How to Heat a large workshop

[MrLentz]

Hello!

I have been working out of a small space for quite a while, but recently have the opportunity to move into a 2,000 square foot steel building. Yes I know - I could park a 747 in there. Most of it wont be used for production, but I was wondering how to heat the place for winter? Outside air temps are typically 40 degrees. It's got 18 ft. ceilings and is pretty much a large open space.

I was thinking at first - using vented propane radiant tube heating. However, since this is infrared heating and heats objects....does anyone have experience with using this type of heating with leatherwork below? Is it a bad idea?  I can hang them fairly high.

The other option is forced air via one of those hanging units, or possibly a typical home furnace. That seemed a bit of a waste considering the size of the space and height of the ceiling. All of the hot air would go to the top!

Anyhow - just looking to see if anyone has experience heating a space this large, especially for leatherwork and any considerations for it.

Thanks!

[JD62]

I worked in an aircraft hangar with infrared heat for 25 years and I'm not a fan. The floor level was always cold and recovery time when the doors were opened and closed was slow.  It may be cheapest to build a room with lower ceilings and good insulation ,then a unit heater hung from the ceiling would work well. If it's a lease you might be able to get the landlord to foot some of the bill!

[JerseyFirefighter]

I'm glad you had posted and will be following suggestions. I had reached the point to either its a larger home for a bigger work space, or a steel building put up on my property. I would prefer the former but the question of heating and cooling in the seasonal months did cross my mind as a big factor into which direction I would like to take. We can go from sub freezing to 100F throughout the year. 

 

What got me most was the time it would take to heat up in the morning. My hours in the shop vary so I cant just set a weekly timer. In the summer it is cooler in the morning so cooling wouldnt be so hard. In the winter it gets pretty cold. I'd spend the first hour working in freezing temps before the structure can heat up in the winter time. 

[Dwight]

This subject was always in the back of my mind until we decided to build a car port. 

I went on the other end of the car port, . . . built a 10 by 22 room, . . . 9 foot ceilings, . . . with only one window.  That window is for two purposes:  security, . . . I can watch the window from the house AND I can look out the window and see anyone delivering or stopping by while in the shop.

I put in a small vent free propane heater, . . . and a 6000 btu window A/C unit.  Heater hangs on the wall inside, . . . A/C unit is in a small hole cut out in the wall up at about 7 ft off the floor.

I don't notice any measurable difference in either the propane bill or the electric bill, . . . A/C stays on 24/7 during the summer, . . . heat is on 24/7 during the winter.

The key is the insulation.  The building has a minimum of 4 inches of styrofoam insulation in the walls and 6 inches in the ceiling and the floors.  Outside is 3/4 plywood sheathing and interior is 3/4 OSB, . . . drywall ceiling.

Yeah, . . . love my little shop.

This will not solve the dilemma of the OP, . . . unless he spent the money to build a shop, . . . within the shop.  It could be made of pre-fabbed wall panels, say 8 ft by 10 ft, . . . with pockets in the walls to bolt them together.  

Home made trusses could hold up the ceiling, . . . provide a place for the insulation.

If you ever decide to move, . . . it's portable because it's pre-fabbed, . . . knock it down and incorporate it into the next place.  

Long and short, . . . the heating and cooling needed to not have problems with rust and mold in the type of shop outlined by the OP, . . . it would scare me enough to not even think about moving there.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited April 20, 2018 by Dwight

[CowboyBob]

I did similar to what Dwight.I built a 30x56 building w/large rollup door on leftside,small 36"door on right w/one window on the front & 2-on the sides & built a 14x40 shop inside of it w/6"insulation on top & 4"sidewalls,I have a gas furnace(50,000 btu) in it,but this winter I put a small electric(look like a radiator heater) set it on low & it keeps the chill off & prevents condensation.What's nice is the storage on the top of the room.Oh,and I put a sliding door on the side 7'x8' in case I want to work on a car.

[Ferg]

We moved our wood shop from 10,000 sq.ft. to 5,000 sq. ft. and finally downsized to about 1300 sq. ft. We built the shop onto our log home. It has three sides open to the weather plus a little. Ceilings are 12 feet because I wanted to be able to turn a 4 x 8 sheet of material end over end if need be. Fluorescent lighting, used kerosene space heater for several years. Finally hung an electric heater on the ceiling just out from the wall exposed to the North, with 8 x 10 overhead door and service door to outside. Can't remember what the BTU is on the heater but it required a 30 Amp Breaker. When below 40 degrees we turn the heater on the night before we are going to work in the shop. I have thermostat set at 55 degrees. Chilly when you first begin working. Large air compressor and Vacuum pump helps heat. When really cold, below 30 degrees, and windy the electric bill climbs pretty fast. At my age I can take the bill to be reasonably comfortable plus that heater stabilizes the moisture in stored material.

If I had my leather shop out there, it would be way too cold. Shop has 8" logs on a portion of it with remainder having 2 x 6 fully insulated walls with six inch batts in the ceiling. Shop is drywalled, no windows and we don't air condition in summer. Not practical. We use fans and open the overhead and service door, also have a small spray booth with a 24" exhaust fan we turn on in summer.

BTW: My leather shop is on second floor of home with heat and air with a carpeted floor, two large and two small windows.

ALSO: Shop has never dropped below 40 degrees with no heat turned on. We have temps in the teens to twenties in the winter.

Ferg

Edited April 20, 2018 by Ferg

[Northmount]

As Dwight says above, " The key is the insulation.  The building has a minimum of 4 inches of styrofoam insulation in the walls and 6 inches in the ceiling and the floors. "

Foamed-in-place insulation is the best bet, reduces air infiltration and exfiltration.  My son's workshop uses foam insulation, drywall on the walls, open ceiling, 14" high ceiling, open trusses.  Uses nat gas radiant heating, leaves the temperature set at 40 F when not working.  Sets up to 65 or so when he is working in it.  Shop is comfortable, and stays dry except when bringing his tractor inside after moving snow.  Then it takes time to remove the moisture to due to how well sealed the shop is.  Remember with radiant heating, only what is exposed to the radiant tube receives direct heat.  Convection from those surfaces does the rest.  He really doesn't notice the cost of heating the shop due to how well it is insulated.  Winter in his location is down to -40.

Adequate insulation really makes the biggest difference to comfort and utility costs.  Foamed-in-place insulation done right can eliminate the cold steel or wood bridging from outside to inside.

I don't believe you will have problems with leather drying out anymore than with other heating systems, as long as it is not too close to the radiant tube.

Tom

[MrLentz]

Thanks for the tips! I definitely was considering the closed cell spray foam insulation. It seems like that stuff is the best way to insulate these steel buildings. Though I believe it can be quite costly...but worth it in the longrun

 

[LatigoAmigo]

On 4/19/2018 at 9:34 PM, MrLentz said:

I was thinking at first - using vented propane radiant tube heating. However, since this is infrared heating and heats objects....does anyone have experience with using this type of heating with leatherwork below? Is it a bad idea?  I can hang them fairly high.

My wife has a ceramics studio that can get cold and we have had great success with radiant heat, which is pointed toward her wheel, her tools and her clay.

On 4/19/2018 at 9:34 PM, MrLentz said:

The other option is forced air via one of those hanging units, or possibly a typical home furnace. That seemed a bit of a waste considering the size of the space and height of the ceiling. All of the hot air would go to the top!

At one point the radiant heater died, and at the time all I could find to replace it with was a convection heater. That did not work nearly as well. Sure the room warmed up, but her tools and the clay did not pick up any of the heat. 

Radiant heat warms the object, convection heat warms the room. 

The choice between propane, natural gas and electricity is going to be based on the available power source. But, for what it is worth, each plug-in, 120 volt heater will draw approximately 15 amps, so your electric service will have to be able to handle the load of several heaters. The advantage of electric is that there is no ventilation required. Gas is a whole other topic, with issues of plumbing, thermostats, ventilation, etc. Best to contact your service provider for a their recommendation.

[chrisash]

What we did was to get a company to erect some free standing walls partitions with a insulated roof inside the unit to make office space, i guess in your case maybe a 4mtr x 4mtr work room. This was solid wall height to about 1.5 mtr and then glass from there to the ceiling

The cheaper option would be a plywood room with 2x 4 timber support or a portacabin inside