I went through the same dilemma last year when we moved to our current
house. I have a detached shop that's about 26 x 26 plus an upstairs
loft; lots of volume as its an open A frame design.
Our house is heated by propane but it was too far to run a line out to
the shop and there was an underground irrigation system in the way. The
local gas company wanted about $3K to install a Modine with the required
vents, tank, etc. Instead I went with a ceiling mounted 220V electric
unit that I found on eBay for $400 and a couple hundred bucks for the
electricial to run a line to it. I don't keep the garage heated in the
winter, but will bring it from 15 to 20 up to 55 on the weekends. The
electric unit can do it, but it takes quite a while for the heat rise so
I use a portable kerosene heater to help jump start the heating process.
The electric unit is fine for maintaining the temps and dries the air a
bit so the condensation from the kerosene heater hasn't been a problem.
Installation was easy, just hang the bracket and attach the wires.
There's a built in thermostat and fan, and its pretty quiet when running.
The garage is on its own meter, and over the winter the monthly bill was
only about $35 more than the summer amount.
Rob
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