Heating Garage with gas fired infra red radiant

ALH_4

I would put tube in the slab with a unit heater for quick pickup. The tube in the slab can be used to maintain the space at a minimum temperature and when you want to do something in the garage in the winter, you can kick the unit heater on to pick the temperature up quickly. If you are parking vehicles in the garage, do not forget to add floor drains for melted snow.

If the floor is already there, I still like a unit heater better than overhead radiant in a garage. Overhead radiant heaters cast too many cold shadows for my comfort.

RDB

Heating Garage Infra red radiant gas fired

Garage 31x24. My understanding with infra red radiant tube heating is that you need a fairly large ares of your concrete garage floor open to the infra red waves for this system to work most effecently. If I have the floor blocked with the parked cars will this system work? What are the pluses and minuses of a ceiling mount Modine type heater blower compared to the radient tubing system? Thanks RDB

Brad White

Height and Line of Sight

are key aspects. I recently designed a tractor-trailer chassis repair facility in Boston with five high bays and overlapping heaters (a total of ten). Each had ducted combustion air and vented out the roof. Seems to work fine, last season being the first.

Naturally those who venture under the chassis will get the Big Chill, especially considering that they leave the end bay doors open about three feet for ventilation. But then come out into the sun and enjoy.

As you note, floor coverage is key. You have to warm your floors to get the flywheel started, allowing at least some comfort time below the vehicles.

If this was to be a more permanent building (it has an expected use as a temporary facility for a handful of years), I would have used in-slab radiant. Cannot beat that kind of coverage.

Years ago United Airlines built a central hub hangar facility in Indianapolis which has in-slab radiant. Working under aircraft wings, you have to appreciate that.

The other side of this is height. If you have tall vehicles too close to the beam you could damage paint I would think, even with low-intensity tube heaters which is what I used.

Blower heaters (Modine Hot Dawg comes to mind) seem ideal absent radiant, especially in that they take their combustion air from outside.

Random thoughts. Maybe a combination makes sense?

hot_rod

Make mine radiant floor heat!

talk to mechanics and other folks that work on concrete slabs for a living. I think you will find hands down the radiant floors are their first choice.

Another feature of hydronic radiant floors is the multi fuel options. From mild to wild. Wood, geo, electric, biomass, solar or combinations of.

A couple hydronic unit heaters for shoulder season loads.

Nothing against over head radiant, it certainly has a place. depends on where you want the warmth most. if it on your feet and under cars and equipment, etc floor radiant is my choice.

And concrete is such a good medium for shop floors... and hydronic radiant.

The Delta repair hanger in Salt Lake has radiant floor heat. it can open wide enough to swallow a 747. They did some testing when that was built as to warm up time after that big cold bird was pulled in. Talk to those mechanics about perfect heat

hot rod