Electric Garage Heaters: What You Need to Know
As winter approaches and unheated spaces like garages get colder, interest in purchasing devices like electric garage heaters rises. Particularly if you use your garage for activities other than simply storage and for parking your vehicle. Without appropriate heat in your garage, it can be an uncomfortable place to visit during the coming cold winter months. But what do you need to know before purchasing electric garage heaters? Here is some basic information to help you make an appropriate selection for your garage:
- Electricity is a very safe, economical and effective way to heat spaces such as garages. With propane heaters you will need to worry about venting them properly, while with natural gas heaters the price tends to fluctuate a lot and you may end up paying a lot more to heat your garage than you first anticipated. Electric garage heaters convert heat to electricity at an astounding 100% rate, while propane heaters only convert 80% of the propane fuel into heat (the remaining twenty percent is lost). You will also not be required to repeated refill propane or natural gas tanks, saving additional time and expense. For all these reasons, it is unsurprising that electric garage heaters are the most popular way to heat garages.
- If you purchase an electric garage heater, you will find that there are a variety of models that can be mounted in different ways in your garage. Manufacturers can either permanently install an electric garage heater in a location or you can purchase a portable electric garage heater that can be moved about the garage as needed. Many people prefer the heaters to be professionally installed onto the roof of their garage so that they remain out of the way and can effectively distribute heat throughout the garage. If possible, you should try locating electric garage heaters in the coldest section of your garage for them to be the most effective.
- When shopping for an electric garage heater, you should know the approximate space you need to heat. Purchase the electric garage heating model with the specifications that is closest to that space or BTU measurement. It is not necessarily a good idea to buy a more powerful electric garage heater than needed, as you will likely just end up spending more than you need to on electricity.
- Electric garage heaters operate using a fan to blow heat throughout your garage. Depending on the manufacturer, some models can be noisier than others. If you are concerned about the noise level of the fan, you should shop specifically for an electric garage heater that is manufactured to be as quiet as possible.
Some of the popular manufacturers of electric garage heaters include:
Dayton - The Dayton G73 Electric Garage Heater with Built-in Thermostat has an amazing 17,100 BTUs of heating power, which means it can heat areas that are larger than 500 square feet in size. It also comes with a built in thermostat and an automatic thermal cutout that will shut the unit down if it ever overheats.
- Farenheat- Known for a wide range of heating products, this Farenheat Ceiling-Mounted electric garage heater has 5000 watts of energy (17,065 BTU/hr) at a very reasonable price. Easily mounts on the ceiling of your garage and comes with an automatic thermostat. Other neat design features include a delayed heat start up so that the fan will not blow cold area before the hot air is ready.
QMark – This heater by QMark is perfect for slightly smaller spaces and is very affordable. The BRH482 unit heats up to 480 square feet, has a neat red finish to it, and is very durable in design. Includes a built in thermostat and many different safety features.
Ouellet – The Ouellet heavy duty electric steel garage and workshop heater is a 4000 Watt heater that can be mounted on a wall or ceiling (BTU: 13,648). It is also very affordable and has excellent customer reviews.