Economical way to heat a large space

[Steveb]

If you've been to the shop, you'll know the size I'm talking about, it's a square room, about 3000sq ft. It needs heating!

I was originally going to go for rads, but have been told they'll be useless in such a large space, blow heaters have been suggested, but a plumbed in system is wild money. Any other (sensible) suggestions?

Can you get portable blow heaters that run oil or gas or summit that are quiet and efficient?

[chucky]

You could chill the entrance hall...Then when people enter the shop they'll at least think its warm?

On a serious note - Ive seen alot of places use those wee portable gas heaters.

[JAC]

Get some Real Cycles fleeces & longjohns made

[andrewni]

i work in the air conditioning industry - to heat that size of space you'd need about 28kw - ac would be ideal, you get instant heat with cooling in the summer too with reasonable running costs - but would cost you well over 10k for the installation. Probably the best cheap option is to get a second hand "powermatic" system - these are basically a giant oil or gas fired blow heater typically used to heat big sheds and warehouses.
like these...http://belfast.gumtree.com/belfast/69/61290269.html

[Aul Han]

Dont poke holes in the roof?

[Steveb]

i work in the air conditioning industry - to heat that size of space you'd need about 28kw - ac would be ideal, you get instant heat with cooling in the summer too with reasonable running costs - but would cost you well over 10k for the installation. Probably the best cheap option is to get a second hand "powermatic" system - these are basically a giant oil or gas fired blow heater typically used to heat big sheds and warehouses.
like these...http://belfast.gumtree.com/belfast/69/61290269.html

How would one of those things be installed?

[pak]

well insulated, having two doors to go through before you get outside is always good to prevent heat loss but would be awkward to do on your site as anything other than a door at the top of the stairs and a door at the bottom wouldn't be practical and then thats a fairy big space so may not be a great advantage

two 3kw commercial curtain heaters would make a big difference in your shop as it has a low ceiling and is well sealed up alot of the time, these would give a good clean heat and would be a cheap installation depending on your electrical set up and wiring access, using what should be 6 units an hour combined, (I'm going to hook a meter up to the one in my shed to check just what exactly they do use) were some gas heaters and the likes will cause condensation, others will need an exhaust and external tank piped up

[Bowdie]

We have a blower heater on wheels that's taken on site to heat out houses etc for contractors. Stick derv in it and and on full heat it soon chucks it out. You could hire one until you find a more permanant solution or buy a recon one and ebay it when final solution is in play. It's noisey to start in full power (jet engine) but that would be pre-customer time, then just top up with conventional heaters during the day.

[Steveb]

I've looked that those types, but we're not allowed them. H&S!

[andrewni]

re:installing powermatic heaters
you would need to employ a plumber to install the unit, oil/gas lines and tanks etc and certify the whole thing

[Steveb]

well insulated, having two doors to go through before you get outside is always good to prevent heat loss but would be awkward to do on your site as anything other than a door at the top of the stairs and a door at the bottom wouldn't be practical and then thats a fairy big space so may not be a great advantage

two 3kw commercial curtain heaters would make a big difference in your shop as it has a low ceiling and is well sealed up alot of the time, these would give a good clean heat and would be a cheap installation depending on your electrical set up and wiring access, using what should be 6 units an hour combined, (I'm going to hook a meter up to the one in my shed to check just what exactly they do use) were some gas heaters and the likes will cause condensation, others will need an exhaust and external tank piped up

Just been looking into these, prices vary but Consort plus a few others do them for about £150 each. If two draw 6 units an hour that's pretty bloody cheap heating, about £6 a day. Be very interested in hearing your test results, if that's really all they draw.

[Bowdie]

I've looked that those types, but we're not allowed them. H&S!

Dangers of Carbon Monoxide poisioning are highly over rated LOL Which would you rather have , shivering into hypothermia and death or warm and snug and best snooze u've had in years LOL
Curtain heaters provide a barrier between a well insulated space heated environment and the outside. You have nither, The outside is 'far away' via stairs which provides it's own heat trap at the top. Blowing warm air down customers necks only make them more aware how cold the place is when they enter. The first time I was in your shop (spring) I noticed how quickly the place heated up when the sun came out -obvious conclusion is, gets hot on a warm day then gets cold on a cold day - no insulation! Having a hard board ceiling is also a give away giving a clear Circa of 1960, with non/little insulation in roof space or lagging on slates.
Chase the landlord/government for money for installation, foot thick of rock wool in loft and cavity wall installation (if there even is a cavity in those walls). Stick a good space heater in as the building is now and the heat is going through the roof/walls faster than you can pump it out. You may have to screen the office area off (with glass?), you could get away with 16 degrees C in the shop area, but sitting doing paperwork is going to need at least 20/22 degrees C for comfort. Trying to bring that large space up to 20 degrees C is going to cost a mint. Legally you need to provide a working environment of 65 degrees F as a minimum (Shops and Factorys act) but may have been inproved since I last looked it up.
Expensive food for thought ...

[Steveb]

Roof space is surprisingly well insulated.

[Bowdie]

Roof space is surprisingly well insulated.

Thats a bit scary then, why does the inside track the outside so closely, usually that's down to roof insulation but you say not. Ask around to see if anyone has access to a thermal scanner, scan when building cold and at end of the day, check for cold spots, draughts show up really well round doors and windows.
I borrowed one years ago and surveyed a few friends houses and found loads of anomilies, one being cavity wall insulators had missed one wall!! showed up like beacon on image. Don't have access to it in case U ask, previous job

[Steveb]

It heats up quick when the sun shines thru the window, cus, like, the sun is hot. It cools when the sun don't shine cus it's a big open space, and the sun ain't shining on it anymore.

Least that's my conclusion. Maybe I should look closer at the insulation.

[Bowdie]

You may have put your finger on it - if heat travels in through the glass easily then it will escape out easily (radiation). Most modern shop windows are treated to be a barrier to radiated heat, you don't want a massive heat rise on a sunny day, ideally the inside temperature should be detached from what is happening outside. Have you single skin or double skin glass?

[pak]

Just been looking into these, prices vary but Consort plus a few others do them for about £150 each. If two draw 6 units an hour that's pretty bloody cheap heating, about £6 a day. Be very interested in hearing your test results, if that's really all they draw.

i just started two runing today in one of the shops i look after, might go and stick a meter on one and run it for 10 hours tomorrow, could sell this to a pile of places with the running facts to hand haha

you probably wouldn't even need them both going all day! we don't run them all day in the shop and there is open fridges, freezers and an outside door opening constantly. We're tight as hell though lol

[AdamF]

How about a couple of stoves, do you get many pallet or durable stuff? I can get you stoves up to 29kw ;0)

[MrNuts]

big pile of pallets in the middle, and some petrol

[stevie.d]

http://www.cleanair.co.uk/heating-system.php what about something like this, or more local http://www.warmflow.co.uk/air.php