Help with a mixed-use garage heating system
Last Post 09 May 2009 10:12 AM by Blueridge company. 2 Replies.
Printer Friendly
Sort:
PrevPrev NextNext
You are not authorized to post a reply.
Author Messages
ThumperUser is Offline
New Member
New Member
Send Private Message
Posts:6

--
05 Mar 2009 08:03 PM

My DH and I are building a home in Montana and appricate any recommendations for mixed heating needs in an atttached garage.

The garage will be 24'D x 45'W x10'H overall and the walls are spec'd at R27 and ceiling at R50.  There are 4 insulated roll-up doors and two 12 sq. ft. insulated windows.  The garage will have one stall walled off from the rest of the area to use as a workshop.  The soil type is powdery sandy-loamy stuff and ground water is about 100' down.  There will be 2" thick polystyrene insulation around the slab perimeter and 4' inward. 

A 95% gas mod/con boiler with floor radiant will be used for the house heating plant. It can be upsized for the additional garage load. 

So...

What we need is enough heat in the whole garage to sustain it around 35-40 degrees during those cold snaps.  Maybe some minimal amount of radiant tubing for the entire slab??  The workshop area will be infrequently used but a means of quick warmup would be nice.   So will some kind of separate hanging heater with forced air gas or a boiler-driven hydronic/fan unit work best or would a ceiling-mounted gas radiant-tube unit work better?

What are our heating options, should the slab be continuously insulated underneath and is the insulation package balanced for our needs?  What tube spacing is recommended for the slab?

Thanks in advance,

T

BadgerBoilerMNUser is Offline
Veteran Member
Veteran Member
Send Private Message
Posts:2010

--
06 Mar 2009 07:05 AM
These are basic design questions best left to an experienced designer.

A proper heat load analysis is a must.

If you intend to use radiant and have a condensing boiler you are on the right track and would not benefit from low-tech, low-efficiency infrared or unit heaters.

Insulate the entire slab, keep the garage at 50F and turn it up the night before you go out to work in your garage. This will save money and produce great comfort.
MA<br>www.badgerboilerservice.com
Blueridgecompany.comUser is Offline
Advanced Member
Advanced Member
Send Private Message
Posts:656

--
09 May 2009 10:12 AM
Badgers right, insulate the whole slab, Pipe in not a big expense, place pipe in the whole slab. Assuming a 4 inch thick slab a 12 inch pattern of 1/2 pex will be about right for this application. 1,080 sq feet would be well served with #4 300 foot runs more or less. odds are your residence boiler will have plenty of capacity, the shop may add about 30,000 btu at a generous figure of 30 BTU a sq ft. but don't quote me this is not an official heat loss, and likely is high 20%+ but it gets you in the concept area.
Dan
Dan <br>BlueRidgeCompany.com
You are not authorized to post a reply.

Active Forums 4.1
Membership Membership: Latest New User Latest: croccohvacusa New Today New Today: 0 New Yesterday New Yesterday: 0 User Count Overall: 35027
People Online People Online: Visitors Visitors: 165 Members Members: 0 Total Total: 165
Copyright 2011 by BuildCentral, Inc.   Terms Of Use  Privacy Statement