What temp do you keep your shop at?

[bdog]

I just setup a 5 ton gas furnace in my 50x50x14 steel building with spray foam insulation. I have a wifi thermostat I can adjust from my phone. When I first turned it on the temps in the shop went from 42 to 60 in about three hours with an outside temp of about 30.

Working in the winter I think I would like to have it around 60-65. This time of year it is pretty normal to have lows from 20-30 and highs 40-60.

I doubt it will ever get much below 40 inside the shop with no heat unless we have an extended cold snap. The shop has been there with no heat for ten years and the plumbing for the sink and toilet has never froze.

Some weeks I might spend 8 hours a day five days a week out there and other weeks I might spend ten hours all week.

Since I know I can get to desired temp in roughly three hours should I just leave the heater completely off and turn it on three hours before I plan to go out there or would it be better to set it at 50, 55 or even 60 and just leave it?

I have no idea what my gas bill will run we have never had gas before but I just wonder from an efficiency or cost standpoint what I would be looking at just turning it on and letting it run hard as needed vs keeping it at a set temp all the time.

Summer is a way off but what about then? It gets in the 90s almost every day and often hits 100. Would it be better to turn it off and then on as needed or keep it at 80 or something all the time and lower it as needed?

 

[marinusdees]

I bought a "garage thermostat" that allows me to set 40. I don't want it to freeze in my shop. I turn it up to 55 60 when or before I want to be in there. Depending on what I am going to be doing.
I don't have or need the luxury of air conditioning.
My heat is a 150,00 BTU gas ceiling furnace. My shop is 40' x 40', ceiling 12'. Well insulated. Winter temperature relatively mild.

 

[Sevenhills1952]

I keep mine at 40 also. I just use a standard Honeywell thermostat tilted so it's 20 deg. off. Dial set to 60 keeps it at 40, I turn it to 80 for comfort (which is actually 60).

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[cvairwerks]

Costs much less to maintain a stable minimum temp over the long run. Set it at 50-55 for over night and bump it up a half hour or so before you head out there. For summer, once you get above 60 or so for overnight outside temps, either set the thermostat to it’s lowest setting, or turn the system off completely and kill the gas to it til next fall.

 

[Super Mech]

I set my thermostat to between 60-62 during the winter for daytime use. I usually shut it off at night if the temps are above freezing. When get really cold as in this coming weekend I’ll set it to 48 at night. It’s a pretty big shop with no wall insulation only in the ceiling.
Roughly 80x45 with 14’ ceiling. Brick and block building. One large hanging gas heater.
In the summer it can get over 100 degrees with hot vehicles and engines running.

 

[BigNuge]

I’m running a Nest thermostat in my shop. I shut the heat off through the tstat whenever I’m not working out there, which forces the ship to a “safety temp” of 35. An hour or so before I want to go work out there I jump onto the app, turn it on, and I’m good to go.

Gets damn cold here in the winter, don’t want the shop freezing. I use 1 1/2 - 2 tanks of oil for the year to heat my shop this way.


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[Hal]

Poorly insulated 1950's farm shop. Right now it is at whatever the outside temperature is. If i need to work in there today, I will turn on the waste oil heater and do "keep moving" kind of stuff until it warms up, or better yet, go up and see my sister for a few minutes.

Most days, half an hour makes it very livable, I am wearing winter clothes for outdoors anyway. Thermostat is set at 50, if it still feels "cold around the edges" I will bump it to 55.

Several years ago I got hate mail from my insurance company, "Get rid of the wood furnace or we will drop you". Really turned out for the best in the long run, but I did not make the change willingly. But it sure is nice to just walk in and push the button.

 

[kj_mustang]

Radiant floor heat so it is different but I keep mine at 58. I can work in just a light weight long sleeve shirt and I am comfortable.

 

[tdkkart]

Radiant floor heat so it is different but I keep mine at 58. I can work in just a light weight long sleeve shirt and I am comfortable.

Correct, mine is at 54, and I end up shedding layers if I'm actually working.

 

[bdog]

I guess what I was trying to get at is there has to be some sort of science behind this. By that I mean if you are working in your shop every day it likely uses less energy to just keep it a constant temp instead of letting it get super cold and then trying to heat it all the way back up. But what if you are only using the shop every other day or every three days or four days and so on. I get leaving it set at say 40 so it doesn’t freeze but at what point of use does it make sense to just leave it at say 50 or even 60 ?

 

[kj_mustang]

If your spray foam insulation job was done well and your doors and windows are insulated, then you should be able to hold the inside temperature at a stable one pretty efficiently. Large swings in temperature are inefficient on energy use. I would suggest you pick a temperature that is comfortable for you to work at, keep the thermostat at that temperature for a few months. See if you are happy working in that environment and with your fuel costs. If it costs too much, turn the thermostat back only 5-8 degrees when you are not working and turn up when you are. See if that suits you.

 

[Dragfluid]

I haven't felt like doing anything before work in the morning all week, so I have the 'stat all the way down (35F). It's 12 below outside right now and it's 42 in the shop. I have a baseboard in my office where I work, plus the 2 computers, so it's always nice in there.
If I'm going to be doing something in the shop in the mornings, I'll keep it higher when not in it and then turn it up to 62 while actually working out there. The ceiling fans help too, of course.

 

[nsula_country]

50*-55* is where I leave the heat for "maintenance".

60*-65* when I work in the building.

Heat Pump in the Gulf South. The occasional running helps dehumidify. Had 4" of rain this last weather event with temps from 30's to high 70's. Sometimes in the same day. No floor sweating.

CT

 

[Jagmandave]

It's not just the air that gets cold, it's all the tools and everything else in there.....I would leave it at 50-55 and bump it to 60 when I'm working. Depending on how hard I'm working 60 is plenty.

In a well insulated building it's more efficient to keep it at a somewhat regular temp range.

 

[Chetter]

I do 46-48* when I am not out there and 55-60* when I am working.

 

[The Cobbler]

my shop s 40°f when I'm not in there, 65° or higher when I'm working in there.

 

[zmotorsports]

Costs much less to maintain a stable minimum temp over the long run. Set it at 50-55 for over night and bump it up a half hour or so before you head out there. For summer, once you get above 60 or so for overnight outside temps, either set the thermostat to it’s lowest setting, or turn the system off completely and kill the gas to it til next fall.

This.

Much of what you are actually trying to heat is that large concrete slab so once it gets to temperature it is much easier to maintain that rather than trying to bring it all the way up to working temperature a few times a week after it gets cold soaked. I experimented with my last shop that was 34x34x14 fully insulated and it was much more comfortable and efficient to utilize a maintenance temp and a working temp.

I now do the same thing in my even better insulated 50x60x16 shop/RV garage. I work in it pretty much each night for anywhere from 2-4 hours and much of the weekends. We routinely see temps in the low teens to mid-20's most winters with occasional dips down to single digits and zero but not the norm.

I keep my overnight temps at 48~ish and when I get home from work I bump it up to 60-degrees, run in the house to change and by the time I get out into the shop (10-15 minutes) it is already at the set temperature for working. With low ambient temps the gas fired furnace will kick on several times a night and then I hit the "run" temperature which will kick it back down to 48 overnight again.

My 1k square foot RV storage bay is not heated but insulated to the same degree the shop section is and in extreme cold temps (those single to low teen nights) the RV bay holds pretty steady around 38-42 degrees much of which is due to the concrete being at a consistent temp.

 

[b-boy]

I have a NEST thermostat. I keep it at 50F, and bump it to 60F-65F when I go out there. The building is well insulated, and pretty air tight. I have 30x40 w/ 12 ft ceilings. I run a 60k forced air Goodman furnace.

I like to work in shorts and a t-shirt year round.

 

[Denwood]

I guess what I was trying to get at is there has to be some sort of science behind this. By that I mean if you are working in your shop every day it likely uses less energy to just keep it a constant temp instead of letting it get super cold and then trying to heat it all the way back up. But what if you are only using the shop every other day or every three days or four days and so on. I get leaving it set at say 40 so it doesn’t freeze but at what point of use does it make sense to just leave it at say 50 or even 60 ?

Yes, CCHT has done tests here with twin houses on both heating and cooling.

https://www.yorkland.net/downloads/setback.pdf

Skip to page 47 for conclusions. And yes..they measured HVAC electrical energy use too showing that large setbacks save power as well, despite longer recovery times after deep setbacks.

You will use less energy by keeping delta between your shop and outside temps as low as possible. Turn your stat up when you need it, otherwise keep set as low as possible. I keep my heat off in the shop unless I’m using it. -32C last night, shop was about -5C.

In other words, when heating with forced air HVAC, the data shows that larger setbacks save more energy.

My shop is below freezing often in the winter now for about 19 years. Zero issues. Takes 10-15 min to get to comfortable temps with a 60K hanging gas heater.

Cooling, this does not apply. They found best efficiency just using a higher temp and leaving it there...for a house assuming normal occupancy. If you’re not in your shop every day, your mileage here will vary on climate.

 

[bimmer1980]

I have radiant floor heat in my 1600 sq ft garage. I have basically set it at about 55 degrees and leave it..... It's running me about $100 per month in natural gas.

I will turn it back if I'm going to be out of town for work. Otherwise I find that 55 is a nice temp to walk out and do a few things in the evening. I was running it a bit warmer than that and found that I was not any more productive.... a long sleeve shirt and beanie hat has been working for me in 55 degree temps.

I do find that if I want to raise the temp in the shop, it is about one degree per hour. That is a rough estimate......

 

[pogrelis97]

I leave my 40x60 at 40 degrees and turn it up to 65 when I'm in there, with a 5ton electric furnace it takes 30-45 min to get it up to temperature. I have a basic wifi thermostat and turn it up on my way home.

 

[klassenl]

9 degrees Celsius. Then up to 13 when I want to be in there. 13 is easily warm enough with a long sleeve shirt on.

 

[ambenz]

There is a lot to be said for keeping your garage at a constant temperature and humidity.
I had a lot to consider when I asked the same question....
Our garage is a business as we store water based Croftgate Car Care Products in our garage.
I keep all my rattle cans out there and other items I do not want to freeze.
If also store a fair weather vehicle...
Having fluctuating temperatures can cause condensation to form on bare metals, shrinking and expanding of rubber seals and gaskets, and generally isn't very good for anything you want to last.
So 55F to 60F is my magic number...any more and it's too warm when working. Any less and the slab will not regulate a even temp if the big door is open parking the car.
That concrete slap is a wonderful heat sink, grabbing the ambient air and storing it to keep the garage pretty even temped...and I do not have a radiant floor.
I use forced air off a natural gas 30K btu ventless wall mount furnace.
R13 in the ceiling and walls.
Cost me less than $30 a month during the worst months.

 

[finn]

Yes, CCHT has done tests here with twin houses on both heating and cooling.

https://www.yorkland.net/downloads/setback.pdf

Skip to page 47 for conclusions. And yes..they measured HVAC electrical energy use too showing that large setbacks save power as well, despite longer recovery times after deep setbacks.

You will use less energy by keeping delta between your shop and outside temps as low as possible. Turn your stat up when you need it, otherwise keep set as low as possible. I keep my heat off in the shop unless I’m using it. -32C last night, shop was about -5C.

In other words, when heating with forced air HVAC, the data shows that larger setbacks save more energy.

My shop is below freezing often in the winter now for about 19 years. Zero issues. Takes 10-15 min to get to comfortable temps with a 60K hanging gas heater.

Cooling, this does not apply. They found best efficiency just using a higher temp and leaving it there...for a house assuming normal occupancy. If you’re not in your shop every day, your mileage here will vary on climate.

This is correct. Setback always saves energy because there is less delta T to the atmosphere, he seems less heat loss.

Reheating the shop again when you occupy it doesn’t cost any extra energy over the energy that is wasted to the atmosphere in the “off hours” when you are wasting energy heating an unoccupied building. Not sure where that idea comes from.


It’s thermodynamics and heat transfer, and, once again, science beats opinion.

On the other hand, having the building up to temperature, with a warm slab and tools, certainly is nice.

 

[4 FN 27]

Office 68

Car shop and machine shop 64

Utility room and storage 64

Cold storage 50

In-floor, Geothermal heat source.

It is comfortable. On full days like the weekends the temp will climb to 68+ with equipment running.

In Minnesota’s coldest months the bill has never been over $164 for a month. 10574 square feet. ICF foundation with Morton’s premium insulation package. Better efficiency than the house.

 

[Farmall450]

Ambient temperature.

 

[finn]

There is a lot to be said for keeping your garage at a constant temperature and humidity.
I had a lot to consider when I asked the same question....
Our garage is a business as we store water based Croftgate Car Care Products in our garage.
I keep all my rattle cans out there and other items I do not want to freeze.
If also store a fair weather vehicle...
Having fluctuating temperatures can cause condensation to form on bare metals, shrinking and expanding of rubber seals and gaskets, and generally isn't very good for anything you want to last.
So 55F to 60F is my magic number...any more and it's too warm when working. Any less and the slab will not regulate a even temp if the big door is open parking the car.
That concrete slap is a wonderful heat sink, grabbing the ambient air and storing it to keep the garage pretty even temped...and I do not have a radiant floor.
I use forced air off a natural gas 30K btu ventless wall mount furnace.
R13 in the ceiling and walls.
Cost me less than $30 a month during the worst months.

The humidity issue is caused by th ventless heater dumping products of combustion, ie water vapor,into the building.

Get a conventional vented heat source and you can safely drop the temperature without the condensation issue.

 

[stingry]

I have infloor radiant. 65 degrees. I’m in the shop everyday, maybe a few minutes or could be the whole day. Point is, I want it warm when I decide to go out there, be it day or night.

 

[Falcon67]

Never gets below high 40s inside even with no heat on. Mostly mid 50s unless we sped like a week being really cold. Which almost never happens. It's not been over 36 and overcast the last two days, be mid 70s on the weekend. I open the big door on sunny weekend days and let the slab soak up the sun. It got cold Monday and Tuesday, it was still 62F inside on Tuesday. Wsa 54 inside last night.

 

[PWC Repair]

I do 46-48* when I am not out there and 55-60* when I am working.

Exactly what I've been doing too!

And nice thirdgen!

 

[James-W]

I leave mine on 50 degrees when I am not out there working. I turn it up to 70 degrees when I want to work on a project for any length of time. If I am only going to be out there for a short time I don't bother to turn it up.

 

[dcg9381]

Texas: We have never heated it if we aren't there and it gets cold. It's very rare to see multiple successive days below freezing and as it's insulated, no reason to heat it... It's never reached freezing on the inside. No "garage" thermostats, so if I did heat, I'd be looking at 50 or 60 degrees (whatever the lowest setting is on the Daikins).

Summer - I sometimes limit the temps to 85. I set the ACs to come on during the day and auto-shut-off at night. If I know I'm going to be at the shop later in the week, may set it to pre-cool.

Summer months - there and working - 75 or so.
Winter months - there and working - depends on what we are doing, but anywhere from 60-72.

 

[CKS1955]

...It’s thermodynamics and heat transfer, and, once again, science beats opinion.

On the other hand, having the building up to temperature, with a warm slab and tools, certainly is nice.

I’ve tried heating my shop only when I am out there, but the concrete slab never heats up. From a comfort level, keeping a minimum temperature sure helps. The airs warm, except for the foot or so near the slab, even with using a ceiling fan to push the heat down. My shop is well insulated attic, wall and perimeter insulation.

Jay

 

[skulldrinker]

Over night 50° and turn it up to 70° when I'm in there. In the summer I open the door cause I have no A/C.

 

[Innovate1]

I thought setting back a furnace below about 55 caused heat exchanger early death. Does everyone commenting have some other system?

 

[CKS1955]

I use what is recommended by the manufacturer for the lowest heat setting. Otherwise, like you mentioned the heat exchanger could rust out. Mine is a Beacon Morris BRT (Sterling HVAC), the recommended minimum temperature setting is 50 degrees.


Jay

 

[nsula_country]

I thought setting back a furnace below about 55 caused heat exchanger early death. Does everyone commenting have some other system?

I mentioned set back to 50* (lowest tstat goes) or OFF.

I'm running a 5 ton Heat Pump with 20kw electric resistive heat strips.

The recommendation of maintaining at least 50*-55* with gas is correct. This prolongs the life of the heat exchanger due to condensation.

CT

 

[Rural Pundit]

Mine is tied into my house central air, with an inline electric damper. It stays about the same as my house. 69-70 in the winter, and about 73-75 in the summer.