Radiant Heat in a Detached Garage

jmorganix

I am designing a new garage for myself. It'll be 26' square, 10 foot walls(insulated) and a ceiling (insulated). Half the space will be for my passion, restoring old BMWs... a working garage.

I want to heat the place and it seems that radiant floor heat will be the best bet, versus a torpedo heater that is noisy and spits out CO2. Not good for a well sealed space.

After doing possibly too much reading on the web, I wonder about the following... 1. Boiler or water heater as heat source? 2. Wall mount or floor mount? 3. IS RADIANT the best choice? 4. Low cost radiant heat generation options, gas, electric, burning wood?

I believe at this point I am favoring powering the garage with a new, independent power drop with it's own meter and a 100 amp panel. I also plan on at least one 220v circuit.

I am very open to any and all suggestions/warnings.

Jenn

HVACDave

Infloor radiant is an awesome way to heat a garage. It gives you nice even heat, and because the floor is warm you will find that you can keep the temps a little cooler than forced air and still feel comfortable.

I've done boilers and hot water heaters, depends on some of your local codes and inspectors, some will not allow HWT's to be used at all, others don't care so much. Boilers are quite a bit more expensive but also have additional features like multiple elements, increased recovery capacity (due to larger heating elements), outdoor temp sensors that can adjust output capacity and temps based on outdoor air temps etc. you can also get stainless steel units that should last for a long time compared to steel units at a slight premium.

Be sure you insulate under the slab and around the edge of the slab below grade level well. This will greatly reduce your operational costs.(depending on what area of the country you live in and winter temp ranges)

dosy777

yep............hot floors are the way to go!

Marty S.

One thing to keep in mind with in floor is it needs to stay on since a cold slab takes a long time to warm up. A traditional gas or electric furnace can be less costly for the weekend garage mechanic. Warm floors are sweet though. IR tube heat is also nice if you have the head room.