[ChrisV_313]

Hi all,

I live in Canada and as such my garage gets DAMN cold in the winter. I currently use four 175W Phillips incandescent IR heat bulbs to introduce some heat and keep things a few degrees warmer. I leave these lights on pretty much 24/7.

I know a lot of lights emit UVA and UVB light, could this be damaging my cars' paint/plastics long term? If so, are there better heat-emitting bulbs to use which do not emit UV rays?

Thanks

[Th3Walrus]

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/dim...rey/1000116310

Where is your panel?

Insulate your garage if it's not. Mine is, and my doors are too, and it never gets below 5C in the garage.
I just use the heater when I need to do work out there or buzz my hair in the winter.

[Burrcold]

Agreed, insulate your garage and it will pay for itself pretty quickly in utility savings. I did all the walls and garage door, and use a space heater if I need to work on any of the cars in the winter.

[kpm]

My garage is insulated but can still drop below freezing at times. I use a Delonghi oil filled radiant heater to crack the chill. Programmable timer with set point down to 5 deg C. Keeps garden hose from freezing, saves seasonal transport of liquid auto and garden products to basement and only consumes energy when absolutely needed.

[JJ 911SC]

My oversized double insulated garage is actually my cave man that I share with the 911 and has been doubling up as my day office for the last 2 years..

I got the oil radiator on timer (05:00- 16:00), a hanging square box heater kept at minimum overnight that I crank up 30 minutes before going in, a electrical fireplace for ambiance and I ran a vent from the house.

Yes, yes bylaws crapola... The 911 is rolled out 20' down the driveway before its started so the only obnoxious odors is when I let go one

[dscabra]

A gas heater is far more efficient than light bulbs for heating your garage. I have one of these in my garage and in my shop. It costs about a dollar a day to keep each at 50 degrees in the winter.

[x622]

None of the above. Buy a S9 and plug it in when you want heat and at least make some money when you're mining.

[grannyknot]

As mentioned above, insulation is the best bang for your buck. Light bulbs are an inefficient to heat a space, you would be better off using that electricity to power an oil heater.
Natural gas and propane are still the cheapest sources of power, I use an 8ft propane fired infra red tube heater on the ceiling with a small fan mounted in front of it to circulate the heated air around the shop.
I also glued 1/4" plywood to the concrete floor and that really helps knock the cold down.
On the really cold days I pull out the BBQ propane tank and fire up the convection heater, 15 min of that and the place is toasty warm.
I have so many cracks and gaps in my old garage that fresh air exchange is never a problem.

[zx10guy]

I got a 3000W electric heater and installed it in the ceiling of my garage. Fortunately, the main electrical panel is along that same wall in the garage. So I have a 30A 220V breaker feeding power to the heater. I decided to do some redneck engineering and used a baseboard heater thermostat to allow me to turn on and off the heater from ground level. It's also nice I can set the temperature and forget it. The heater has a fan to blow the air through the heating elements. It can warm up my 2 car garage in the dead of winter within about 10 to 15 minutes.