How I heat my wood shop

[Thom Rider]

Just a quick video of my heater. Check it out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGzKNJe2IFM

let me know what you folks think.

[johnny means]

What kind of damage is it doing to your utility bill? Is there a thermostat?

[Thom Rider]

There is a thermostat but I only turn it up when I'm in the shop. The cost is maybe a little bit more than gas. My bill only went up about $25 dollars a month since using the heater.

Hope this helps.

[Roger Rayburn]

What is the BTU / kilowatt rating on your heater. I put a 5 kilowatt one in my 20 x 30 garage about 5 years ago and I love it. I only go out there to make sawdust when the ambient is above 45 degrees so that I don't have to bump it up much. It only takes about 10 minutes before it shuts off at 60 degrees.

[phil harold]

Insulation?
Walls
Ceiling
Make life a lot more comfortable year round

[Don Jarvie]

Insulation is key. If you have a slab putting a wood floor with insulation also helps. If you can hold the heat in the shop the heater doesn't cycle as much.

[Maurice Arney]

What size is your shop and what size is the heater? I am getting ready to pour a slab in my barn to set up a new shop and will be looking for a heat source.

[Carl Beckett]

Maurice,

I have a 480 sq ft shop and put in a small electric heat pump.

Didnt want the open flames of a wood stove. Would have been ok with a gas (methane) or propane fired heater, but those require a gas source and I didnt want to mess with that.

You could do traditional forced air, or hydonic system like a boiler or a wood pellet burner.. pretty $$

The final option is electrical resistive heat. (electric baseboard or a small electrical heater - or infrared even). The heating capacity of these are 1:1. In general, electric heat isnt very cost effective (purely a function of cost per kilowatt) Where as a heat pump you can achieve higher than 1:1 heating capacity. (given where you are in NH you have to be careful at the really cold times of the year because the heat pumps dont handle the super low temps well).

The size of the heat capacity you need is completely a function of insulation. Insulate enough, and a simple light bulb will be enough (electric resistor). You can estimate heat load requirements with a software from 'slantfin'. It will give you an idea of the effect of the floor, walls, windows, etc... and where you can make improvement. If you dont insulate well, something like an electric heater or baseboard heater (two different flavors of the same thing) is going to be a pretty steep heating bill.

How big is your barn, and what type of insulation will you be able to use?

[Maurice Arney]

Maurice,

I have a 480 sq ft shop and put in a small electric heat pump.

Didnt want the open flames of a wood stove. Would have been ok with a gas (methane) or propane fired heater, but those require a gas source and I didnt want to mess with that.

You could do traditional forced air, or hydonic system like a boiler or a wood pellet burner.. pretty $$

The final option is electrical resistive heat. (electric baseboard or a small electrical heater - or infrared even). The heating capacity of these are 1:1. In general, electric heat isnt very cost effective (purely a function of cost per kilowatt) Where as a heat pump you can achieve higher than 1:1 heating capacity. (given where you are in NH you have to be careful at the really cold times of the year because the heat pumps dont handle the super low temps well).

The size of the heat capacity you need is completely a function of insulation. Insulate enough, and a simple light bulb will be enough (electric resistor). You can estimate heat load requirements with a software from 'slantfin'. It will give you an idea of the effect of the floor, walls, windows, etc... and where you can make improvement. If you dont insulate well, something like an electric heater or baseboard heater (two different flavors of the same thing) is going to be a pretty steep heating bill.

How big is your barn, and what type of insulation will you be able to use?

Thanks Carl,

My barn is a 30'X40' pole barn with a 10' ceiling but I am sectioning off one corner (not 1/4th) to be aprox 17' wide by 22' long. I have 2x4 walls so I'll be using R-13 and R-19 in the ceiling. I am considering something like Thom has in his video but can't decide between gas and electric. Everyone says gas will heat better but it would be nice to simply run some romex cable and be done with it. I won't be out there every day and when I am it will only be for a few hours so I don't want to spend lots of $$ on an expensive system. I may even just put a portable heater out there the first winter just to get an idea of what size heater I'm going to need.

[Carl Beckett]

I used a portable electric heater the first 4 years..... this is a pretty good plan.

One I trash picked. Another I got of craigslist (practically give away).

I dont know all the components, but electric baseboard is pretty cheap.

Also I have used those self standing kerosene heaters (wick type). If you just want to heat everything up for a day, those are hard to beat.

17' x 22' insulated isnt all that large - my guess is you would be fine with about a half ton heating (less than 2,000 watts) - assuming you were just wanting to take the chill off and werent trying to cook it.

[Rick Potter]

Thom,

Looks just like the one I have. I warm the shop up to 65 or so when it gets frigid inside (that's about 50 for those of you not in SoCal). I go from 45-50 to 65 in about an hour, and then it cycles on about 30% of the time. 1600 sq. ft., insulated shop. Got it cheap when a store went out of business 15 years ago.

Rick P