Heating in the garage: choose the most economical way

The modern rhythm of life dictates its conditions, and the car has long been transformed from luxury into an absolutely necessary assistant. Of course, not every car owner has the means and the ability to store the car in his own autonomous garage, however, those lucky people who can boast of having one, often wondered how to make the garage more comfortable and warm in the winter.

Before equipping the garage heating system, it is necessary to understand that this room is not residential - it is designed to store the car and provide comfortable conditions for its maintenance and minor repairs when such a need arises. The garage should not be too hot and humid, but low temperatures are also not welcome. After all, when the “iron horse” requires repair, it is not particularly pleasant to perform it in sub-zero temperatures.

Many motorists store tools, antifreeze, engine oil, fuel in the garage, and some equip entire racks for storing pickles, garden tools and other things that have no place in the apartment. Therefore, so that all these things are not soaked with car exhaust and do not deteriorate due to the temperature difference, especially in winter, it is necessary not only to adjust the heating system, but also to think about the ventilation of the room.

Below are some simple rules, following which you can choose The best way to heat and air the garage:

• the car should dry out in a short time and remain so, as excessive air humidity leads to body corrosion and damage to other elements, not to mention the occurrence of fungus and mold on the walls of the building;
• the garage should maintain a constant average air temperature, without sharp fluctuations;
• the heating system of the garage should be safe and economical;
• the simpler its design, the better.

Immediately it is worth noting that you do not need to try to turn the garage into an apartment.In a country with a climate like ours, where winters are harsh, a sharp temperature drop when driving out can hurt a car even more than staying there. Therefore, the insulation of the garage should be treated without fanaticism, but with due attention.

Thermal insulation of garage rooms can be of two types: external and internal. However, not all structures can be upholstered with an insulator on the outside, as this may be impeded by other buildings in the vicinity.

There are 5 ways to perform internal insulation garage construction:

• With the help of foam. The material has several advantages, the first of which is the ease of construction and the inability to damage the walls of the room, as it is attached to them using dowels-nails or ordinary building glue. Polyfoam is very easy to give the desired shape with a simple kitchen or stationery knife. Also on the foam does not grow fungus and mold, he is not afraid of high humidity and small pests, such as wood borers and mice. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that the material is durable, it is quite cheap, so it is almost the best insulation for non-residential premises.

• With the help of mineral fiberglass. Glass wool is also a good option for internal garage insulation. It has low thermal conductivity, "breathes" and does not burn. But such material is suitable only for rather large rooms, since for its attachment to the walls, it is necessary to prepare a frame construction, which will take a lot of space (the distance from each wall will be more than 10 cm). In addition, glass wool is subject to wetting, due to which it loses its ability to store heat.

• With the help of "warm" plaster. In terms of its consistency, this material is similar to simple plaster, but its composition is somewhat different: instead of sand, foam chips, wood chips, and expanded clay particles are used. This plaster has good thermal insulation properties, is easy to apply and does not require the installation of a frame. However, it dries for a rather long time, and the thickness of its application cannot exceed 5 cm, otherwise the plaster may crack and fall off.

• With the help of a special paint-heat insulator. Recently, more and more often, for the insulation of garage premises, they began to use paint that has amazing properties: the ability to reflect and retain heat. Its layer with a thickness of 0.01 cm is equal in efficiency to 5 cm of glass wool. Heat-insulating paint does not require the creation of complex structures for its use, does not reduce the area of ​​the room, does not burn, is not susceptible to damage from high humidity and is very easy to apply. Its only drawback is the rather high price and increased consumption.

• Using heat-reflecting insulation material. This is perhaps the most modern and most suitable way to warm the garage room. Its essence lies in covering the walls with two different materials. First you need to apply a layer of insulator, for example, foam or fiberglass, no more than 5 cm thick. Already on this material are attached sheets of aluminum foil or polypropylene film. This should be done with the help of heat welding. This design holds the heat by its reflection and storage in the inner layer of the insulator.

The advantages of the latter method are quite numerous: fire resistance, low mass and thickness, soundproofing, moisture resistance, environmental friendliness. Of the minuses, only one can be noted: with time, rust may appear on the foiled sheets.

One of the most important conditions for the arrangement of the garage is the equipment of high-quality ventilation system. If the air intake in the room is bad, the level of carbon dioxide may increase, which can lead to syncope and oxygen starvation of the brain, and in the worst case, to death.

There are three ways to provide air ventilation in the garage:

• Natural air exchange. In this case, at least two holes are formed through which air circulates. This method is most often used by car owners, since its implementation is inexpensive, it is easy to install and operate, and does not require connection to the power grid.
• Artificial Ventilation. For its implementation requires the installation of special equipment to ensure the inflow and outflow of air masses. This is an extremely costly method, which depends on the availability of a stable energy supply, so there are few owners who use it.
• The combination of the first and second method. In this case, the air penetrates into the room in a natural way, and goes out forcibly or vice versa.Of course, electricity connection is also required here, but it is also possible to regulate the flow and renewal of air masses.

When creating a project for a garage ventilation system, it is necessary to take into account such nuances as its parameters (length, width and height), the number of vehicles placed in it and the type of their fuel (gasoline, diesel or gas). In the drawing, you need to mark the location of the holes for air inlet and outlet, indicate their diameter. If there is an underground in the garage room, then an autonomous ventilation system should be provided for it.

The calculation of the required diameter of the ventilation holes is quite simple: to blow 1 square meter. m room requires 15 square meters. mm diameter duct pipe. That is, if the garage has an area of ​​18 square meters. m, then he needs two holes with diameters of 270 mm (18x15 = 270).

The location of the air ducts is also very important. The air intake pipe should be at a distance of 30 cm above the floor, its outer part should be protected with a wire mesh and an “umbrella” in order to avoid blockage with debris, insects and mice.It is recommended to mount the pipe for exhausting high - it should rise 40-60 cm above the roof of the garage. From the outside, this duct is also covered with an “umbrella” and is protected by a net.

Of course, it is not a secret to anyone that, apart from fulfilling their primary function of storing and saving a car, garage rooms often serve as storage facilities for various household equipment, spare parts, old household appliances and other things that have no place in the apartment. And this, in fact, is not a good moment, because any deposits and heaps can serve as an obstacle in extinguishing a fire, as well as a good combustible material for fire.

There are certain rules that should be followed to ensure the fire safety of garage rooms. We will talk about them below.

• Do not turn the garage into a repository of unnecessary things. You must be able to safely move around the garage, without overcoming obstacles and the danger of tripping over any thing. The distance from the wall to the car should be 60 cm on each side.
• If a flammable liquid or oil leaks out, remove it with sand.
• Do not fill the car in the garage. Auto in this case should be outside the room.
• You should stock up on a fire extinguisher and a box of sand. Also need to keep in the garage a few cans of water.

• Do not leave the car with an open gas tank, and also in the event that there is a leak of fuel or oil.
• No need to store in such a room gasoline or diesel fuel over 20 liters and engine oil over 5 liters. The same applies to empty containers from under them.
• It is forbidden in the premises to carry out paintwork, wash parts with gasoline, kerosene or acetone.

To begin with, it is necessary to make a small clarification: any heating system, even the most modern, will not work without prior thermal insulation of walls and getting rid of gaps and gaps. Only when preliminary preparation is carried out and all the above-mentioned issues are resolved, it is worth starting the installation of the heating system.

There are several variants of such systems, and they are classified according to the following features:

• depending on the type of coolant, the heating is water and air;

• depending on the type of power supply, it is divided into gas, electric, solid fuel and liquid fuel;

• depending on how the heating is connected to the heat source, it is autonomous and dependent.

Below are the options for heating systems.

• Stove heating differs from the other options in that practically every heat exchanger from the list of furnaces suitable for heating a garage can be made with your own hands. The most commonly used wood stoves, brick stoves on solid or liquid fuel, as well as long-burning stoves. If you decide to build in your garage something of the above, then you need to familiarize yourself with the advantages and disadvantages of the selected option, understand the nuances of the design and after that proceed to installation.

• Electric heating It is carried out by means of the generators of heat working from the power network.They have a built-in heating element, which raises the temperature of the air entering inside after it is captured by the blades of a fan heater. In this structure cold air enters, and hot air comes out. Such heaters have a significant drawback - they are able to heat only a small part of the room: the one in which they are located.

• Gas heating Garage space can be carried out by installing special convectors and ceramic screens that create heat by burning propane gas. In a small room for heating, a simple gas burner will be quite sufficient, and for larger facilities it is necessary to purchase gas cylinders or connect to a column, install a gas boiler. Such a unit should be equipped with a special circulation pump to reduce fuel consumption while maintaining efficiency.

Each of the above methods of heating refers to the water or air variant.

It is not difficult to guess that the heating of the room is carried out by increasing the temperature of the air using a device. The air heats up quickly, as it cools quickly. If you direct it to the car stream, you can achieve a quick drying, which will prevent and slow down the corrosion of metal elements. Air heating does not require maintaining a constant temperature in the system. (unlike water), so it can be used as needed.

Ways of heating the garage room by the air method:

• Arrangement of the duct system with their placement under the floor and ceiling, as well as inside the walls. Warm air will be supplied there with the help of fan heaters.
• Use of electric heaters such as convectors, heat guns, infrared and oil heaters.
• Building a furnace with your own hands, which you need to “feed” with solid (peat, coal, firewood) or liquid (oil refining, diesel fuel, fuel oil) fuel, or installing a factory unit (stove).

Water heating is not suitable for every garage, as its installation has a number of conditions:

• The heating circuit must be connected to an autonomous system used during operation.
• It is necessary to create an uninterruptedly working scheme, according to which the equipment for heating the garage will be installed, and to ensure its connection to the communication system. This method is only suitable for rooms with a large area, which are located on the territory of private ownership.
• Garage complexes can be connected to the central heat and power plant with the agreement of the competent authorities and with the general agreement of all garage owners.

In order to choose the optimal one from the proposed heating systems, it is necessary to compare their characteristics, installation complexity,the cost of operation and the degree of utility, and then determine which of them will be more budget and the most acceptable option.

Lucky for those who have a garage attached directly to the house - in this case, the heating system, as a rule, is mounted common. But the city dweller, the owner of an apartment in a high-rise building, will have to opt for one of the above.

Below are the positive and negative aspects of the use of a particular method of heating the garage.

Its advantages include low cost and good heat dissipation, as well as independence from the electrical network and a large selection of heaters for any floor space and wallet thickness. But the drawbacks are quite serious: the installation of gas heating systems can only be done by specialists, and even then only after all the permits have been received and the relevant documentation has been drawn up. In addition, gas requires extremely careful compliance with safety rules, as it is a flammable substance, and its slightest leakage can be fraught with unpleasant consequences.

Here, of course, much depends on what kind of heater will be installed. If it is a mobile heater, a small heat gun or an infrared device, then you can heat your garage without much damage to the budget. However, if you install an electric boiler, then you will not be able to avoid huge expenses. Electric heating is not considered popular due to the dependence on uninterrupted power supply, as well as the risk of fire due to a fault in faulty wiring.

Again, its installation is not a quick event, and not everyone is able to make a competent scheme with the installation of the system.

If you decide to opt for the stove, then you should think about what type of fuel to prefer. Solid fuel - wood or coal - is the most economical option. In furnace heating, the room heats up fairly quickly and maintains a positive temperature, does not depend on the presence or absence of electricity, does not require the purchase of expensive equipment. But it is worth remembering that the stove can not be left unattended - it must be periodically cleaned. Near should not be stored fuel and other flammable objects.

An oil-fired stove is also an economical option for garage heating. For heat, the so-called mining is used - used motor oil. Its approximate consumption is about 1 l per hour.

From water heating methods, the following option would be optimal: if the garage is located in the garage array, near which there is a heating main, you can offer your neighbors to hold a common heating network by laying pipe registers in each box and running hot water on them. But not everyone has such an opportunity, and besides, for the implementation of this “plan” it will be necessary to obtain the consent of all owners.

If the choice fell on gas, then it is necessary to choose a steam boiler operating on the principle of condensation: the steam turns into liquid and heat is generated. This is the most effective and cost-effective option of all gas devices.

The best solid fuel boiler is pyrolysis. Heat is produced by burning gas emitted when wood is strongly heated. But for the kindling of such a boiler is only suitable tree.

If the choice fell on the electric boiler, then you need to put a device with six tenami and thyristor control. It works silently, power can be adjusted, but, like all electrical appliances, it is dependent on electricity, and its operation is more expensive than other boilers.

Proper selection of the heating system of the garage room is very important. To ensure the safety of the car, it is necessary to maintain a constant average air temperature, without sharp fluctuations, and also the absence of high humidity and good ventilation are necessary. Therefore, whatever the heating system is chosen, it is necessary to focus on achieving the highest utility indicators with reasonable savings and ensuring safe operation of the devices.

How to make a stove for heating the garage with your own hands, see the following video.