Experience with pole barn heating

[hkhi]

All - Just started my 56x40 pole barn and am looking for some input on pros and cons of heating options.

Relevant information - Framing is 6x6s, 8ft apart. 12 foot ceilings, with attic trusses, total building height is around 22 feet to the peak. The walls will be metal, but I am planning to insulate. Floor will be concrete slab.

Since the barn will be used for mostly storage and workshop, I don't want to heat it all the time. Something that will get the inside up to 40-50F when it's 0F outside in 20 minutes would be ideal.

I think my options are warehouse style ceiling mount electric heaters OR radiant heat in the slab using wood/propane boiler OR an inside woodstove OR propane/kerosene salamanders. I've spent enough time breathing in the exhaust from propane salamanders to consider that the last option.

Anyone have experience with one or more of these?

Thanks,
-H

 

[dave1949]

Radiant heat will accomplish nothing in 20 mins. It is better used for holding a constant temperature, you would need to keep the building at 40-50 all the time or wait several hours.

Do you want to prevent the inside temperature from dropping below freezing?

The ceiling hung electric heaters do work, have fairly low initial costs,have thermostats, adjustable air louvers, can easily be aimed a particular work area within reason, but don't look at your electric meter while they are on--you will run for the breaker :laughing:

 

[Redneck in training]

Here is one well excuted garage, shop building.
DeSoto Solar Passive Heating Panel Installation

 

[KennyG]

I'm in the process of rehabbing a 40 x 48 (12 ft ceiling) so I'm in about the same situation. After talking to a lot of people with heated pole buildings, I've more or less settled on a small (45k btu) hanging gas heater (I already have natural gas in the building) and a medium sized wood stove (80k ot 90k). My thought is that I can keep above freezing with the gas heater if I want, run both gas and wood to bring the temperature up, and keep the temperature up when I'm working with the wood stove only to minimize cost.

The full capital cost should only be about $1500 and operating expenses will be low.

Electric would only make economic sense if you intend to heat it only a very limited amount of time.

 

[dave1949]

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Electric would only make economic sense if you intend to heat it only a very limited amount of time.

I have a G73 Dayton brand ceiling hung electric heater in my garage. Dayton G73 Electric Utility Heater - Hobby Greenhouse Heating | Greenhouse Megastore

My thought was if it was really cold, it would knock the chill out of the air. I have it aimed at my tractor parking spot. As it turns out, I never use it because the building stays warmer than I thought it would. I turn it on 10 mins. every fall to burn the dust off :laughing:

At the full 17,000 btu rate, it will use about 5 kw per hour. So, at 15 cents per kwh, it costs me roughly 75 cents per hour to run at max. In reality, the thermostat will turn off the heat elements off and on, the fan keeps running. The cost would usually be less than the maximum. My electric meter just isn't used to that shock!

 

[hkhi]

I have a G73 Dayton brand ceiling hung electric heater in my garage. Dayton G73 Electric Utility Heater - Hobby Greenhouse Heating | Greenhouse Megastore

My thought was if it was really cold, it would knock the chill out of the air. I have it aimed at my tractor parking spot. As it turns out, I never use it because the building stays warmer than I thought it would. I turn it on 10 mins. every fall to burn the dust off :laughing:

At the full 17,000 btu rate, it will use about 5 kw per hour. So, at 15 cents per kwh, it costs me roughly 75 cents per hour to run at max. In reality, the thermostat will turn off the heat elements off and on, the fan keeps running. The cost would usually be less than the maximum. My electric meter just isn't used to that shock!

Wow. 75 cents for an hour isn't bad. How did you insulate your building to keep it warmer than expected?

 

[DJ54]

The biggest problem will be the cold concrete floor, if not heated all the time. In the present shop, I have a waste oil furnace. When I'm not working in there, I set the thermomostat at about 50 degrees. Bump it to 65 or so if I am. Warmer if I'm painting, or woodworking finishing. The shop is 36' X 32'. I use approx. 450 gallons of oil per year, and it is a 120,000 btu furnace. Metal siding inside, with 1-1/2" styrofam panels in the walls and ceiling.

Building a new shop at present. Only 30' X 32'. But using a wood/coal stove, plus my waste oil furnace, as used oil is getting tough to find, with everyoine seemingly having a WOF now.

Many around here are now using the floor type radiant heat. Some gas, some plumbed to outdoor boilers. Most are farm shops, or business's. The ones with gas, most likely have a gas well or two on the property. Lucky them..!!

 

[dave1949]

Wow. 75 cents for an hour isn't bad. How did you insulate your building to keep it warmer than expected?

It is a passive solar building with a full earth berm on the north side that wraps around one-half of the west end.

I have seen it flirt with freezing overnight just once in six years during a cold and cloudy stretch. Our usual weather pattern is for clear and cold to happen together with a high pressure system.

In a normal winter on a cloudy winter day and overnight it will be around 40*, and 55* - 60* on a sunny day. It surprised me that it does as well as it does. The core temperature changes very slowly in bermed buildings with concrete floor and walls. Last winter was milder on average, it was about 5* warmer inside than usual.

I used 18" of fiberglass in the ceiling. Two crossing layers of 9" batts. Before I put the up the ceiling and ceiling insulation in the building, it could not be warmed up with something less than a construction site heater. That made me a big believer in well-sealed and insulated ceilings as being where you get the most bang for your insulation buck.

No matter what building it would be used in, the G73 heater would not use more than 5 kw per hour. So, that part holds true for you, but your heat loss may be greater and that would reduce the interior temperature. The G73's 17,000/hour is not a lot of btu's. My guess is that it would be good for heating an area while you are working, but won't do much total building wise for a pole barn.

 

[radioman]

probably the easiest and cheapest option is use a used house furance that runs on gas and run ducts to spots where you think you will be working all the time.

 

[art]

We just added on to our shop in central ny and there is nothing like insulation as our older building as well as the new is with 6" walls and fully insulated there as well as 16" in the ceiling. Doors closed the it only gets to about 72 on hot days and if the furnaces go out it takes over 48 hours to go to 40 degree's My preference is spray-on although the costs are higher the benifit of every crack filled is high! You made mention of the heated floors, also my preference but if you let it cool down, in about three days in central NY the lines might be freezing and then you have PROBLEMS!