Most of us have works spaces that are not connected to central heating, making them a large cold spot in most home heating systems. When winter comes, an unheated workspace can be a cold and unappealing place for work, home maintenance, tinkering and other hobbies.
One way to keep a workspace toasty even in the harshest winters is choosing a top-notch electric heater. Electric heaters offer several benefits over other heating systems — they don’t require venting like gas heaters and can be more cost-effective.
Electric Heater Benefits
One factor to consider when heating a workspace is safety. Electric heaters do not pose the same risks as propane or natural gas heaters. Along with a work vehicle, a contractor probably has other flammables in their workspace. Because there are no open flames or exhaust fumes with electric heaters, they’re safer to use around vehicles, gas, liquids and tools.
Electric heaters also offer efficiencies that other heaters do not. With an electric heater, every bit of electricity used is converted into heat. With propane, on the other hand, only 80 percent of its fuel is used for heat while the other 20 percent is lost by-products. That fuel loss translates into inefficiency and can mean higher costs.
Electric heaters also provide the flexibility to provide warmth without taking up floor space or creating a tripping hazard. They can be mounted on the wall or ceiling, and angled to push warm air horizontally, vertically or in any other desired direction. These installation and airflow options are much harder to achieve with a gas heater.
Choosing the Appropriate Heater
Whether using the workspace for jobs, random hobbies or a regular hangout, there are several electric heating options to choose from including radiant electric, portable heaters and fan-forced units:
- Radiant electric heaters are designed to target a specific area with heat, typically using infrared technology to heat the objects in the room instead of the air.
- Portable heaters are easy to move around the work space, targeting heat to the necessary spots where one is working.
- Fan-forced heaters move warm air throughout an entire work space for balanced, all-over heating.
Consider how the heater will be best used in your work space before making a selection.
Heater Installation Tips
How best to install an electric heater varies depending on the type. Some models may need to be wired by an electrician or trained professional, while others are portable and can be easily mounted and simply plugged in.
If the equipment needs to be installed by a professional, hiring one with problem-solving experience under their belt is worth considering. Plus, one that understands the importance of statistics in electrical engineering. Any electrician with knowledge of statistics and engineering of electrics in their repertoire is worth their weight in gold.
That means any installation problems can be effectively solved on-site, on the day. And you’ll have an electrical professional that’s worth knowing and putting in your black book of contractors. Just in case you have any more electrical issues that can’t be solved by any average joe.
If you’re installing the electric heater yourself, it may be worth your time consulting a professional anyway. There’s nothing worse than getting your new electrical equipment hooked up, and then it doesn’t work correctly. Or worse, you blow out the electrics for the whole office.
Before hooking anything up, be sure to check the voltage requirements. With a plug-in 120V electric garage heater, for example, all that’s needed is an outlet. An electric heater that runs at a voltage higher than 120, however, will need to be wired in. This will require some electrical work.
Also, make sure that the model of heater is sized appropriately for the space. To ensure a heater is generating enough heat to warm a designated area, match the wattage level of the heater with the size of the space.
No matter how it is being used, if you’re looking to heat up a workspace, one might consider an electric heater to keep the space warm even in the coldest of conditions. Marley Engineered Products has a wide variety of electric garage heater options to suit any and all needs. View the selection at https://www.marleymep.com/electric-garage-heaters.
Jim Herring is the supervisor of Total Custom Solutions & Technical Services at Marley Engineered Products®, a leading North American designer and manufacturer of reliable comfort heating and ventilation solutions for residential, commercial and institutional buildings. Recognized by contractors, architects, engineers and HVAC professionals for providing a wide range of high-performance, reliable heating and ventilation solutions, Marley Engineered Products’ brands include QMark®, Berko®, Fahrenheat® and Leading Edge®.
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