Garage Heating

[ThePenIsMightier]

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Well - ya, if you are keeping the garage at +20c when its -20 outside.

Why not keep it at 5c or 10c during the stupidest cold times - esp if you are not WORKING in your garage (which most people never do).

This.
They have a thermostat and are capable of keeping your garage at 20°C if you insist/want.
As mentioned earlier, I keep mine (attached garage) at about 12-14 and there is no question that it consumes noticeable electricity... At $0.12/kWhr...
I've done the Marth, and it's close to a decade until I start losing money.

[B.Spilner]

Yea I was just giving the heads up so people don't make the same mistake.

Massage chair, TV, and lots of fun over the course of that 2 months lol.

[Andy643]

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Slightly related.

Has anyone added additional insulation to their garage doors?

Is the hard foam or the reflective bubble wrap a better option?

Yes. In my last house I used the Styrofoam board that had tin foil on each side. Came in 4x8 sheets and I cut it to fit each section. Made a big difference
Added some weight to the door. Nothing crazy as it was just a single.

In the process of adding the tin foil bubble wrap to the back of the garage door on our new place. Should make a small difference.
Just gluing it directly on. 2- $35 rolls to do a double door.

[revelations]

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Yea I was just giving the heads up so people don't make the same mistake.

Massage chair, TV, and lots of fun over the course of that 2 months lol.

If the garage is a permanent hang out space - the door definitely needs to be covered up or insulated better for the winter.

[cars5431]

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My electricity bill doubled 2 months in a row before I figured out that 240 heater was eating electric while it was -20. 20x20 fully insulated. Just beware, comfortable cost alot of money when going that route.

Agreed did same thing by mistake with the Costco unit as had worked out in garage couple nights and forgot to turn down in -30 snap lol. As mentioned though great units and I can take the garage from 5 to 20 within an hour with mine.

[Maxx Mazda]

I've had that red electric princess auto unit for two years now. She uses some juice, but it will warm your garage to t-shirt temperatures in about an hour when she's at full chooch.

Is the garage door really that big of an insulation issue? Garage is finished and insulated, but the heater needs to run quite a bit when it's -30 out. Maybe I should try insulating the door?

[ExtraSlow]

I feel like a real caveman having my detached uninsulated and unfinished garage. Maybe when we all drive electric vehicles I'll need to get up to speed on all this.

[vengie]

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I've had that red electric princess auto unit for two years now. She uses some juice, but it will warm your garage to t-shirt temperatures in about an hour when she's at full chooch.

Is the garage door really that big of an insulation issue? Garage is finished and insulated, but the heater needs to run quite a bit when it's -30 out. Maybe I should try insulating the door?

Your garage door accounts for ~30% of heat loss from your garage.

[mr2mike]

How many solar panels do I need to run these electric heaters?
You know, to keep my bike warm before hitting the commuter bike path.

[Maxx Mazda]

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Your garage door accounts for ~30% of heat loss from your garage.

Pardon my ignorance, what can I do to beef up the insulation on the door? Do I need a better door entirely or can I modify what I have? Someone above mentioned some sort of stick on foam?

[vengie]

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Pardon my ignorance, what can I do to beef up the insulation on the door? Do I need a better door entirely or can I modify what I have? Someone above mentioned some sort of stick on foam?

I'm personally going to use this
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ref...ion/1000167795

I've been reading up on it quite a bit. Out of the box it provides ~3-5 R value, but with a relatively small air gap it can jump quite a bit.

Quite a few video's on youtube with people using this

[firebane]

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I feel like a real caveman having my detached uninsulated and unfinished garage. Maybe when we all drive electric vehicles I'll need to get up to speed on all this.

LOL I think I wear about 6 layers when I'm out in my shop because its so cold. I was out there last weekend when it was pretty damn chilly and had to go into the house for a bit because the cold was hard on the lungs.

[Rocket1k78]

Anyone know a rough cost to get 240 wired to the garage? Thankfully my panel is on the wall closest to the garage

[The_Rural_Juror]

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Anyone know a rough cost to get 240 wired to the garage? Thankfully my panel is on the wall closest to the garage

Under $1K including permits?

[vengie]

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Anyone know a rough cost to get 240 wired to the garage? Thankfully my panel is on the wall closest to the garage

~$500-$1000

[mr2mike]

Detached garage vs attached is a big difference. What do you have?

[rage2]

Why even go with electric if it costs as much to run 240V as a gas line?

I've had my Calcana heater for 15 years now. Probably under $5 to run a month over winter is my best guess. Never noticed my bill change at all TBH so I'm just guessing $5 a month. This is keeping the garage at room temperature 24/7.

NG is cheap as fuck.

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My electricity bill doubled 2 months in a row before I figured out that 240 heater was eating electric while it was -20. 20x20 fully insulated. Just beware, comfortable cost alot of money when going that route.

This is just crazy to me haha.

[firebane]

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Why even go with electric if it costs as much to run 240V as a gas line?

I've had my Calcana heater for 15 years now. Probably under $5 to run a month over winter is my best guess. Never noticed my bill change at all TBH so I'm just guessing $5 a month. This is keeping the garage at room temperature 24/7.

NG is cheap as fuck.


This is just crazy to me haha.

Well you would need to factor in other costs for a NG heater as well that doesn't come with an electric heater.

You'd need to factor in things like the exhaust for the NG heater from the shop and I know its a fairly easy thing to do but has to be done correct, so what would that add to the additional cost?

[ExtraSlow]

Yes operating costs for natural gas are a tiny fraction of electric heat.

240V might be worthwhile if you also put in EV charging / welding etc.

[FraserB]

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My electricity bill doubled 2 months in a row before I figured out that 240 heater was eating electric while it was -20. 20x20 fully insulated. Just beware, comfortable cost alot of money when going that route.

I did this as well when I first had the heater. I found that if I keep it around 5* I don't notice any real increase in the bill since I have AC for the summer and that it still heats up pretty quick if I need to crank it for a few hours to do work.