insulated garage interior

Air Conditioning Your Garage for Seasonal Use

How to Heat Your Garage During the Winter

Home repairs, projects and hobbies must be done throughout the year, including winter. This means you will be spending more time than ever in your garage. Rather than working in your garage and being cold, why not follow these recommendations to keep your garage comfortable on even the coldest winter months.

insulated garage interior

What Are Your Heating Needs?

The first thing to consider is how difficult your garage is to heat and what is the most inexpensive way to heat your garage. You will need to take a look at the insulation in your garage, consider the square footage of your garage and how cold the weather is in your area. Heaters list their heat output in BTUs which are British Thermal Units. To determine the amount of BTUs that you need, you will need to measure your garage and determine how warm you want your garage to be when you are out there working. This number will help you determine the type of heater that you need. In Eastern Ontario, the recommendation is 20 BTU’s per square foot.

Insulating Your Garage

Before you run out and purchase a heating system for your garage, you want to ensure that your garage is properly insulated. Your garage doors, walls, and ceilings should be insulated. If you have windows in your garage, use insulating film designed for windows to block out drafts. Properly insulating your garage will minimize the drafts and lower your overall heating bill for your garage.

Heating and Cooling Options for Your Garage

Forced Air Heating and Cooling Systems

A forced air heating and cooling system is one option for heating your garage. These heaters come in a variety of sizes and price ranges and are less expensive than infrared heating systems. Forced air heaters work by blowing hot air into the garage. These units can be tied into your gas or propane line by a heating and air conditioning professional. If you’ll be doing woodworking projects, the air produced by your heating system can blow around dust and debris. If you are painting, staining or finishing projects, this can be a major drawback.

Ductless Heating and Cooling Systems

Many homeowners prefer a ductless system for their garage. These systems are energy efficient and eco-friendly. They are much easier to install than typical forced air heating and cooling systems. A ductless unit heat and cools using a single unit and meet the highest guidelines of energy efficiency.

In-Floor Heating

Using in-floor heating is not just for bathrooms. They are a perfect way to keep your garage toasty warm in the wintertime. Mechanics can really benefit from in-floor heating as their toes, back, legs and neck will stay warm when they are under a car working. This system uses PEX tubing to heat your garage to provide radiant heat to your floors. As the floors are heated, the heat will rise and create a cozy environment for your entire garage.

Infrared Heaters

Another option when it comes to heating a garage is low-intensity infrared tube heaters. When choosing a heater, you want one that does not glow read as this increases the risk of a fire. Rather than blowing warmed air into your garage, an infrared heater will radiate heat throughout your garage. This heater heats objects in the room before it heats people. This type of heater will take a while to heat your garage.

Wood Burning Stoves for Inexpensive Heat

A wood burning stove is one of the most inexpensive ways to heat your garage during the winter; however, you must follow safety precautions to ensure your wood burning stove provides you with safe, reliable heat. First, visit your local municipality to see if any permits are required. You will also want to speak to your homeowner’s insurance company to ensure that installing a wood burning stove will not void your current homeowner’s insurance policy. After you have gotten the necessary approvals, you can purchase a wood burning stove from a hardware store. Once the stove is installed, you will need to have your chimney or flue inspected by a professional periodically to help decrease the risk of toxic smoke and gases building up inside of your garage.

As you can see there are many options when it comes to heating your garage. Consider each option and choose the one that will work best for you.