Most economical man cave heating method

champchamp

The boom is back baby
So I've finally started on my man cave/garage/shed project.
Just 40m^2 built to a decent standard (cavity wall with 4" blocks, tiled roof etc).
The plan will be to have a motorcycle garage at one end (with insulated sectional door), a man cave in the next section and storage in the last section.
It's all open plan.
What would be the most economical method of keeping damp out of it?
Will consider anything...

Tullogher

champchamp wrote: »

The boom is back baby
So I've finally started on my man cave/garage/shed project.
Just 40m^2 built to a decent standard (cavity wall with 4" blocks, tiled roof etc).
The plan will be to have a motorcycle garage at one end (with insulated sectional door), a man cave in the next section and storage in the last section.
It's all open plan.
What would be the most economical method of keeping damp out of it?
Will consider anything...

Cheap install - expensive to run. Electric storage heaters
Set temp to min 12c to keep damp out.

Wet system with rads - expensive install cheaper run.

Depends on your budgets

monseiur

Instead of open plan you should consider partitioning off the man cave section with well insulated stud walls & ceiling + floating timber floor etc. Depending on size, one or two electric fan heaters should heat this space without breaking the bank.
M.

cnocbui

Electric fan heater/s. They will warm up the air when it's in use but you won't be wasting money heating up the structure. They are incredibly rapid, too, which is great for anywhere that is normally cold but you want to heat up and make more comfortable.

monseiur

monseiur wrote: »

Instead of open plan you should consider partitioning off the man cave section with well insulated stud walls & ceiling + floating timber floor etc. Depending on size, one or two electric fan heaters should heat this space without breaking the bank.
M.

On mature reflection...and re reading your query:o I realise that you want to keep the damp out and not, as I misunderstood, heat the man cave.
Assuming the building is well sealed with no constant air steam ingress, the best way to keep dampness at bay is to install a dehumidifier, it's better to plumb it to an outside drain to avoid overflow etc.

corkgsxr

Put a small stove in it.

Youd heat it with a few blocks of wood.

Yes abit more inconvenient than proper heating but nice heat.
Keep a good 2- 3 meters of the flue inside. The flue gives off as much as the stove.

Put in a electric heater on a room stat so you can go away on holidays and if it gets very cold that will prop it up. (Set to 5-10 degrees.)

Ubbquittious

corkgsxr wrote: »

Put a small stove in it.

Youd heat it with a few blocks of wood.

Yes abit more inconvenient than proper heating but nice heat.
Keep a good 2- 3 meters of the flue inside. The flue gives off as much as the stove.

Put in a electric heater on a room stat so you can go away on holidays and if it gets very cold that will prop it up. (Set to 5-10 degrees.)

I'd go for the stove as well. Electric heaters aren't that manly

Muahahaha

Cant comment on how good they are but check out inverter heaters, they run on parafin or kerosene and supposed to be a very economical way of heating a space. A few of the shed companies sell them specifically for heating sheds, caravans, boats, etc .

corkgsxr

Muahahaha wrote: »

Cant comment on how good they are but check out inverter heaters, they run on parafin or kerosene and supposed to be a very economical way of heating a space. A few of the shed companies sell them specifically for heating sheds, caravans, boats, etc .

You'll be coughing in no time. Technically there safe. In reality not great

ercork

corkgsxr wrote: »

You'll be coughing in no time. Technically there safe. In reality not great

An air to air heat pump would be a very economical and effective way of heating that space.

corkgsxr

ercork wrote: »

An air to air heat pump would be a very economical and effective way of heating that space.

Yes if you ignore buying and installing cost and need to be very well insulated

JJJackal

Could you get a radiator out from the main house?

champchamp

Tullogher wrote: »

Cheap install - expensive to run. Electric storage heaters
Set temp to min 12c to keep damp out.

Wet system with rads - expensive install cheaper run.

Depends on your budgets

I think electric storage heaters may be the way to go alright. I wouldn't have the budget for the rads.

monseiur wrote: »

Instead of open plan you should consider partitioning off the man cave section with well insulated stud walls & ceiling + floating timber floor etc. Depending on size, one or two electric fan heaters should heat this space without breaking the bank.
M.

monseiur wrote: »

On mature reflection...and re reading your query:o I realise that you want to keep the damp out and not, as I misunderstood, heat the man cave.
Assuming the building is well sealed with no constant air steam ingress, the best way to keep dampness at bay is to install a dehumidifier, it's better to plumb it to an outside drain to avoid overflow etc.

I must look into this, it might be a good option with a storage heater set to maybe 5 or 6 degrees.

corkgsxr wrote: »

Put a small stove in it.

Youd heat it with a few blocks of wood.

Yes abit more inconvenient than proper heating but nice heat.
Keep a good 2- 3 meters of the flue inside. The flue gives off as much as the stove.

Put in a electric heater on a room stat so you can go away on holidays and if it gets very cold that will prop it up. (Set to 5-10 degrees.)

Ubbquittious wrote: »

I'd go for the stove as well. Electric heaters aren't that manly

The problem with a stove is that it'll only heat when it's lit. I need a damp free environment for my tools etc.

JJJackal wrote: »

Could you get a radiator out from the main house?

No, this is not an option.
I must look into the air to heat pump, I never heard of them before.
Otherwise I think the storage heaters with a dehumidifier will be the way to go.
Thanks for the replies.

ercork

corkgsxr wrote: »

Yes if you ignore buying and installing cost and need to be very well insulated

I'd say about 1500 to buy and install. Regarding insulation, the more you have the better but the air to air heat pump will function every bit as well as electric heaters with whatever insulation you have. Plus they do a good job at dehumidifying too.

Pkiernan

ercork wrote: »

An air to air heat pump would be a very economical and effective way of heating that space.

Yes. And if the OP installs an 80m wind turbine as well he can power the heat pump for free!!

Wearb

Pkiernan wrote: »

Yes. And if the OP installs an 80m wind turbine as well he can power the heat pump for free!!

DON'T BE A SMART ARSE. TAKE THIS NOTE AS A PRE WARNING

Pkiernan

Wearb wrote: »

DON'T BE A SMART ARSE. TAKE THIS NOTE AS A PRE WARNING

That was a tongue in cheek joke, and nothing more.
I can't get the emojis to work when using the legacy touch site and my phone.

Wearb

Pkiernan wrote: »

That was a tongue in cheek joke, and nothing more.
I can't get the emojis to work when using the legacy touch site and my phone.

Perhaps it was, but do it again and you will be infracted.

corkgsxr

ercork wrote: »

I'd say about 1500 to buy and install. Regarding insulation, the more you have the better but the air to air heat pump will function every bit as well as electric heaters with whatever insulation you have. Plus they do a good job at dehumidifying too.

Really? For air to air. That just for the heat pump and nothing else. Or install.

There as effective as dehumidifing as any other heat source. But no better than any.

Yes a heat pump is fine without good insulation but it wont be cheap to run. They rely heavily on good insulation.

Ubbquittious

A dehumidifier will heat the place as well to some extent. If the aim is to keep the damp out maybe that's all you need

ercork

corkgsxr wrote: »

Really? For air to air. That just for the heat pump and nothing else. Or install.

There as effective as dehumidifing as any other heat source. But no better than any.

Yes a heat pump is fine without good insulation but it wont be cheap to run. They rely heavily on good insulation.

Yeah, you'd get one installed for that much alright. You can buy them online for far less if you can handle the install yourself. You would need to get somebody certified with refrigerant gases to commission it. See this link for example:

https://www.buyitdirect.ie/p/18000-btu-smart-a-easy-fit-dc-inverter-wall-split-air-conditioner-with-5-meters-pipe-kit-and-5-years-warranty-iqool18?refsource=bidieadwords&mkwid=sGpDDB6Dr_dm&pcrid=294255765355&product=iQool18&pgrid=59054855655&ptaid=pla-452134448532&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsaSysIzs4gIVipPtCh1AKwtXEAQYBCABEgJEnPD_BwE

These things produce heat at about a quarter or a fifth of the price of electric heaters so regardless of the level of insulation they will be far cheaper to operate than fan heaters or similar.

longgonesilver

Electric tube heaters are relatively cheap to buy and run. If they are fixed under the shelves it is quite easy to keep tools warm and dry. But as others have said, insulate everywhere and don't forget to have some ventilation as well.