Hi Robert:
You have received quite a few responses that describe very nice heating solutions, especially for a large garage. However, I note that your garage is only one bay, and it is attached to your house. My guess is that you don't need many BTU's to heat that garage.
I recently built a detached 23x23 foot 2-car garage and insulated it pretty well. Eventually I may install a permanent heating system, but the first thing I tried was simply placing a 1500 watt (5120 BTU) electric space heater in there to see how it would do. I was pleasantly surprised that it kept the garage at about 50 degrees F even when the outside temperature was around 20. A second 1500 watt unit allowed me to achieve 70 degrees quite easily.
My guess is that electric heat would be more expensive for you than oil or gas, but if you only plan to heat the garage occasionally while you work in there, maybe that's not a big concern. In my case, I left one heater on at 600 watts all the time, just to keep the garage temperature above freezing. On weekends when I was working in the garage, I cranked it up.
If you decide to use a conventional space heater, I would recommend an oil filled unit like the Delonghi at the following URL:
I think these are safer than some other space heater designs because the surface temperature can not ignite anything. There is still a spark risk associated with the thermostat turning on and off, so you still have to consider that. Unfortunately, many of the heating solutions available to you contain some risk of this type.
Another thing I like about these heaters is that they are completely silent. Some heaters have noisy fans that can be rather annoying.
In any event, with winter nearly upon us, you may find that a single 1500 watt oil filled heater can get your garage comfortable in the time it takes to buy one and plug it in. The results you get with 1500 watts may help you size any long term solution that you are considering.
You have received quite a few responses that describe very nice heating solutions, especially for a large garage. However, I note that your garage is only one bay, and it is attached to your house. My guess is that you don't need many BTU's to heat that garage.
I recently built a detached 23x23 foot 2-car garage and insulated it pretty well. Eventually I may install a permanent heating system, but the first thing I tried was simply placing a 1500 watt (5120 BTU) electric space heater in there to see how it would do. I was pleasantly surprised that it kept the garage at about 50 degrees F even when the outside temperature was around 20. A second 1500 watt unit allowed me to achieve 70 degrees quite easily.
My guess is that electric heat would be more expensive for you than oil or gas, but if you only plan to heat the garage occasionally while you work in there, maybe that's not a big concern. In my case, I left one heater on at 600 watts all the time, just to keep the garage temperature above freezing. On weekends when I was working in the garage, I cranked it up.
If you decide to use a conventional space heater, I would recommend an oil filled unit like the Delonghi at the following URL:
I think these are safer than some other space heater designs because the surface temperature can not ignite anything. There is still a spark risk associated with the thermostat turning on and off, so you still have to consider that. Unfortunately, many of the heating solutions available to you contain some risk of this type.
Another thing I like about these heaters is that they are completely silent. Some heaters have noisy fans that can be rather annoying.
In any event, with winter nearly upon us, you may find that a single 1500 watt oil filled heater can get your garage comfortable in the time it takes to buy one and plug it in. The results you get with 1500 watts may help you size any long term solution that you are considering.
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