How to Heat an Attached Garage With Electricity

Heating an attached garage is easily done with electric space heaters.

Heating a garage can be a bit tricky, though the benefits of being able to use a garage during the winter months are great. Attached garages are sometimes heated by the central or main heating unit of the house, though often they are left without any means of heating or cooling. Assuming it is insulated, heating an attached or detached garage with electric heaters is often the way chosen to bring the garage's air temperature to a comfortable level.

Things You'll Need

• Electric space heaters

Instructions

1. Figure your heating needs by using an online heating calculator such as the one listed below in the References section. As an example, a 25 foot long and 25 foot wide garage with a 10 foot ceiling would require about 36,500 BTU to bring the indoor temperature of the garage to about 74 degrees Fahrenheit, when the outdoor temperatures are below freezing. Simply enter the measurements of your garage into the calculator to find your own BTU heating needs.

2. Calculate how many heaters you will need to fulfill your garage's BTU needs using an online BTU conversion calculator such as the one listed below in References. A standard 1,500 watt space heater, for example, will produce about 5,120 BTU of heat per hour. Using the example above with a 36,500 BTU requirement, about eight 1,500 watt space heaters (40,960 BTU) would be needed to reach the minimum level of heat needed.

3. Place the required number of heaters throughout your garage, evenly spaced apart.

4. Turn on each heater and allow the air temperature in the garage to rise. This process can initially take somewhere between one and four hours to completely heat the garage, depending on current indoor and outdoor temperatures and the garage floor temperature.

Tips & Warnings

• Ensure your home's fuse or breaker system can handle the wattage produced by the total number of heaters you will need before purchasing or using the heaters.

• Heaters that produce flames or have exposed heating elements can cause fires. Be sure to keep all heaters away from flammable objects and liquids.

References

• Air & Water Inc: Electric Heater Information
• Herman Nelson International: BTU Heat Requirement Calculator
• The Heater Shop: BTU Calculator and Wattage to BTU Converter