Suggestions for Basement Workshop space heater

Zipper13

I'm looking for a suggestion for a space heater for a my father's basement workshop of approx 15'x25'.
He keeps it clean, but of course fine sawdust and woodchips are going to get all over the place. We've thought most electric heaters would be prone to catch fire if the dust got in the wrong place for too long!

I thought maybe an oil-filled electric radiator would do the trick since the really hot parts are enclosed and the exterior easily wiped down. I figure he could turn it on a hour before we wants to work and take the chill off by the time he heads down.

Is this a reasonably safe low-investment solution?




Back story (probably not particularly releavnt but I'm sure some people like knowing more about the story):
My parents replaced their 25 year old recently dead central AC with a 5 or 6 ton heat pump unit and have almost exclusively used that for heat this winter. They've been happy with the operational savings and considering that the old AC was dead anyway, the relative minor upcharge for a heat pump was insignificant. Savings in the cost to run the heat pump vs oil heat this season alone have probably paid for the heat pump's upcharge twice already!

The house used to be a 2BR cape with two heating zones: main floor and the finished portion of the basement. Previous owners added a 15'x25' addition (basement included) and second floor.
With the renovations, they added single zone ducted AC to the first and second floor and ended up with 5 oil hot water heat zones.

My father had rerouted the baseboard hot water loop for the main living area on the main floor to pass through his basement workshop first where he added about 5 feet of baseboard fins. This is probably undersized for the workshop but with a sweater, it keeps it at a temp he was happy to work in.

The heat pump installer and I were very clear that without new ducting (at big expense and inconvenience) the single zone air would have some draw backs for heating -- like a chilly basement! -- With the oil heat effectively off all season the work shop gets chilly now and he spent very little time there this winter.

Any one curious, they like the heat pump solution all in all considering our local electric and oil costs. and of course, they can always revert back to the oil baseboard anytime.

pecmsg

Any heat pump in a wood working shop is looking for trouble.

A chilled water coil will have a drain pan so it can be washed out from time to time. Heat pump water heater may be all that's needed.

ethicalpaul

They're not putting the heat pump in the workshop, they are considering an electric oil-filled radiator. I think you confused the backstory with the question.

A heat pump water heater will not heat a space -- It slightly (very slightly) cools a space.

hot_rod

A couple oil filled electric radiators may do the trick. How cold does it get down there?

Zipper13

To clarify: the basement has no ducting to it and is only heated by baseboard hot water, which is off when the rest of the house benefits form the heat pump (ducted through the existing central AC ducts which only go the first and second floor as a single zone.)

Zipper13

hot_rod said:

How cold does it get down there?

Never directly measured the temp in there it's always been by feel. It's not at risk of freezing and It's well sealed from drafts but since three of the walls are exterior facing bare concrete foundation, it'll chill down cool enough for me to find it unpleasant after about 10-15 minutes at the work bench and he's always felt the chill more than I have.

When the oil heat's on, the few feet of baseboard that he added to the work shop off the main house zone kept it OK for him with a sweater on. I'm trying to picture it in my mind. I know I said 5 feet of baseboard fins, but really it's more generally greater than 3' and less than 5'.
I figured We'd measure the linear feet of fins there and use that output to size a space heater - just trying to brainstorm the safest types!

pecmsg

ethicalpaul said:

They're not putting the heat pump in the workshop, they are considering an electric oil-filled radiator. I think you confused the backstory with the question.

A heat pump water heater will not heat a space -- It slightly (very slightly) cools a space.

A heat pump water heater for the Chilled water coil WILL heat the air.

pecmsg

ron said:

Mr. Heater.

I dont think that will play nice with saw dust.

Hot_water_fan

Oil filled electric radiators is the way. Don't overthink it!

PC7060

I’d start with insulating the exterior walls. If you’re in a room with 40° walls you’re going to be cold.

Zipper13

Hot_water_fan said:

Oil filled electric radiators is the way. Don't overthink it!

Thanks! This is really strongly how I've been leaning, but I've found over and over here that you don't know what you don't know and wasn't sure if I'm missing a safer/better option.

mattmia2

There are oil filed electric baseboard and panel radiators designed for installation which would reduce the exposed surface temps if you can get enough heat out of one or several of them

109A_5

Hello @Zipper13
Although a oil-filled electric radiator is inexpensive to purchase and install, depending on the time spent in the workshop the resulting electric bill may be outrageous. It keeps me out of the basement in the Winter.

If a cost effective long term solution is desired maybe there is a small autonomous self installed heat pump system that would just heat that area. I don't know if this would be a cost effective solution in this situation, maybe the outrageous electric bill is the way to go.

Zipper13

@109A_5 he's looking at $0.15/kwhr there with his municipal electric co. It's somehow been been steady at that for about 10 years now, so for say 5 hrs a day on a 1500W unit or two I'd be more than happy to pay that difference to see my dad happy working!

109A_5

Zipper13 said:

@109A_5 he's looking at $0.15/kwhr there with his municipal electric co. It's somehow been been steady at that for about 10 years now, so for say 5 hrs a day on a 1500W unit or two I'd be more than happy to pay that difference to see my dad happy working!

OK, as long as it works for you. I seem to recall my electric bill going up by hundreds of dollars a month when I tried it years ago. That was unacceptable to me, so I just moved some of the things I was doing to the warmest room in the house (Winter) and visited the basement a lot less. Probably not an option in your case.

pecmsg

Zipper13 said:

@109A_5 he's looking at $0.15/kwhr there with his municipal electric co. It's somehow been been steady at that for about 10 years now, so for say 5 hrs a day on a 1500W unit or two I'd be more than happy to pay that difference to see my dad happy working!

I don’t know of any electric supplier that hasn’t had major increases. 

ethicalpaul

ron said:

Mr. Heater.

I hope this is a bad joke. I would never want a combustion heater in an enclosed space with no exhaust, even though gas companies (who have all of our best interests at heart!) think it's fine!

https://paracogas.com/blog/can-you-use-a-propane-heater-indoors

ethicalpaul

pecmsg said:

ethicalpaul said:

They're not putting the heat pump in the workshop, they are considering an electric oil-filled radiator. I think you confused the backstory with the question.

A heat pump water heater will not heat a space -- It slightly (very slightly) cools a space.

A heat pump water heater for the Chilled water coil WILL heat the air.

I'm not sure what you are talking about, which is fine, but a heat pump that puts heat into its interior content is going to cool the surrounding area. Maybe I'm misunderstanding something you are saying? But regardless, a heat pump water heater does not have a noticeable effect on the temperature of a basement (especially one like this one that is not well insulated)

ethicalpaul

I agree, those are a bad idea too, but they are only used for cooking, not heating a space so it's a lot less fuel and combustion products, and they often have exhaust hoods.

pecmsg

ethicalpaul said:

They're not putting the heat pump in the workshop, they are considering an electric oil-filled radiator. I think you confused the backstory with the question. A heat pump water heater will not heat a space -- It slightly (very slightly) cools a space.

A heat pump water heater for the Chilled water coil WILL heat the air.

I'm not sure what you are talking about, which is fine, but a heat pump that puts heat into its interior content is going to cool the surrounding area. Maybe I'm misunderstanding something you are saying? But regardless, a heat pump water heater does not have a noticeable effect on the temperature of a basement (especially one like this one that is not well insulated)

The heat pump water heater doesn’t need to be in the same area. They also make remote units. 

ethicalpaul

They make all kinds of things, but we are talking about this guy's dad's basement workshop here.

WMno57

Use the oil boiler to heat the workshop. Add some more radiators in the workshop. You don't need 5 zones in a small house. Two zones. One for the shop, and one for the house. You could even run some boiler heat through the house while you are heating the shop (keep the boiler from short cycling).
If you hardly ever use the boiler now, how do you know the boiler will work when the heat pump dies and you are waiting two weeks for parts? Use it or lose it.

Zipper13

Appreciate the feedback, everyone.
Before we get too far off topic, I'll just say that I'm glad to see that my instinct to at least try out the oil-filled electric radiator isn't getting too much hate.
Seems like the path of least resistance to try out first at least! I figure wipe downs and some compressed air every now and then should keep it clean and running safely

mattmia2

Keep in mind a heat loss calculation will be the amount of power that is needed to maintain the current temp at the indoor and outdoor temps used in the calculation. If you want to raise the temp you will need to add more power than that.

In other words you should figure out how fast you want to warm it and figure out how much heat you need above what the heat loss calculations calculate to accomplish that.

Rickoo

How about installing a unit heater off the boiler? Wouldn't think it would need to run much to keep it nice and toasty down there.

Tosea

Hi Zipper13, did you go with oil filled radiant? We're trying to decide for my husband's wood workshop / garage and oil filled radiant seemed safest but it's hard to find a lot of information on it! Thanks. 

pecmsg

Tosea said:

Hi Zipper13, did you go with oil filled radiant? We're trying to decide for my husband's wood workshop / garage and oil filled radiant seemed safest but it's hard to find a lot of information on it! Thanks. 

Oil filled is still Straight Electric. That’s the most expensive. 

mattmia2

Oil filled electric has the best buffer to keep something like a piece or paper or a piece of broom corn from sticking in through the guard and touching something hot enough to ignite it thought i'm not sure what happens when the element immersed in oil burns out.