Electric Garage Heaters

Understanding The Different Types Of Garage Heaters

Finding a good garage heater is different than purchasing a heater for inside your home. In most circumstances the garage is larger and may have less insulation then your home. So when you are looking to purchase a garage heater you need to consider the type of fuel you may want to use, the amount of square footage you need to heat and how easy these heaters are to install.

You can find a heater for your garage that is powered by electric, natural gas or propane. The electric garage heater is a good choice because they are very easy to install and are inexpensive to buy. Most residential electric garage heaters use single phase power which means you use the standard outlet in your garage. Many electric garage heaters also give you wall or ceiling mounting brackets so you can install the heater in a place more out of the way to help you save space.

Electric garage heaters are a great choice for small garages or spaces where heat isn't always a concern. While a portable electric heater is probably the most popular electric garage heater, larger wall, overhead and electric baseboard heaters are also available.

A propane heater is also a very efficient heating method for the garage. Like the electric space heater it is very portable but you have two types to choose from. Both the propane and portable propane heaters require you to use a refillable propane tank however one actually plugs into a regular 120V outlet. What is the difference? The one that requires a plug actually heats and forces the air back into the room making it feel like it is spreading heat much quicker. The one without the plug heats the surrounding area more slowly. Both styles of heaters do require proper ventilation so make sure that you read and follow the recommendations of the manufacturer.

A heater that uses natural gas has advantages also. These heaters can be used even during a power outage; however they are not as portable as an electric garage heater. You will need to have a natural gas line ran to the heater. With natural gas you can get two types of heat, radiant or convection heat. A radiant heat actually heats the occupants in the garage whereas convection heat is done by heating the air which in turn heats the occupants.

Once you have decided which energy source you are going to use then you need to figure out the size heater you need to heat your garage. When you go shopping for your garage heater have the following information with you, the length width and height of the garage and how many degrees you need to raise the temperature in the room. With this information you should be able to figure out how many watts or BTUs you are going to need to heat the garage.

Heating the garage area is a great way to help create another useable room in the house. This can give family members a place to escape and work on outdoor projects that may have had to wait until spring otherwise and having this escape can help alleviate boredom in the winter months. For this reason alone you should consider purchasing a propane, natural gas or electric garage heater.