240v Shop Heater suggestions...

[PoPoShoo]

Our grid tied Solar system has been up and running for 8 months now and we're way ahead of the curve on selling juice back to the utility vs. what we consume.

I have an insulated shop, 10' x 40' (400 sq ft) with 8' ceilings. We'd like to put in a 240v Heater. We don't need to keep this building @ a balmy 80 deg. but would like to have this space be in the 50-55 deg. range during winter.

Any suggestions on type and/or manufacturer? THNX

 

[Doggydogworld]

Any resistance heater should work fine. The oil-filled ones are arguably safer. With a 40' long shop you might want a heater you can put in the middle that will blow hot air in both directions.

A mini-split heat pump will give you 3-4x as much heat per kWh, plus provide cooling in the summer. But if you don't need cooling and have kWhs to burn in the winter, a resistance heater costs a lot less.

 

[Vigo]

The cheapest 240v air heater is a used electric clothes drier because you can often get those basically for free. Remove the lint screen to minimize maintenance requirements. If it still has the little pop-in drying rack and you put a tub of water on it, it will also humidify.

I have a 240v resistance heater that has 3500w and 5000w settings. I haven't really used it much, got it cheap at a yard sale. I can definitely tell you the onboard fan is only moving enough air to keep the elements from overheating, but will not distribute air through a 40ft long building by any means!

In general i would vastly prefer 2 mini splits spaced apart, vs one big resistance heater in the middle. It'll be more efficient AND do cooling. But the cost is of course much higher, and if your ambient temps get super low they may only be 'as efficient' as resistive heat, in the worst case. That would definitely dissuade me from spending the extra money if i didn't need the cooling benefit. Here in South Texas the efficient heating is more of a bonus feature to the cooling side of things.

 

[Aridom82]

I would recommend using infrared heating elements. These dont need air flow, they are just like light and you can put them in a lof of strategic places to maximize the effect. You can buy the infrared heater or even better, buy the infrared heating lamps and put them where heat is needed.