Help picking a garage heating system
I’m finally going to build my garage and need help picking a oil fired heating system. I live in coastal Mass, where the temperature stays below freezing for most of the winter and around ten degrees for a month or so. It will be 40’ by 70’, partitioned into a 40’ by 40’ work area and 30’ by 40’ storage area. I typically work on autos and bikes on the weekends, and like to wear shorts, t shirt and sneakers.
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So far, the recommendations have been radiant in the slab, baseboard against the walls and ceiling blast heater (or combinations of these). I’d love the comfort of radiant, but concerned about the additional construction and usage costs and the inability to turn it down when not in use then recover quickly. The blast heater is great for fast heating, but worse at uniform and consistent heat. I’m thinking the baseboard would be the best compromise of low cost construction, ability to crank down when not in use and reasonably fast recovery.
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Can someone help me compare the construction costs, usage costs and comfort levels of these types, either individually or together? Is there another type I haven’t considered?
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Thanks.
Replies
You left one out.
Overhead infra-red radiant.
One of it's advantages is that it is also a "quick heat".
You might want to think of a "combo" system where you use radiant in the slab to keep most of the chill off, and a supplemental source (baseboard, infared, whatever) to bump the temperature up when you'll need quick access. This way if you know you are going to have a block of time working like over a long weekend or a week off, you can use the radiant to its full potential. The big plus of radiant, especially for working on cars, is it is a lot nicer when you're laying under your favorite grease-dribbler......
You're looking for an impossible animal, IMHO.
Considering that it's a garage, nothing beats floor heat for comfort and the ability to maintain an even temperature (the floor slab's mass will see to that). Thus, my first vote goes to radiant floor heat. The tubing is peanuts to install now, so I'd do it, no matter what heating system you go with (be sure to get O2-barrier tubing).
However, the flip-side of a radiant floor-slab is slow recovery - it would take several hours to come up to temp. If you can schedule your time in the shop, that will work great. There is nothing more comfortable than a warm floor to work on.
You could use the slab to heat the place to a certain temp, then supplement it with a hydro-air coil for quick recovery during unscheduled times in the shop. This would be the Cadillac of heating systems, and similarly priced. As a side benefit, you could use the system to also make you hot water with an indirect tank.
As for equipment, a oil-fired Viessmann Vitola is hard to beat in these circumstances, they love low return water temperatures and are built wonderfully. For something slightly more exotic (and even more energy efficient) you could consider the Monitor FCX (a condensing oil-fired boiler). Unless you live in a rural area, you could also consider a condensing, modulating gas-fired boiler like the HTP Munchkin, NTI Trinity, Viessmann Vitodens, Buderus GB142, etc. They also love return water temperatures.
Other oil boilers (like the pin-style that is so prevalent in the US) will need a bypass or similar return water temperature protection.