulated (assuming it is being under the house) than it shouldn't be too difficult to keep warm.

For that size room and keeping it simple i would go vented FHA or electric and be done with it.

 

[jvitez]

When you say your house will have standard baseboard heat, do you mean hydronic baseboards? You're in the Northeast where hydronic heat seems to be the most popular in the country. Baseboard heat here in the Canuck prairies means electric baseboard. I've seen only one house that had hydronic baseboard heat here.

If you're already planning for hydronic heat, it would really be a no-brainer to add an in-floor zone to the garage. In-floor heat is the way to go! You could do a separate forced air unit, but I'm sure you'd be kicking yourself if at -20F you're lying on the concrete doing some emergency repair to your vehicle.

Now choice of fuel is a separate issue. You'll need to compare the per therm costs of everything that's available, then cost of the heating unit itself, ease of access to that fuel, which contractors are locally available, etc.

 

[Sureshot]

Your attached will stay warm without heat but you would be nuts not to add the extra circuit.

 

[rich6490]

You guys have reinforced my thoughts exactly, I appreciate the input. And yea I meant hydronic baseboard heat.

Zach

 

[tdkkart]

Radiant floor in the the whole basement........

 

[rburke65]

I would insulate the heck outofthebasement and garage floors and do the radiant heat in both. You only get one chance to build it right the first time Good Luck on the new home.

 

[BadgerBoilerMN]

"Will the radiant heat in the garage burn a hole in my pocket?"

Radiant heat, two car garage, 50°F, about 10 dollars a month here is sunny Minnesota. Maybe less in a tuck-under garage. Good insulated garage doors and rigid insulation specified for walls and floors to match the local climate and energy code.