It’s not going to be fun to walk out to your garage and find out that it’s frigid inside. Not everyone has a heating solution set up for their garage, though, and this can make the winter months kind of annoying.
Some people don’t want to use electric heaters or hook their garages up to the house’s heating system. They feel that this would add too much cost to their monthly energy bills.
You don’t need to have electricity in the garage in order to ensure that it stays heated, though. There are options that you can consider that will work out quite nicely.
Keep reading to learn how to heat a garage without electricity. You’ll go over several potential solutions so that you can pick out the option that makes the most sense for your situation.
1 – Use Heaters That Don’t Need Electricity
Of course, one of the first things to consider is that you can use heaters that don’t require electricity to operate. There are many different types of heaters on the market that you can buy, and some of them use gas or kerosene to heat up.
You could easily buy a heater such as this and put it in your garage so that you can keep things warm. This is what a lot of people do when they don’t want to use electricity to help heat their garages.
It’s going to be necessary to take the size of your garage into account when going this route, though. If you have a very large garage, then you’re going to need a powerful heater or you’ll need to use multiple heaters.
Some homeowners might find that it’s better to buy three medium-sized heaters than it is to buy one large, powerful one. You can place the heaters at specific points in the garage to ensure that the entire space is heated as evenly as possible.
If your garage isn’t particularly large, then one heater might very well do the trick. It just depends on how big things are and what type of heater you’re buying.
Generally, you should be able to find out how powerful the heater that you’re buying is. It should give you an indication of the amount of space that it can heat reliably.
You should also consider that using gas, propane, and kerosene heaters can be somewhat dangerous. There is more of a risk of starting a fire when you’re using heaters such as this when compared to using standard electric heating options.
This means that it might be risky to use the heaters if you aren’t going to be in the garage. If an animal got into the garage and tipped the heater over or pushed it too close to something flammable, then it could be disastrous.
That is why methods such as this are truly best saved for when you’re using the garage. If you wish to keep your costs low, then it wouldn’t make much sense to burn fuel when you aren’t using the garage.
The problem is that your garage is still going to be cold when you first walk into it. You’ll just have to hope that the gas heaters are able to get the room feeling toasty enough in a timely fashion.
2 – Insulate the Garage
When you’re looking for a practical way to keep your garage warmer, it’s going to be wise to look into insulation options. If you’re able to insulate your garage properly, then it isn’t going to get so cold as it used to.
Your home should have insulation to help keep the heat inside, and doing the same thing for your garage is going to be helpful. You can open up the walls and line them with insulation to ensure that your garage will stay warmer.
Overall, this idea is going to be worth doing for anyone who is concerned about keeping a garage warm. It isn’t going to cost an abundance of money, and you’ll be able to get things done rather fast.
It is a bit labor-intensive to have to install drywall this way, but it’s well worth the effort. There are also many types of insulation that you can choose from.
Some insulation types are going to be simpler for amateurs to install, and you’ll likely want something user-friendly. There’s always the option of paying professionals to install the insulation if you simply don’t have the time, though.
Either way, this is going to be worth looking into because of how much of a difference it can make. Your garage will stay a lot warmer when properly insulated, and it’ll be more pleasant to walk into it even when you aren’t using heaters.
That being said, installing insulation isn’t going to keep your garage warm by itself. During the winter, the garage is still going to be cold if you have no other heating solution, but it won’t be quite as bad as it was.
It also won’t be as easy for heat to escape the garage, and this will make it less costly to heat the garage. If your garage isn’t already insulated, then this is something that you need to think about.
3 – Put a Wood-Burning Stove in Your Garage
Have you ever owned a wood-burning stove in the past? Lots of people enjoy having wood-burning stoves because they help to keep things toasty warm while also giving you a nice atmosphere to enjoy.
It’s really nice to be able to put some logs into the stove and just heat things up in the area. This is why many people decide that putting a wood-burning stove in the garage is an ideal solution.
You might be able to find a good spot for a wood-burning stove in your garage so that you can heat things up in there. You will need to take steps to ensure that things are safe before moving forward, though.
It’ll be necessary to have a chimney and flue so that you won’t be exposing yourself to toxic gases. Installing a wood-burning stove can be quite involved, but it is rather nice once you get things done.
You also might need to look into whether or not you need a special permit in your area to install a wood-burning stove. If so, you’ll need to go through the right channels to get approval before moving forward.
Checking out how this might impact your homeowner’s insurance policy is also recommended. Some homeowner’s insurance policies might be voided if you install a wood-burning stove.
As you might expect, wood-burning stoves can be considered to be fire risks. It should be safe so long as you’re taking the right precautions and keeping the chimney and flue clean, though.
Just be mindful of the perceived risks so that you can make a good decision for your household. This will be a good option for heating up a garage without electricity, but it isn’t an ideal choice for everyone.
Other Heating Options Involve Electricity
You’ve now learned about the heating options for your garage that don’t require electricity. Sadly, there isn’t much more that you can do unless you want to utilize electricity.
When you’re trying to avoid adding any cash onto your power bill, it can be disheartening to hear this. However, it might be a good idea to consider using electricity to heat your garage.
Most people already have electricity in their garages since modern garages are going to come wired with power outlets. This means that you likely have the option of using electric heaters if you feel that gas heaters aren’t safe enough.
Some people are going to be much more comfortable with the idea of using an electric heater. It honestly might not be any more expensive either since you have to consider that you need to purchase fuel for gas heaters.
Depending on the price of gas, kerosene, and propane gas, it might even be just as cost-effective to use an electric heater. If your concerns are mostly monetary, then you might be worried about using electricity when you really shouldn’t.
Heating Your Home Using Your Normal Heating System
Some people will even go so far as to install a split-duct heating system that connects the garage to the house. You can get professionals to come out and install things so that your garage can be heated.
It should be possible to heat your garage independently from your home as well. You can get a thermostat placed in your garage so that you can only cut the heat on in there when you plan to use the garage.
Heating your home with your normal heating system will add to your power bills. It’s going to be one of the most comfortable ways to heat your garage, though.
If you want your garage to be reasonably warm when you walk into it, then this is probably the best option to consider. You can ensure that you have ducts and vents that connect your main heating system to your home to your garage.
Is comfort more important to you or would you prefer to keep costs very low? If you don’t wish to pay out any extra money each month, then you’d be better off going with portable heaters or space heaters.
Just keep in mind that space heaters and portable heaters won’t be able to heat your garage as comfortably as a normal heating solution. It’s just up to you to decide what you want to do.
Radiant Heating
Another option that will involve using electricity is to get radiant floor heating installed. This is a type of heat that involves installing heating panels or tubes in the floor.
Some of the more popular radiant heating methods involve using tubes filled with hot water in the floor, but there are other ways that this can be done. You can also consider installing radiant heating panels in the ceiling to heat things from above.
Radiant heat ceiling panels might be more practical for some garages as well. You see, if you’re going to use radiant floor heating, then you’ll need to have the right type of floor for your garage that will allow heat to travel.
Depending on how things are, you might not have a good floor that will work with radiant floor heating options. It’d probably be easier to make changes to the ceiling panels than it would be to install a completely new floor.
Thankfully, installing either radiant heat flooring or ceiling panels won’t cost a ton of cash. It’s also fairly inexpensive to maintain, and this makes it a good option to keep in mind.
Installing it yourself might be a bit of a pain depending on how handy you are. Most people get companies that specialize in these things to come out and install everything, but that will cost a bit of cash to get done.
Make the Best Choice for Your Property
Now it’s up to you to make the best choice for your property. There are a lot of different options to consider, but some of them might be more practical than others.
Those who wish to keep costs very low will probably gravitate toward using gas heaters of some sort. These can be dangerous in some ways, but they are going to get the job done well enough.
Wood-burning stoves can be nice as well, but you’ll need to ensure that it’s fine for you to install one in your area. You might need a permit, and you’ll also need to be careful about cleaning the chimney and flue.
Insulating your garage is wise when you want to keep your garage warm. If you want to have better options than that, then you’re going to need to consider using electricity to help heat your garage.
Using electricity isn’t as costly as you might think in many ways. It will be more expensive for you to use electricity, but the difference in cost isn’t as astronomical as some people think.
You can consider which choices are good and which you aren’t willing to try. So long as you use some of the advice above, it should be easy to keep your garage fairly warm and comfortable during the winter.
I have a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When I’m not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies…I’m at home with my wife, two daughters and a dog. Outside of family, I love grilling and barbequing on my Big Green Egg and working on projects around the house.