Which garage heater to choose

The garage is a sacred place for true car enthusiasts. However, centralized heating in such premises is a rare luxury, unavailable to most car owners. Therefore, in winter cold, for a comfortable stay in the garage, it is necessary to ensure its heating using household appliances.

Main types of devices

Which heater is best for a garage? Let's look at the main types of heaters suitable for use in garages.

Oil heater – one of the most common household electric heating devices, operating due to the heating located inside the oil housing. The coolant heats the metal body, which, in turn, gives off heat to the surrounding air. This device is very easy to use and is one of the most budget-friendly solutions. However, it is not capable of heating a large area; it raises the air temperature unevenly and does this for quite a long time compared to other types of equipment.

What is the best heater for a garage? Convector – a device that operates on the principle of natural air circulation. Capturing cold currents from the bottom of the housing, which heat up when passing through the heating element, the unit releases heated air to the outside, which, gradually cooling, circulates throughout the room, goes down and again enters the convector input.

This device is more efficient than oil units and is able to heat the room faster. However, it will also not be able to perform if the garage is large or there are drafts.

An infrared heater, unlike others, heats not the air itself, but the objects to which its radiation is directed. They can organize thermal zones, which will avoid unnecessary costs and increase heating efficiency. The principle of operation is borrowed from nature itself - heat is transferred through radiation, just as the sun heats the surface of the earth. However, it is not recommended to stay for a long time in the area of ​​direct exposure to the device’s rays.

Heat guns or fans are also a popular solution among garage owners. This technique has a significant thermal capacity and a high rate of heating of the room. She is also not afraid of drafts and frequently opening doors. The principle of operation is based on the fact that the air heated inside the device body is thrown outside using a built-in fan. This leads to the main disadvantage of this type of device - they operate quite noisily.

Attention! Some heaters can use electricity, gas or liquid fuel (diesel) as an energy source.

Electric models are the most expensive, but easy to operate and safe. To use gas heat guns, you need to take special safety measures to avoid fires, but with their help, heating your garage will cost you the least. Diesel equipment, among other things, will require you to organize an exhaust system.

Heating cables or simply warm floors are used so that in severe frosts there are no problems starting the car.They are placed locally on a parking spot, the car is covered with a cover made of thick material and warmed to a temperature sufficient for starting. Floors consume little current, are economical, but are very problematic to organize - they are best laid during the construction of a garage.

Selecting a device based on thermal power

Which heater to choose for your garage? The main parameter of a heating device is thermal power. It is calculated based on the size of the garage in which the heater will be used.

For gas models the unit of measurement is BTU/h, for electric it is W. A simple approach to determine sufficient power is to multiply the area of ​​the room by 8 and then round to the nearest available model.

The best inexpensive models

• Mr. Heater F232000 MH9BX Buddy is an IR gas appliance with a capacity of 4–9 kBTU. Suitable for heating non-residential premises up to 20 m2²;
• Dyna-Glo RMC-FA60DGD is a gas fuel heat gun, maximum heating output is 60 kWTU. Can cope with premises up to 1 thousand m² and even more;
• Comfort Zone CZQTV5M Ceiling Mount Quartz – infrared quartz electric heater, power 1500 W, suitable for small rooms 8–15 m².

REFERENCE. All listed devices are in the price category of $50–80.