Heating a workshop

[artie]

Your winters are actually quite mild from my perspective so they should be able to work year around with a high COP. You don't get down to a COP of 1 until you get to -20C with heat pumps here made in the last 10 years (at least in the nordic market, I know the US market has lagged behind for a long time for instance). Heat pumps are a very popular heating solution in the nordic countries (the most popular perhaps) so I can't think they would have any problems in the UK winters.

It's probably about 10 years since I did some research on them.

I noticed recently that HM Government are pushing them so automatically assumed they're useless.

If I get my net connection fixed soon I'll have another look.

 

[DBC]

My workshop is a rented unit in a business park. It is a large unit and 5m high under the ridge. And unheated. A couple of weeks a year I daydream about heating it. Then I get brought down to earth by one of two thoughts. The first is the cost. The second is the voices of the guys who taught me my trade - these voices are inside my head as their owners are long dead - telling me what a wimp I am and if I am that cold I should be working harder. How it is possible to work harder when I am hampered by so much clothing that I look like the Michelin Man escapes me. Maybe a heated workshop then if I win the lottery; even then the voices will probably forbid it.

My solace is that that my mate in the adjacent workshop has a couple of his corrugated iron sheets replaced by clear plastic sheeting in his roof. He is always a degree or two colder than me. A couple of days a year he has ice on the inside of his windows also.Teasing him about this somehow makes me feel a little warmer.

 

[John Brown]

Heat pumps may be fine for new builds, but a lot of older properties have heating systems designed to run at higher water temperatures, and would need much larger radiators installed, which is often not feasible. Also, electricity is so much more expensive than gas that even with a COP of 4, it'd still cost more to heat the house than with a gas boiler. So with the initial outlay and increased running costs, it's hard to imagine householders being in any hurry to convert.

 

[Jacob]

Woodwork shop - woodburner. Get the right one and it will do sawdust as well. If you do enough volume you can heat the house too.
And it solves waste disposal problem.
As energy prices go higher this is likely to become first choice.

 

[DBC]

Woodwork shop - woodburner. Get the right one and it will do sawdust as well. If you do enough volume you can heat the house too.
And it solves waste disposal problem.
As energy prices go higher this is likely to become first choice.

Great idea. Unfortunately in the 90s a motor rewinder had a fire in his unit in the complex where I am currently. Since then no woodburners is in the tenancy agreement.

 

[HamsterJam]

Our local motor mechanic uses the old engine oil from servicing cars to heat his workshop. It’s negative cost as he would otherwise have to pay a disposal company to collect it.
Often wondered how much the heaters cost and whether he has any spare oil.

 

[DennisCA]

Heat pumps may be fine for new builds, but a lot of older properties have heating systems designed to run at higher water temperatures, and would need much larger radiators installed, which is often not feasible. Also, electricity is so much more expensive than gas that even with a COP of 4, it'd still cost more to heat the house than with a gas boiler. So with the initial outlay and increased running costs, it's hard to imagine householders being in any hurry to convert.

Talking about air to air for this purpose so no plumbing to consider, and there was talk about using direct electric, and in comparison to that, it's not even a question of what to choose. Does the UK have very expensive electricity or very cheap gas? I pay about 8 cents per kWh.

edit: That's the higest rate in years for me, usually varies between 3-5 cents.

 

[Inspector]

Talking about air to air for this purpose so no plumbing to consider, and there was talk about using direct electric, and in comparison to that, it's not even a question of what to choose. Does the UK have very expensive electricity or very cheap gas? I pay about 8 cents per kWh.

edit: That's the higest rate in years for me, usually varies between 3-5 cents.

Dennis you have no idea of how good you have it. I'm charged a monthly fee of $32.90Cad just to be hooked up and $0.142Cad kW.h with "carbon tax" of $0.0064Cad kW.h added to that. That is why we heat with natural gas. Too cold in the winter here to rely on an air to air heat pump with out a supplemental heating system. If I were building new or retrofitting a house I planned on living in for a long time I would put in a ground source heat pump.

I'll add there are provinces here where the electrical costs are a lot higher too.

Pete

 

[DennisCA]

A ground source heat pump is how I heat the main house too, with a 1.4 ton masonry heater for additional warmth.

 

[g1_lo]

Great idea. Unfortunately in the 90s a motor rewinder had a fire in his unit in the complex where I am currently. Since then no woodburners is in the tenancy agreement.

have you thought about indemnifying yourself with your insurer so that your landlord would allow you to have one. They will only be concerned about their downside and if you can get this setup then you'll be more productive.

 

[mollydog]

I’m in the process of having my log timber garage/workshop being built, a 6M x 6M, for heating I bought one of those Chinese diesel heaters, and purchased a 45 gallon drum of red diesel,

When the heater arrived I tested it out

 

[DrDarren]

I’m not sure if ‘re-igniting’ this thread is good form or not. I’m persuaded of the oil-filled radiator approach for my tiny shop. 8.10’. I’m in Scotland and the shop is well-ventilated (see roof pics attached) and I wonder if there’s any point to radiator as I imagine I’d lose all the heat or is the benefit the continual flow of air through the shop? Any thoughts appreciated for a hand tool (mostly) hacker. My partner affectionately calls my style ‘robusta’.