Tapping into Home Heat for garage?

[BerBer5985]

In the house we're in, there is a 20x20 garage that I'd like to heat and the furnace is right on the other side of the wall in the laundry room where duct runs right to the wall where the garage is and then turns to go the rest of the house, Is it possible to tap into into that duct work and just put a vent on the garage wall to run that heat into the garage? Just put a vent cover that I can close when I'm not working in there so it's not heating the extra 20x20 area all the time. I would think this would be the most cost efficient way to heat the garage without buying a new electric/gas heater for the garage and having to pay someone to run gas electricity to it. Thoughts? I can take pics if that helps.

 

[Northern Badger]

I'm not sure on the regs for your area but I think there is usually a concern with carbon monoxide entering the house with a duct running to the garage....again I'm not positive but I doubt it would meet code. That's not to say people haven't done it before though.

 

[BerBer5985]

It's a electric furnace with a heat pump so I doubt carbon monoxide is a problem. I'm literally just tapping into the heat that heats the rest of the house with one duct to the garage for heating.

 

[eddyyy302]

What he is saying is that carbon monoxide from an engine running in the garage can enter the heating ducts and leach into the rest of the house. My understanding is that a closed system is the only consideration for a garage.

Dan

 

[Northern Badger]

Yep that's correct, the concern is fumes (carbon monoxide being the most alarming) entering the house through the duct going into the garage, I understand you were talking about putting a vent cover on it but I still think it's probably risky at best.

 

[sberry]

I would think the concern would be if you needed cold air return for this, I doubt it would hurt much to just tap the heat duct.

 

[BerBer5985]

It was just a thought. There is natural gas in the house for the water heater, so I may just get a natural gas heater hooked up in the garage. That seems like it would be the least expensive to run as opposed to electric.

 

[mpraddict]

Besides the CO issues, you may also have a fire rated wall between the garage and house. Adding a duct through the wall without a fire damper will compromise the integrity of the fire rating.

 

[Phuckin' Jim]

.......And remember, you're still paying for the heat coming into the garage. The furnace will have to run slightly longer to keep the house warm if some of the heat is going into the garage.

 

[JBAUTO]

In my dads garage its a 20x20 and i drilled 2 4" holes in the wall and ran 2 pipes off the heating ducts with 2 fans that run 247 just 2 small fans. and on the other side of the pipe where it goes into the garage i put a dryer exterior wall finned flapper device. On a -50 deg day it is over 10 deg f in there with no other heater. so i run a small 1500 watt oil heater and a over head fan in there and its pretty warm in there.

 

[6768rogues]

Most building codes do not allow sharing of air between a dwelling and a garage for obvious reasons, CO and fumes. Remember that codes are reactive, not proactive. After a bunch of people die, a code is written to address the problem. Fire separations are another reason to keep the wall intact. Providing supply and no return puts the garage under positive pressure and the house under negative pressure. That will cause heat to leak out of the garage and cause drafts in the house. Sometimes the house can backdraft a water heater flue if the furnace is putting the house under negative pressure. All things considered, I would keep my garage sealed off from the house.

 

[35mastr]

In the house we're in, there is a 20x20 garage that I'd like to heat and the furnace is right on the other side of the wall in the laundry room where duct runs right to the wall where the garage is and then turns to go the rest of the house, Is it possible to tap into into that duct work and just put a vent on the garage wall to run that heat into the garage? Just put a vent cover that I can close when I'm not working in there so it's not heating the extra 20x20 area all the time. I would think this would be the most cost efficient way to heat the garage without buying a new electric/gas heater for the garage and having to pay someone to run gas electricity to it. Thoughts? I can take pics if that helps.

Yes you can,I have done this in my old house and will be doing it in this one. Had heat in the winter and A/C in the summer.

Just as long as you are not running the cars or power equipment in the garage you should be just fine.

Dont let the code police scare you off.

 

[BetterDays]

.......And remember, you're still paying for the heat coming into the garage. The furnace will have to run slightly longer to keep the house warm if some of the heat is going into the garage.

And remember that it is controlled by the T-stat.
Warm house may not equal warm garage.