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Thread: How many hobbyists heat/cool the shop year round?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Greater Manor Metroplex, TX
    Posts
    264

    How many hobbyists heat/cool the shop year round?

    I am in Central Texas. We are just coming off of 45 days of 100+ temps.

    My shop is 16 x 24 and I use a through the wall AC/heater unit to heat and cool the shop. The shop is traditional stick built and is insulated.


    I am an week-end (at best) hobbyist. Right I turn on the Ac or heat before or as I going into the shop. It is not uncommon for the temps in the shop to get into the 90s if it has been some time since I have been in there.

    I am wondering about leaving the AC on all the time. (I am also looking replacing the wall unit with a Mini Split Mr Slim DIY kit).

    How many of you hobbyists out there keep your shops conditioned year round?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    In the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
    Posts
    16,620
    I leave the heater set at 50* in the winter. I only use the AC (swamper) when I’m in the shop.
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Todd Mason-Darnell View Post
    I am in Central Texas. We are just coming off of 45 days of 100+ temps.
    My shop is 16 x 24 and I use a through the wall AC/heater unit to heat and cool the shop. The shop is traditional stick built and is insulated.
    I am an week-end (at best) hobbyist. Right I turn on the Ac or heat before or as I going into the shop. It is not uncommon for the temps in the shop to get into the 90s if it has been some time since I have been in there.
    I am wondering about leaving the AC on all the time. (I am also looking replacing the wall unit with a Mini Split Mr Slim DIY kit).
    How many of you hobbyists out there keep your shops conditioned year round?
    I have a heat pump for my shop and leave it on all the time - about 80 in the summer and maybe 68 or so in the winter.

    How efficient it is if left on all the time might depend a lot on how WELL the shop is insulated, walls, ceiling, windows, doors, garage door, etc. I built with 6" studs both for strength and to allow thicker wall insulation. Also, the HVAC guy said said it also helps to have an efficient unit sized properly for the space, not too big nor too small. You can find calculators on the internet to help determine the heating/cooling needs.

    jKJ

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Houston, Texas area
    Posts
    1,308
    I a just finishing building a shop near Houston. AC/Heat was installed last week (large Mitsubishi mini-split). I plan to run it year round to control humidity which is a big problem in this area (high 70s last week).

    The nice thing about a continuously variable speed mini-split is they can control humidity even when the AC load is very small. Traditional single or two-stage AC's don't work very well for humidity control when the outside temps are close to the inside temps because they cycle on and off faster than how long it takes for the dehumidifying to happen (typically 10-15 minutes before the coil is dripping and the condensate drain is flowing).

    We'll see what the bill is next year.
    Last edited by mark mcfarlane; 08-06-2017 at 4:19 PM.
    Mark McFarlane

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Tampa Bay area
    Posts
    1,090
    My little shop also has a mini split inverter heat pump that stays on all the time. I keep the tstat at 83 in the summer when I am not in the shop and turn it down to 80 when I am in the shop. I keep the tstat at at the lowest setting possible if we are going to get a cold front. All you notherners might like to know that I never turned on the heat in the house or shop once last winter. I definitely had the A/C going though. I keep the A/C going all the time to control humidity.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Scarborough(part of Toronto|) Ontario
    Posts
    306
    That's one of the benefits of having your shop in the basement of your home. Mine is heated or cooled depending on the season.
    Although it is typically a few degrees cooler than the rest of the house.

    Tim

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Bloomington, IL
    Posts
    6,009
    I heat in winter. In summer i open 1/3 of the walls/ i mean the 14x14 east and west doors and my other windows. I have a day job so mostly out in evenings. Too hot or too cold and itsva hobby so i can just do somethong inside like nap.
    Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Fredericksburg, TX
    Posts
    2,576
    I have a 16x24 with gambrel roof providing attic storage. The walls and roof have 4" insulation. I have a small window air conditioner mounted in the wall and use a small oil filled space heater in winter. I have the air conditioned set at 78F which it cannot maintain in summer and try to heat to about 60 in winter, but have the heater inside my shower curtain walls around lathe to keep that area a little warmer. I do leave the AC on 24/7 but the nights often will be cooler outside and unit just circulating air. It works pretty well. I recently rough turned a bunch of green wood and have it packed in double paper bags with shavings in the loft and am running an exhaust fan mounted high on wall, but lower part of shop is still workable about 80F if use a fan.

    My previous shop in Tyler was 22x24 with vaulted ceiling. I had a house type AC unit with strip heaters. The cooling was OK and not overly expensive, but the strip heat was a killer even at 60 degrees.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Lubbock Texas
    Posts
    931
    I am in the high desert of Lubbock Texas and I am in my shop all day every day. Usually about 90°- 100° in the summer. I have two window A/C units in this 23'x13' shop. It is insulated. I leave my A/C units running 24 hours a day unless I know I will not be in the shop the next day.
    (I sell at a farmers market on Saturdays) I use a small electric heater for heat in the winter. My dust collector is outside my shop so I have make up air ducts at my two sanding stations to keep the A/C load to a minimum. In a former shop I had a small direct vent A/C unit but the sawdust plugged it up too easily. Window units are easier to clean.
    No PHD, but I have a DD 214

  10. #10
    I heat and cool my shop as I need it. Usually spend most days during winter in the shop, but during the growing times of year am busy on the farm. Do have a 2 ton ac that came off the house when it was replaced. Works good, but runs constantly to get the temp down to 80. Too expensive to run the AC when you aren't in the shop. And most of my work is to give to my family members, not for money. My nephew's wife had a baby last winter, I built them a chest of drawers.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    1,830
    My 14 X 26' insulated shop has a window style heat pump mounted high and through the North wall of the shop. It is left on most of the time now, unless I won't be in the shop for a while, and it's left on all Winter when temperatures will be below 40 because I want to protect my finishing supplies, batteries, and the water lines to the sink. When I'm not actually in the shop the temperature is set to about 50 in the Winter and 70 in the Summer. I never have rust problems and the shop is less than 100' from a 250 acre lake and only about 5' above it.

    Charley

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lewiston, Idaho
    Posts
    28,504
    I have a Lennox hanging gas furnace for use in the winter when I keep it at around 58ºF when not in use and 64ºF when in use stepped up to 70ºF when finishing. I suffer in the summer heat now when it can be over 100ºF for 3-4 weeks late July, early August. My wife has offered me a split unit which I may take up the offer next summer.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Forest Lake MN
    Posts
    340
    I have an attached garage shop. I lucked out and the garage had a forced air furnace when I bought the house. The first winter I did not use it but on a -15 day the pipes in my laundry room above it froze, so now I keep it at 50 all winter. The pipe thing gave me a great excuse to use with the wife to justify running the furnace.

    I dont cool it in the summer but living in MN it is typically not terrible.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Lewisville, NC
    Posts
    1,359
    Year round here......I figure the cost of doing it here in NC is the ~same as fighting rust on machine tops(and hand tools, etc) and changes in humidity in all of the wood and veneer in the shop....not to mention finishes.
    I have radiant floor heat and a single window AC unit . I keep temperature around 65 in winter and 75 in summer.


    Jim

  15. Life is too short to waste time fixing the swelling that sweat drops and runny nose snot cause. 24/7/365 baby! Although I do use a programable thermostat.

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