The importance of heating your garage.

For many people, a garage offers a great space for activities. It’s a useful room to use as a workshop because nobody minds getting it dirty, it offers protection from the weather and is more secure than a shed. Many people use it as a place to indulge in their hobbies, whether it’s as a workshop for tinkering with cars or bikes, a home gym, or somewhere to practise their craft skills, e.g. pottery or art.

Alternatively, many people leave the car on the drive permanently and take over their garage to use as a home office, insulating it and decorating it to make it more of an extension of the house.

However, in terms of central heating, it is often prohibitively expensive to add extra radiators to your system, especially if your garage is detached from your house, so it makes sense to use electric heaters to keep you warm as you work.

The disadvantages of electric heaters

Whilst electric heaters are convenient and clean and aren’t expensive to buy, they can be expensive to run. According to the Centre for Sustainable Energy, the most efficient stand-alone electric heaters are the radiant bar fire, the convector heater, and the fan heater, all with a typical output of 2KW, which translates into running costs of 28p an hour (as of February 2017).

The additional problem with convection heaters is that because garages tend to be draughty, the heat is always escaping, making them inefficient, so you’d probably end up running more than one at the same time.

The advantages of electric radiators

Electric radiators are just as efficient as the radiators inside your home, with the advantage that they do not need to be connected to your system. All you need to do is place them near to a standard socket and plug them in, and they’ll heat your garage as efficiently and effectively as those in your central heating system. They are controlled by a thermostat, meaning you can maintain a comfortable temperature, and if you keep it on a timer, you’ll never have to worry about your garage office being uncomfortably chilly.

If you would like to give your garage office, even more style, invest in a designer electric radiator. Visit one of our showrooms in Brighton, St Albans or Islington to see our range and talk to one our consultants.