Quote:
Originally Posted by strider3700
Have you done the math to work out how quickly the insulation will pay for it's self with either of the heater options? By the sounds of it I'd be really shocked it it takes the entire heating season assuming you're using the shop daily.
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Strider, if I were planning to heat my detached garage daily and hold it warm for many hours, I wouldn't hesitate to insulate (or superinsulate) the garage. But I think it's more likely I'll fire up the heater a handful of times per month, for a few hours at a time. I should probably do the math based on firing up the heater 15 times during the winter, for three hours at a time. I.e. 45 hours a year.
Holding the garage 32F above ambient burns about $0.50/hr of fuel with R3, or $0.10/hr with R16. So the payback period is (very roughly) 500 hrs, or 20 continuous days of operation, or two tanks of propane instead of ten.
I'm open to options other than propane, but bear in mind that this is very likely to be my last or second-last winter in this house. While I'm willing to do some work for the benefit of its future occupants, I think it's unlikely they'll appreciate a winterized garage.