Electric forced air heat.

Joe Pro · Dec 10, 2016

Has anyone ever had any experience heating a shop with an electric forced air heater like this one?
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200450270_200450270

I am looking for something to set on 45 + / - degrees to keep the edge off in the shop?

I know it would never keep it "warm" but something to keep the area warmish. I do not have gas ran to my shop yet and wont this winter.

David G · Dec 10, 2016

It takes a lot of amps to make a BTU, this one draws 63 amps, so that will take an 80 amp circuit minimum.

Steve@Advance · Dec 10, 2016

Haven't used that particular model, but it's not the model or type of heater, but the size you need.

All depends on the square feet, ceiling height, insulation, and outdoor temperature.

For comparison, that heater is "about" what you would see in a home heating furnace for a 2000 sq ft house in a moderate climate. From that you can get some idea what it is capable of doing. As for cost to operate, again that goes back to how well insulated the shop is and how much it will run. It can get costly.

When I replaced the HVAC system in my house, the electric heat section of the furnace was still in good working order. I cut the AC part off, hung it in the garage. It will heat the 2 car garage in a matter of minutes and begin cycling. Cost to install, 0. Cost to operate, well, I only use it when necessary!

Jaden · Dec 10, 2016

For a small shop, I have wondered how an old electric clothes drier would work.? Heat out the vent at floor level.

Russ from MN · Dec 10, 2016

That's really going to make your meter spin!

ss55 · Dec 10, 2016

I has forced air electric heat in a new apartment once. It worked well. I liked it much better than electric baseboard heat but like any electric heat, it was expensive to operate and slow because output was limited by the breaker size. If you use it everyday, a standard 80 percent efficiency propane or natural gas furnace should cost much less to run.

Compare your energy costs and your installation costs. A double 100 pound LPG setup might be a good way to start until you can run gas to the shop.

John T · Dec 10, 2016

FWIW If it draws 63 amps and if it were operated on 240 volts, that's 15,120 Watts and at 3.41 BTU/Watt that computes to 51,559 BTU of heat. If it ran say four hours per day that would require 60,480 Watt Hours or 60.480 KWH so what's your electric cost per KWH???

John T

moresmoke · Dec 10, 2016

I've had electric forced air in a previous house. The heating part was fine, the problem was in the demand control setup. The utility would cut the electric off just long enough every year to burn enough oil to make up for the savings of the demand control program.

It all comes down to what your local energy costs are. Here in ND wood is too scarce to be an option, propane and electric are competitive with each other at the moment. My house is on electric. When I set up my shop a couple years ago, I went with a hanging propane furnace. I would have had to upgrade the entire service entrance to handle more electric heat. While propane prices can jump like a couple years ago, I always have the option to just let it go cold if heat is too expensive.

Russ from MN · Dec 10, 2016

That seems awfully expensive for an electric heater, I only paid about $300 for my Mr Heater (45,000 btu) and another $100 for the vent parts. Maybe another $100 to get the NG to it. Works great, vented out, and very inexpensive to operate.

buickanddeere · Dec 10, 2016

how many Kw is a clothes dryer and how much floor space?

buickanddeere · Dec 10, 2016

15KW ain't shabby. Is your power flat rate or varies through the day?

Bob · Dec 10, 2016

Just for the record... looked at my medium-sized dryer... 5100 Watts combined motor and heating element load = 17,411.4 BTU.

buickanddeere · Dec 10, 2016

Not worth the bother, install a proper heater .

Geo-TH,In · Dec 11, 2016

ss55,
explain how is electric forced air less expensive than electric baseboard. A kw-hr is still only 3412 btus. Forced air may have heat loss in trunk lines. Forced air also requires a fan which adds to cost.

Base board is cheap to install and never requires filters, replacing fan motors and each room can be set to desired temps. No more cold rooms.
geo.

Andy Martin · Dec 11, 2016

Like others have said, it all depends on what you are heating. I have an insulated 1,500 sq ft shop I heat (in Oklahoma) with two 1,500 w heaters. One is a hanging square box from Grainger with a fan and the other is an oil filled radiator. Costs me about $100 per month.

If you have an uninsulated building with drafty doors you'll spend $1,000 per month and still be cold.

ss55 · Dec 11, 2016

There is no difference between the two, any electric heat is much more expensive per BTU than a gas furnace.

buickanddeere · Dec 12, 2016

Can not say that as an always . Some jurisdictions have expensive gas and cheap electricity .

showcrop · Dec 12, 2016

Eleven years ago I put an non-vented catalytic propane unit in my shop. I love it. Quick easy install and very cheap to operate.

BarnyardEngineering · Dec 12, 2016

(quoted from post at 06:13:08 12/12/16)
Can not say that as an always . Some jurisdictions have expensive gas and cheap electricity .

Yeah, maybe 1 in 500. Everywhere else electricity is expensive and gas is cheap.

buickanddeere · Dec 12, 2016

Try any province in Canada except for Ontario where the gas is LP due to no NG service.
Even in Ontario the off peak power rate competes with LP . I ran the numbers and the LP water heater will never break even of pay vs an electric tank heater on a timer.

stonerock · Dec 12, 2016

Geo from Tho, AND ss55, anytime you are heating with electricit is very expensive, only good for spot heat,nat gas is the cheepest, and propain is next, use them both, heating house and drying corn

buickanddeere · Dec 12, 2016

Do you know what electricity and LP costs in Quebec ?

showcrop · Dec 12, 2016

(quoted from post at 08:29:57 12/12/16) Geo from Tho, AND ss55, anytime you are heating with electricit is very expensive, only good for spot heat,nat gas is the cheepest, and propain is next, use them both, heating house and drying corn

Hydro electric in Quebec is CHEAP. They are promoting it all over our Northeast.

Geo-TH,In · Dec 13, 2016

Would you believe that electric is a bargin for me. The more electric I use the cheaper it is for a KW-kr. about $0.10 kw-hr. I have over 2000 sq ft home total electric baseboard and central AC. My total annual electric bill is only $1500 which includes electricity for well, outside lights and workshop. I also keep my attached 24x24 garage set at 50.

However my son, 3750 sq ft a well built home with all NG, high efficiency furnace, water heater, gas range, gas dryer and gas fireplace. Last month his NG was only $60. He said he would never go back to a heat pump which he paid $7800 to have a state of the art trane installed in the 1700 ft house he just sold. My electric bill with baseboard heat and larger house was less than his with a heat pump.

My boys new house is extremely warm upstairs and colder on the main floor. My rooms are exactly where I set the thermostat at in each room.

Electric forced air heat.

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