Member
I installed a high efficiency mini-split heat pump. I bought it online on sale for a little over $1,000 and installed it myself, except for the copper. An HVAC guy charged me $100 to do that part. Now I have heat and air-conditioning with excellent control of humidity.
Contributor
If you go the split mini route (I did), just check the specs to be sure it heats well enough for your climate. Some are better than others at the low temperatures.
I ended up doing the install myself (would have gotten an AC guy to pull it down and connect the copper, but after calling several it was clear it was going to be a little hassle/$$ - they wanted $500 to $1000 depending on which I called, just to charge - this is the nature of service people in my area).
I ended up bringing some argon home from work and doing the flared fittings myself. Purged the lines with Argon to help remove moisture and oxygen, and so far its working great.
Humidity control was a big consideration - my tools were rusting in the humid Spring/Fall months.
[OP]
Member
Well I bought one of these - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o04_s00_i00
It sort of worked. It used a lot of electricity. I was thinking it might help take the edge off the cold while in the shop. It does, even when pretty cold out (say low 30's). The problem is that it takes so long to heat the space...
I talked to my plumber again about bringing gas out to my shop. When I brought electricity out there, I put two PVC pipes under ground out to the shop. One for power, and the other for future needs, or data lines. I only put one CAT 5 cable in the 2nd pipe. So my plumber was able to run a 1" flex gas line through there out to the shop. It took a lot of back and forth to figure out all the connections-and to get it installed in a safe way-without being overly obtrusive in my yard or my basement. I hope to be able to fire it up in the day or two. I went with the Sterling Garage heater as suggested by Mark. They have a slightly better efficiency compared to the Modine. The price was better too. I got it slightly over sized (75,000 BTUs). This should heat the space faster-which is good for when I am only going out there for an hour or so.
I'll let you all know how it works once the installation is complete. oh yeah, the weather of course is just warming up here in Boston...
Contributor
Originally Posted by Kevin Guarnotta
I wouldn't worry too much about this, it will change soon enough!
My first garage heater was a 75,000 btu Dayton unit heater. When it died, only 20 years later, I replaced it with a 45,000 btu Reznor. I miss how quickly that Dayton would heat my 2 car garage, but I don't miss how low it hung.
Contributor
How much BTU's does the high efficiency mini-split heat pump put out? How well does it work in a cold environment?
Contributor
Hi Jim,
This split mini's come in different sizes. At the low end it's about 1 'ton' ( approx 12,000 btu) and go up from there. 3 ton is common, and after that I just see them ganged to provide the capacity desired.
What size you need is entirely a function of how well you insulate. Infinite insulation, and a single btu can manage it. Look up a software by slant fin to estimate heating loads of your building.
A heat pump can be more than 1:1 efficient. Electric resistive heat is just that - one watt in equals one watt heating. Generally speaking, it's not a particularly efficient heat source. The heat pump also provides dehumidification and AC. The rub is, that at low temps they start losing capacity. On the one I have I believe it's 50% (or maybe 75%) when it's 5degrees out. Electric heaters (like electric baseboard) can be used to boost heating when it's really cold out (a few days a year)
It's just one option. I'm not trying to say it's the perfect solution but I choose it because it was clean, no combustibles, and doubled as AC.
Ask me again in 5years how I like it....
Contributor
Carl
Thanks for the information I going to give this a serious look at , I'm liking the dehumidification and AC part of this and no combustibles.
Jim
Contributor
I purchased from here:
http://www.acwholesalers.com/Ductles...-Zone-s/86.htm
I think there are others here that have used these, so can chime in
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