Climate Control In A Southern Shop

[Alan Lightstone]

I have several portable units. Both 120V and 220V units.

First, I believe that they are more efficient than most wall units. Not necessarily better, mind you, but more efficient. I have found them to be reliable, but some companies that sell them are pretty sleezy. I'd go with a name brand if you take that route. They are not quiet (though what is in this hobby).

If your wall can support a split unit, I'd suggest that for the shop. The air handler portion of the unit is pretty light, and the compressor can sit outside on a small concrete or brick slab. My split unit easily cools my 2 car garage workshop in South Florida. They are significantly more efficient than wall units, and are quiet.

Obviously, the electrical issues would need to be handled. Sub-panel, perhaps.

[Rich Seifert]

How do you guys keep your air conditioners and dehumidifiers clean? I live in Northern Virginia and since setting up my garage shop last year, I burned up Home Depot's largest portable dehumidifier (an LG 90-qt that I paid ~$250) ... I'm not sure if it was just too dirty and quit, or if it's because it ran 24/7 for 9 months. I just threw it away last month. I now have my 10yr old 45-qt back-up unit running out there. So, what to do ... buy a split system? Or a window unit? But the question remains, how to keep them clean? I'm really concerned about rust without an effective dehumidifier.

For heat, I thought I'd share that I installed an Empire natural gas Direct Vented 40K BTU heater and it was fantastic! It draws fresh air from outside for combustion, and exhausts it back outside so there's no dust-explosion hazard.

[Ron Natalie]

I've got a specific zone (with it's own filter) for my shop on my central air. Even before I had the DC installed, dust in the A/C filter wasn't a real big problem. No need to obsess over things. If you have a DC system that's worth a pug nickel, there's not going to be an appreciable amount of dust in our furnace/AC filters.