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We rent a workshop, moved in last February when it was pretty cold making do with a couple of plug in fan heaters and oil filled electric radiator which are too feeble for the size really but then summer came and we were okay. Now it's getting cold again we are looking at other options so any advice appreciated.
There's 2 or 3 of us using it, core hours 10-3 with a bit either side and mostly standing or sitting at bench type work. People come and go all day through the main door. It's a 1920's brick workshop with wriggly concrete sheet roof, no insulation to speak of, just what looks like bacofoil a previous occupant has stuck on the ceiling. Measures 10m x 20m and about 5m to the apex of the roof.
The electric is included in the rent we pay. I don't think the landlord will pay for proper insulation, we'd have to. I did a calculation based on an online guide I found and it came out as 30kw heating needed to raise temperature by 10 degrees - does that sound right?
Yes we will wear more clothing / thermals and do star jumps when necessary to alleviate things but....
There seems a lot of choice of heaters at Machine Mart / Screwfix etc - any tips on what might do for this size of space appreciated. Cheers
Summer
I have a waste oil heater in mine that I have used in the past. The regs have changed in that you can no longer burn used oil in them but can legally use it heating oil.
It kicks out plenty of heat and only needs a simple flue pipe.
The other option is a wood burnimg stove.
30kw is a fairly large amount done electrically - you may not have the spare capacity in your power supply for that level of heating - and your landlord will have kittens when he see's the bill for what is heating for just 3 people - expect resistance on that.
1 problem is the 5 mtr high dead roof space just sucking the heat away - suspened thermal ceiling at 2.5 mtrs will make it easier to keep warm
2nd problem is 10x20m is vast as a 3person workshop so trying to heat all of it to the same temp is going to be very inefficient - can it not be split into smaller work zones and just heat areas occupied ?
On the industrial type units i've worked on , that level of space heating would be done by a hot air ducting system with outlet grills and blower fans positioned around the workshop , but hardly cheap to install
Thanks, yes I kind of know it's a really inefficient space for 3 as most is used for storage. We do need to make it more compartmentalised for the actual working zone areas somehow and just heating that.
Halogen heaters at the workspaces aimed at the person. Probably from above.
Pissing in the wind trying to heat that space on electric
I picked up a infrared parafin heater on special offer a little while back
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-IR20-Infrared-Paraffin-Kerosene/dp/B0035FG4CK
they're only little but kick out about 25kw apparently so would make a decent dent in your 35kw ambitions
they're not dissimilar to the gas space heaters that are used in big spaced but radiate more heat rather than just blowing warm air about. That if you're working in a relatively small part of a large space you can get more of the benefit locally to to the heater.
They work with parafin, kerosene or diesel equally well but parafin is less smelly.
There are a variety of similar looking versions from different manufacturers - one slight bugbear with mine is the body of the heater overhangs the filler cap which makes fueling it up a pain so I'd choose a different model if I was buying again
I’d be thinking about spending ~300 to get a bunch of OSB and 3x2 timbers to throw up some partitions with a ceiling. Even without additional insulation, and with open door and window apertures to the main space, you could create some comfortable work spaces that are much easier to heat.
Or.... if you're battery-tool user in your work... most of the manufacturers make heated jackets powered by their batteries. You're still using your landlords electric - just delivering the heat a lot closer to your cockles.
I have a waste oil heater in mine that I have used in the past. The regs have changed in that you can no longer burn used oil in them but can legally use it heating oil.
The garage I used to use just heated the place by burning all the used oil they collected throughout the year, heating bill was £0. Did seem quite an efficient use of the stuff rather than just dumping it in landfill.
Electric patio heater and a gazebo with 3 sides each......
Or marquee and a few blow heaters
Its highly unlikely the landlords building insurance allows for heating via flammable liquids or bottled gas kept inside the building so forget any ideas about kerosne / oil patio burners and the suchlike........
Fleece onesie
Going for heating the whole workshop to 20° through winter is going to be astonishingly expensive if by electricity.
If your sitting, you could use the aftermarket 12v heated car seat pads. This combined with a small electric blown air heater at each work station should make it tolerable.
Fleece onesie
The ones that go inside drysuits are super warm and robust. I used to wear one round the house when I lived up north and the solid fuel heating was too much of a faff when I got home late. Sitting watching TV through a cloud of my own breath with ice on the inside of the windows - Livin' the dream.
Would be a good look, corporately. Like the three ages of Bungle.
This combined with a small electric blown air heater at each work station should make it tolerable.
even thats going to raise an eyebrow when the meters get read - 3 fan heaters running during office hours would cost about £250 - £350 / month
The garage I used to use just heated the place by burning all the used oil they collected throughout the year, heating bill was £0. Did seem quite an efficient use of the stuff rather than just dumping it in landfill.
In an ideal world yes....but your waste engine oil is full of carcinogens that have potential to become part of the atmosphere in the work place when burnt.....plus government can't tax it which will be the main driver 😉
Might be cheaper to employ an extra member of staff and then have a rotation on who has to turbo train to heat the office. 😉
Chinese diesel heater, you can buy ones in a red metal case that are 'all in one' with the fuel tank and stuff. Pump out a load of heat. Big group for them on facebook too. About 100 quid.
Chinese diesel heater, you can buy ones in a red metal case that are ‘all in one’ with the fuel tank and stuff.
Then park a van inside and heat that. I don't think 2 - 5kw is going to make much of a dent on 1000 cubic meters of drafty warehouse
I've got a similar conundrum .
I work at a bench mainly, machines also in an uninsulated workshop.
I've literally just unboxed a cheap infrared heater from Amazon to try. Essentially a patio heater.
They're supposed to heat people and objects rather than the air, so hopefully not quite so much wastage.
We'll see though when I try it in the workshop.
It's made by Firefly, though obviously generic. Wall mounted for 30 notes.
Concrete floor? First thing I would do is put down some rubber matting where you are standing to work if you haven't already.
Concrete floor? First thing I would do is put down some rubber matting where you are standing to work if you haven’t already.
Oh yes, and very much this. If it is practical, although you might feel a bit weird, putting up a gazebo is a good winter solution depending on how much you need to move about.