HVAC to the garage?

[Ken]

Had a question for you HVAC experts. I have been pondering adding both heating and AC to my garage. I would like y'alls opinion on what I have formulated so far:

1) Convert central air to a zoned system, with one zone allocated to the garage. Only enable the zone when in the garage.
2) Install insulated garage doors.
3) Install brackdraft damper?
4) Install external fresh air intake?

On 3 & 4, I have read about keeping carbon monoxide out of the system. My question becomes; with the inefficiency of drawing in fresh air, does this setup end up costing more in the long run than purchasing a natural gas heater and a seperate AC unit?

Where do I install the fresh air intake?

Thanks a bunch,
Ken

[dboat]

When I thought I was moving to Las Vegas, I came across a house that had a separate central air/heat system for the garage. The home was the model home for the subdivision and was where the sales office was located. That is optimal. Unless you "live" in your garage, you are better off with a separate unit that you run only when you need it, IMHO.. good luck...

btw, I am building in Erie and am having my garage insulated and the doors will be insulated as well..

Dana

[L8 APEX]

Insulating is a basic necessity on all 4 sides. I would add a second system as most homes are barely adequate for their occupied space. Gas is the cheapest way to heat. A DX or split system like on a house operates cheaper than a window unit. Or you may look for a spot cooler type rolling portable unit... Those are jsut some of the basics of the business. It also takes a crap load of energy (BTU's) to affect a unkept space such as a garage. So make sure to oversize it, or it will take 6 hours to reach setpoint. I have a 80,000 BTU jet heater in my garage. In a 40 degree garage it warms to 80 degrees in @ 5 minutes:D Excess is GOOD:banana:

[blueoval01]

When I thought I was moving to Las Vegas, I came across a house that had a separate central air/heat system for the garage. The home was the model home for the subdivision and was where the sales office was located. That is optimal. Unless you "live" in your garage, you are better off with a separate unit that you run only when you need it, IMHO.. good luck...

btw, I am building in Erie and am having my garage insulated and the doors will be insulated as well..

Dana I'm looking at somethang similar, Dana. I wanna install a couple exhaust fans in my garage and duct them outside. Mostly to remove heat in the summer. :hammer:

[bobbywade69]

What Terry said!!!:tu: I have a 500 ton Trane unit, its gas heat too, For Sale:throw:

[03LightningRocks]

Unless you have one heck of a big garage, forget about a central system for the garage only. The average garage is about 400-500 square feet and way to small to properly control the temps with a central system.

The smallest residential split system that is available right now is a 1.5 ton and is more suited to a 700-900 square foot area. This difference may not seem like much, but it is enough to cause the system to short cycle in the cooling mode which does not allow for enough run time to remove humidity.

There is a way to zone out your system to allow for the garage to be conditioned without adversly affecting your home comfort. There are zone systems that allow you to put control thermostats in as many rooms as you want. You could actually keep one room at 78 degrees while another is kept at 68 degrees and the garage is kept at 85 degrees.

These systems will cool one room down to 74 degrees and if the other room calls for heat it will close the dampers to the cool room while the system turns on the heat and opens the damper to the hot room.

We put these systems in many homes for many different reasons.....always very happy home owners when we are done.


Rocks:tu:

[03LightningRocks]

What Terry said!!!:tu: I have a 500 ton Trane unit, its gas heat too, For Sale:throw:

YOU HAVE 500 TON TRANE UNIT?????????????

Jesus Chripes...where are you storing that bad mutha?



LOL....:d I am thinking you meant to say 5 ton????


Rocks:burnout:

[dboat]

I'm looking at somethang similar, Dana. I wanna install a couple exhaust fans in my garage and duct them outside. Mostly to remove heat in the summer. :hammer:
In Dallas, I had extra insulation blown in the ceileing over the garage. Its good for helping moderate the temp and to help keep down the heat sink that occurs. Having said that, even with good airflow, blowing 90-100 degree air around, well you are blowing 90-100 degree air around... still pretty darned warm.. been there.. I had cross ventilation and a huge fan.. still too darned hot. I was thinking of installing a large window type unit in the outside wall but backed off when I knew I was probably going to move..

BobbyWade, I would go with whatever Ron '03 Rocks says, His company redid my system at the house.. He is the man:bows
Dana

[L8 APEX]

Come on Rocks:hammer: Zoning interior rooms is a waste of money. Interior walls and doors are not insulated in homes. Anything more than a few degrees will go right through the walls or back to the common return in the hall. You will be fighting thermal migration with your wallet. The reason you over size the garage is so it can catch a 120 degree garage after work in August. Otherwise it would run for hours before reaching a comfortable level.

[03LightningRocks]

Come on Rocks:hammer: Zoning interior rooms is a waste of money. Interior walls and doors are not insulated in homes. Anything more than a few degrees will go right through the walls or back to the common return in the hall. You will be fighting thermal migration with your wallet. The reason you over size the garage is so it can catch a 120 degree garage after work in August. Otherwise it would run for hours before reaching a comfortable level.

You really don't know what your talking about Terry.:eek2:


Rocks:tu:

[99WhiteBeast]

What about running an attic fan type unit that pulled all the hot air out of the garage but vented directly out to the roof instead of the attic?

My garage in the summer will be 10 to 15 degrees hotter than the outside air due to the hip roof and being in the sun all day(east exposure on one side and west on the other)

I lined the attic with insulation and put reflective foam board on the inside of the door and this seemed to help somewhat.

My issue is not in the winter trying to keep warm but in July and August it is almost unbearable.

[blueoval01]

.....
My issue is not in the winter trying to keep warm but in July and August it is almost unbearable. Exactly my point in the previous post.
I'm just gonna duct the hot air out. NOT to the attiic, but outside. :tu:

[dboat]

Exactly my point in the previous post.
I'm just gonna duct the hot air out. NOT to the attiic, but outside. :tu:
What some have done is to put a whole house fan in the ceiling of the garage.. then, you get two benefits... one, when you turn it on, it will pull the hot air out of the garage. two, when you do that, it will then push cooler air into your attic and cool it down so that your a/c doesnt have to work so hard to overcome the heat in your attic to cool down the house..

seen that done a lot.. the trick is to make sure that you attic can vent the air volume that the whole house fan moves...

How about that for a solution? :tu:

[Silver_2000]

Once upon a time I had a house on a lot that was 3x longer than most - I had them build the garage 10 feet longer and eliminate the tire step. I also had them insulate the celeing and exterior walls of the garage - which isnt standard. Then I had power/ lights and 2 HVAC vents put into the front part of the garage. oNce we closed and moved in I built an insulated wall 10 feet back with an exterior door.

Presto instant garage workshop - in the summer and winter ( if the vents were open ) it was within 5 degrees of the house.

Just my $0.02

Wish I still had that house - But the next door neighboor decided to turn his yard into a jungle which really loooks odd... You can go see for your self the house is in carrollton 1800 canoe way - off Josey

Doug