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Heated Garage?

How old was this mini-split? Modern units should have no issues with freezing up, as far as I'm aware. Worst-case is they run a dethaw cycle by running in cooling mode (with the fan on the interior unit off) to heat up the coils until the moisture melts off.

That's for coils. I've had mine freeze in bad weather to the point that the fan wouldn't spin from how frozen it was. The rain and wet snow had built up probably half inch or so of ice on everything. Fan, motor, coils, literally every surface that the moisture touched.
 
Can be done for far less:

I added an 'infrared' gas heater, hung from an upper wall, to my garage (also my workshop).
It has no other heat source.

The heater was under $250, and installation (gas line also runs thru garage, so was 'easy') maybe another couple hundred?
It does use a pilot light, but I only turn it on when I'm working on something for a while in there in winter.
Placed the t-stat near by, but around a corner.
Amazon.com: Mr. Heater

(Wow, that has really gone up in price!)

It works really well - in fact far better than I'd expected it to.
(It kept me nice and warm, for a few weeks while I was building some furniture (AV rack!) in there, and eventually (over several days) would get floor slab heated up, a bit too.)

> Use cost is neglible - even if used continuously for a few weeks, I don't recall ever seeing an increase of more than a few bucks in my gas charges.

> I mostly leave it off, and gas disconnected, and dont' mind climbing a ladder (where I store it!) to turn it on and fire up the pilot when needed, but also found it really reliable for longer runs, too. Did learn to remember to dial back the t-stat from 'roast' after a day or two, the hard way (>80deg in garage!).
(Edit: The garage is pretty air leaky, so I'm not concerned about fumes...in a really tight garage, it'd be less ideal.)

> I have several smoke/CO2/gas detectors in there, just be sure (networked, so both phone and other detectors inside would go off 'in sympathy', too).

> Aside from workshop. it's also really handy if I need to work on the truck for any reason in winter....ah, brings up another point:

> Leaving the garage unheated (ie, below zero) reduces the effect of salted streets on the truck, another reason I leave it off usually.
The truck is 20 years old and shows very little rust.... I also leave it's windows open to air out moisture inside it when parked.

> The comment about having a 'spare' heating source also played into my thinking - main home heat is a Triangle Tube super high efficiency gas boiler driving underfloor radiant (but also have baseboard electric as a backup).
This garage unit provides a heat source with no dependence on electricity (boiler has pumps) and I keep a lighter in there specifically for it.
Mostly psychological, of course.

> Garage is decently insulated but unlike the R40 in the house walls, has only 4" studs; roof/ceiling is flat with 'typical' insulation (ie, not superinsulated).

For less than about $5-600, I'm really really impressed with how much of a difference it makes when I need to work out there in winter, and just having the option is somehow 'freeing'!

PS> I also bought a new Mitsu heatpump mini-split, mostly for AC, but it also does heat; it is not any 'more' efficent than the boiler. But adding a head unit for that in the garage would have been thousands.
 
PS> I also bought a new Mitsu heatpump mini-split, mostly for AC, but it also does heat; it is not any 'more' efficent than the boiler.
Of course it is.
 
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We are in negotiations with a builder for a new home, and there was one option presented to me that I am completely unsure about: natural gas heaters in the garage. They mount near the ceiling, and obviously the exhaust is ducted outside.
We live in Florence Oregon. Our media room is above the triple garage. Garage doors are held against the weather seal with Green Hinge System.
Our winter temperature averages and La Guardia Temperatures are a little colder.

We use two 600w oil filled heaters to maintain the garage temperature @ 62°F as that is where my 'lab' is.
Most of the time the heaters are barely warm. In a recent cold snap [30° night - 40° day] I measured the energy usage @ 9kW/24hr. Previous to the Green Hinge System, it was about 20kW/24 hours in similar temperatures.

Prior to setting up the 'lab' in the garage, we didn't heat it and the media room was definitely cooler than it is now, particularly so in the morning after the night heat setback.

Some of my friends also have heaters and the Green Hinge System in their garage. Those on a thermostat like electric or gas are not as comfortable as those with the electric/oil as the temperature cycles over a wider range.

I don't know relative energy costs in NY, but we installed a variable speed heat pump system in 2023. Nothing like it. Quieter, more efficient and runs down into the 20's with only a little backup whereas the single speed it replaced needed help @ 45 and was AWOL by 35.
 
Of course it is.

Efficiency for me is: total cost of heating per season.

For the last 3 years I've compared heating costs in early fall between Mitsu mini-split and my TT condensing boiler.
The actual cost difference (all fees included) for running each system (one at a time) has been too close to call (Wisconsin rates).

However, the comfort factor is vast - the minisplit only blows hot (warm) air nearby; the boiler feeds finned copper pipes in the joist spaces, so there is even heat Everywhere.
The colder it is outside, the more the comfort difference is noticeable.
(Adding more head units would have made a minisplit solution (installed) more expensive than the boiler.)

The Minisplit is thus great for spot needs, say, like a cold snap for a few days, since it is very easy to turn on and off quickly; the boiler is better for steadily cold weather.

I ran extended cost tests between the two in later fall (November) and the TT boiler won that one handily (about a 20 % lower total cost).

Installed costs are high for both - boiler a bit more but had (then) higher rebates.
Net costs were about the same - one provides summer aircon and fall spot heat, the other provides whole house even heat during winter.

I now heat my (super insulated) house for about $400 per year; previously, running baseboard electric, my peaks reached $700 in just one month (January)!
So it paid for itself in about 2-3 years.
The new Mitsu has not reduced any operational costs compared to the 'el cheapo' mini-split it replaced...but is handy that it heats too.

There were also some research results taken of my specific TT model, and testers were impressed - that model actually came close to achieving 99% efficiency in their tests.
(Unfortunately, I didn't save the link...more than 10 years ago.)

Heating is complex, with lots of comfounding variables - don't jump to conclusions.
 
Personally for $3K I'd go for better insulation / insulated doors and then however many space heaters you find yourself in need of. I don't think spending $$ on heating a space you're not sure requires heating is a great use of money. I mean, you could get a set of open-box KH150s for that money. ;)
 
We are in negotiations with a builder for a new home, and there was one option presented to me that I am completely unsure about: natural gas heaters in the garage. They mount near the ceiling, and obviously the exhaust is ducted outside.


At this point in my life, I am doing very little hobby work in my garage so I don't feel there is much value in the garage being warm, except for the living space that's above it. There are two bedrooms over the garage, along with plumbing. (The home is in a suburb of NYC--so winters are cold, but not Buffalo cold.) We've never had a home with living space above unheated space like this, and my concern is uncomfortably cold floors and maybe even frozen pipes. Assuming R30 insulation in the garage ceiling, would garage heat be solving an imaginary problem? Or do you think garage heat is the best thing ever, and I'll kick myself for skipping it?

(Cost is about $3000, so not too significant in grand scheme of a house, but I don't want to waste money.)
I am going to suggest that, if you ever plan on either selling it or passing it on to someone who might later sell it, having some (NO non-temporary space heater rig) type of permanent heating installation would be a good resale value AND great moisture control for that area of the home.
Personally, I like to live in places that NEVER see a need for heat (such as my second [currently, hopefully will become my Primary, eventually] home {a condo with concrete floor walls & ceiling}) in Guam.
 
Installed costs are high for both - boiler a bit more but had (then) higher rebates.
Net costs were about the same - one provides summer aircon and fall spot heat, the other provides whole house even heat during winter.

I now heat my (super insulated) house for about $400 per year; previously, running baseboard electric, my peaks reached $700 in just one month (January)!
So it paid for itself in about 2-3 years.


Heating is complex, with lots of comfounding variables - don't jump to conclusions.
On a deep water creek (3/4 acre on James Island, SC USA) my parents (My father owned a Mechanical contracting business [plumbing, heating & air conditioning] and my mother was involved in the business) designed and built our tri-level split level home with friends (other contacting buddies) in 1964 & we moved in when I was 8.
Hot water based base board heat throughout (including the laundry room & 2 car garage, with separate circulating pumps for each level) with a boiler that supplies the household plumbing with hot water also. Wonderful radiant, non blowing heat.
Guests don't figure it out until we tell them. (my 90 year old mother says that the way the heat operates is why she's not going anywhere else anytime soon).
The all electric boiler was swapped out for a natural gas one in 1989. We have a lower power bill than most (including folks with smaller homes).
The central AC system (one for each level) is designed for the cool air to fall from the ceilings. Light breeze form that, no ceiling fans needed.
My father left High School to join the Merchant Marines during WWII (when he was 16), and after WWII was in the Signal Corps [heading up the Telephone headquarters at Camp Riedenburg in Salzburg, responsible for the operation of all installations in the US Zone of Austria, except Vienna]. He finally got his High School diploma when he was 76.
But he definitely knew the building trades and how to design heating & AC systems for efficiency.
I wonder about the long term reliability and easy replacements (or lack there of) with the efficient designs of today that meet or exceed what my father did at our home in 1964.
 
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