Garage Heater – 6 Popular Options
A home’s garage is undeniably a multi-functional part of the house for many homeowners. Some homeowners utilize their garage primarily as their vehicle’s parking space, especially during extreme weather conditions. Others use it mainly as a storage area or to dabble with tools. No matter the purpose of your garage, even if it is linked to your house or not, you can only count on one thing, all homes need to find the best garage heater for their budget.
If you have a garage that is not that warm, you can only roughly utilize it for more or less 7 months over the entire year. It can also hasten your vehicle’s wear and tear, or damage all the things placed in your garage when winter comes. And because you are now aware of the essence of having a heater within your home’s garage, find out what is the best one for your garage.
WALL INSULATION
First off, homeowners need to secure adequate and proper insulation prior to the installation of a garage heater. Ensure that you first lay an adequate insulation on your walls and ceilings and use some sheetrock or paneling to finish it. When you have a well-insulated wall, you restrict the cool air from getting inside your home. You must never compromise a good insulation if you plan to buy your own garage heater.
Choose from numerous garage heaters available in the market today to be installed inside your garage. But if you forget to insulate it first prior to the installation, you can very well doom yourself to spend more cash than needed and miss out on maximizing the efficiency of your unit. You can lose the coveted warm air because the cool air that gets inside through the various holes and cracks sucks it out. You end up wasting your hard-earned cash and fall short of your primary goal of achieving a warm and cozy garage.
A DUCTLESS A/C WITH HEAT PUMP
One more thing you must remember as you insulate your home’s garage is its capability of securing the warm air within your home even that of the cool air when summer comes. During summer, many homeowners just simply open the doors in their garage to allow the fresh and cool air to come inside. But the fresh air coming in may not be sufficient most especially if the outside temperature is around the 30s. It is only effective if the layout in your garage lets plenty of fresh air inside.
With the intense summer heat intoxicating you, let the cooler air get inside your home’s garage through the installation of a ductless A/C that has a heat pump. Just secure your ductless air conditioner unit above your wall allowing it to work in two ways. This lone unit can actually produce both cool and warm air helping you save a lot of room area too. It is one thing you miss out with an electric space heater or an oscillating fan. If the garage is connected to your house, using a ductless A/C provides you with zone cooling. The compressor outside can accommodate up to four rooms in the house. Thus, it can provide a steady stream of a cool breeze inside your bedroom, in the living room, even the basement, just by using a single HVAC equipment.
OVERHEAD RADIANT HEATERS
One more crucial consideration when thinking of working outside during unusually cool days is the fact that the warmth of a room hits just right pass your head. The ideal answer to this heating problem is to install an overhead radiant heater. It is the type of air conditioner that is ideal since the location of the heat source is right above your head, but as well as the capability of radiant heat in warming up the whole garage. You end up losing your garage heater’s efficiency if you attempt to heat up the whole garage, like when it warms up your vehicle’s sides as well. You are better off if you can heat up just your actual workbench or work area. You can finally secure a warm and comfortable garage by using an overhead radiant heating unit together with a particular foam insulation to finally say goodbye to cracks and gaps.
A NEW GARAGE IS BETTER OFF WITH AN IN-FLOOR RADIANT HEATING SYSTEM
It is difficult to install in-floor heating in your current garage. But with new homes that still have an empty garage, it is easy to arrange everything. It is an excellent investment, and you will greatly benefit from it over time. Install an in-floor radiant heater’s heating tubes on your new home’s foundation by the garage. You can run it with fuel, electricity, or hot water. It is the best type of garage heater out there since its primary impediment to the cold is the actual solid cement flooring. You can achieve a warm and comfortable garage that is the perfect venue when you tinker with arts and crafts during the winter months because the biting cold makes it unappealing to go outside. Moreover, the heat goes up, so your whole body can feel it before it eventually dissipates up in the ceiling.
But a few homeowners insist that in-floor radiant heating needs to be reconstructed in their houses since they have an accessible sub-floor allowing the simple fitting of its parts. Just like other garages, the sub-floor in your home consists of a solid cement foundation that you can barely mess around with.
ELECTRIC SPACE HEATER
In case you are not using your garage often during the winter months and only uses it to address the minor snow blower issues you have at times, or when tinkering with your vehicle, it is not practical to spend a lot of money in buying a new heater for your garage. What you need to do is to buy a space heater powered by electricity that costs $100 or less, which you can easily plug wherever you want to and is capable of keeping you warm and comfy for at least a couple of hours. The best thing about it is that it can reduce your energy bills. When you are done using it, just simply store it away on a garage shelf for safekeeping.
KEROSENE TORPEDO HEATER
You crave for a warmer garage than what the usual electric space heater offers if you are fond of staying in the garage when winter comes. You like staying there since you are preoccupied with hunting or sharing some round of drinks with family and friends after a day out it the snow. So, what you need now is a kerosene torpedo heater for your heating needs. Surely, you already saw a heater like this while watching an Eskimo amid the frigid weather. Kerosene is a good power source since it provides a cleaner burn. Smoke might build up, though, which is why you must open the door on your garage door a little to allow some fresh air get inside. The cool and gentle breeze is nothing to the kerosene torpedo heater. Besides, it can easily heat up several cars and bigger garages. Even if you cannot see a lot of kerosene on the market, you’ll regret using diesel because of its noxious smell. Without a doubt, you won’t like staying in your garage if you decide to use it.
You can surely find the perfect heater for your garage if you just ponder over its importance in your daily life. To be safe, purchase a tiny and inexpensive space heater to determine if it provides the solution you are looking for. By then, you’ll be able to upgrade and have a highly efficient HVAC system over time.