Do you want to buy a space heater, and you are faced with the question, “can a space heater heat a garage.” A space heater is a great way to improve the comfort of your garage, whether you use it as a workshop, a home gym, or a place to store your belongings. However, the ability to heat the entire space will depend on how big the space is and the type of space heater you invest in.
A space heater can heat a garage; If the heater’s power output is appropriate for the garage’s square and is positioned perfectly to evenly distribute heat throughout the entire space.
We’ll go through what makes your garage cold, how space heaters distribute heat, and what kind of space heaters you should use in the future.
Can A Space Heater Heat A Garage?
Although many homes have natural gas connections running to them, this is not always the case with garages. Garages can be very cold and might need to be heated.
A space heater can heat a garage; it can deliver an excellent heating supply to any garage space, as long as the heater is in the right size and emits the correct wattage.
Because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you should give up on your garage. With the correct heating choices, your garage will be toasty and cozy. You can heat it in the winter or whenever it’s frigid outside if you want to spend more time working in your garage.
How To Heat A Garage
Most garages appear to be used often throughout the warmer months but frequently hibernate during the winter. But it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you should give up on your garage. Your garage will quickly become cozy and warm with the appropriate heating options. Consider these heating options if you want to work in your garage more often during the winter or other chilly seasons.
Choose A Heat Source
In the late fall, portable space heaters of all sizes can be found in aisles at your neighborhood home improvement store. However, most of these options lack the strength to heat an entire garage. Consider installing a ceiling-mounted forced-air heating unit, such as the hardwired Dr. Infrared 10,000-Watt Ceiling-Mounted Garage Heater, if you need a serious heat source.
Just make sure the heater is big enough for the size of your garage. For the best heat distribution, place this kind of heater in a garage corner and direct it downward at a 45-degree angle. Most of today’s ceiling-mounted heaters come with remote control and a thermostat so you can set the temperature you prefer and rely on the shop heater to do the rest.
The inches closest to the floor might stay cold with a heater on the ceiling, but that is the only drawback. If your feet are still chilly, try supplementing with a baseboard heater where you’re most apt to be working—one obvious spot is the space beneath your workbench.
Hydronic baseboard heaters like the Slant/Fin Hydronic Baseboard Heater are linked to a home’s boiler. Warm air spreads throughout the room as hot water circulates through the heater’s pipes, keeping the area comfortable from floor level and above.
Insulate And Weatherize
If you plan to use it frequently during the heating season, your energy expenditures might easily triple if your garage has insufficient insulation and weatherstripping. Making the same energy conservation efforts with your garage as you do with the rest of your home makes sense because the energy lost through drafty windows or transmitted through poorly insulated walls is the energy you pay for.
According to the Department of Energy, you can save up to 20% on energy costs for every dollar you spend adding insulation. The following items deserve special attention:
Windows: Check to ensure the windows in a heated garage have the same level of insulation as those in your home. The best option is insulated glass with two or three panes filled with inert gas.
Consider Finishing The Ceiling: Open rafters and trusses are common in garage ceilings. Insulate the areas between the rafters and trusses and finish the ceiling with wallboard to reduce heat loss.
Energy-efficient garage door: The best R-values will be found indoors made of steel, aluminum, or fiberglass with polyurethane foam inside (the resistance to energy loss). A plain wood door typically has an R-value of 2 to 3, whereas polyurethane foam doors have an R-value as high as 20. For instance, 1 3/8-inch thick polystyrene foam has an R-value of 6.5 compared to a plain wooden door. Most experts advise having an overhead door with an R-value of 10 to 12 at the very least in a heated garage.
Seals Along The Bottom And Sides Of The Door: Ensure the weatherstripping along the bottom of the primary garage door is in good shape because drafts are the main cause of energy loss. Examine the weatherstripping on the windows and doors of the hallway as well.
Liquid Fuel And Gas Heaters
Many space heaters that run on liquid fuel, like kerosene, liquid propane, or natural gas, can be used in a garage with caution. There are two main categories:
Freestanding Space Heaters: Freestanding Space Heaters only work for heating tiny spaces are portable and affordable heaters that burn kerosene or gas. Unvented kerosene and propane space heaters can raise the temperature in a small garage, especially if it is insulated, but they also emit moisture and carbon monoxide. Use a freestanding liquid fuel heater with extreme caution if the area is enclosed; this is something that many safety experts advise against.
Direct-vent Space Heaters: These can be excellent options for heating the garage, particularly if your home is already connected to a propane or natural gas pipeline that powers your furnace, stove, or gas fireplace. Direct-vent garage heaters eliminate the risk of carbon monoxide by exchanging combustion air and exhaust fumes through a pipe in the wall. Choose a heater with the highest efficiency level if you anticipate using it regularly.
Direct-vent heater manufacturers typically include instructions for self-installation, but even if you feel competent, it’s preferable to have a professional install the gas line. A direct-vent space heater is the best option for a garage in a cold region that needs to be heated often or kept at a steady temperature above freezing.
How To Choose the Correct Space Heater
Once you’ve performed the necessary steps to insulate your garage, you’ve successfully prepared the area and may proceed to choose the ideal space heater. You need a space heater that can emit enough heat at a distance to cover a good portion of your garage, so don’t consider buying just any space heater. If your garage is bigger, it is also acceptable to buy more than one heater to place on opposite sides of the garage.
Size
Experts estimated that your garage needs about 10 watts of power per square foot to evaluate the size and power of a space heater. Therefore, if your home is 120 square feet in size overall, but you only want to use roughly 50 of those square feet for personal purposes, if so, a 600-watt space heater might be adequate to keep you warm.
Now, if you intend to heat the entire 120 square feet of space, you should size up and buy a 1,200-watt space heater or two 600-watt heaters that can be combined to produce the same amount of power.
The calculation for determining what power level of the space heater you need will be slightly different if your garage already has insulation or if you recently installed any.
Location
The amount of output your space heater provides to your garage will also depend on where it is placed. For safety reasons, remember that you should never place anything on top of or in front of your space heater and keep it away from flammable materials, liquids, and sprays.
A range of coverage is offered by both mounted and portable space heaters. You might feel uneasy or like the heater’s localized heat is too intense while the rest of your garage is still chilly if you are close to it. By positioning a space heater safely away from you, you can be confident that you’ll feel warm enough and that there won’t be any fire danger.
Which Types Of Space Heaters Are Best For A Garage?
Only a few of the different kinds of space heaters can heat a garage. Regardless of the restriction, you have several choices to make:
Forced Air: This space heater uses a fan to force hot air into the room. These can be installed professionally into the central heating system of your home or used as a freestanding appliance. However, keep in mind that if there is a lot of dust or flying debris in your workshop, it will cause debris to float everywhere.
Convection: A convection space heater is available in many different configurations. To a heating element, they fire convection currents through the heater. The environment is then warmed. These heat smaller garages quickly but take a while to warm up larger ones.
Propane is the best option if you need a reliable, adaptable heater for a big garage. However, significant safety precautions must be taken, so they are not recommended for small garages or houses with attached garages.
Ceiling Panel: A more recent innovation, panel space heaters are incredibly energy-efficient. You can quickly warm the space by mounting these to the garage ceiling. However, since these only reduce the room’s chill, you might also need another heat source.
Infrared: This space heater can heat a garage by turning on the internal tube, which radiates heat around the area. Heat causes air to be blown out, quickly warming the area and you. As long as the garage is a low-intensity space, this is fantastic. Higher intensity heaters can put you at risk for a fire.
Portable: These space heaters can quickly heat a garage but work best for a small, confined space. However, you must turn them off when not in use because if they allow themselves to get too hot, they may pose some risks.
Conclusion On Can A Space Heater Heat A Garage
A space heater can effectively heat a garage. However, it would help if you used it wisely and judiciously. Make sure your garage is insulated correctly first. This will guarantee that a space heater can warm up a garage and keep the heat inside while using less energy. At the end of this article, I hope you now have an answer to “Can A Space Heater Heat A Garage?”