Say Goodbye To Cold Garages With A Smart Solution From Home Depot

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Most garages aren't insulated, but even those that are can be cold in the winter. You may have considered installing a wood stove or running gas lines to the garage, but if there's power, an electric heater is an easier, more practical solution. The problem is, most electric heaters are very small. If you want to work in the garage, a small heater has to be next you you, and even then, your hands are probably going to be cold.

The Heat Storm 6000-Watt Wi-Fi Smart Garage Heater, available at the Home Depot for $399.99, is a practical solution to the discomfort of working in a freezing garage. In general, you need 30 to 60 BTUs of heat energy per square foot to keep your house comfortably warm. The Heat Storm heater pumps out 10,000 to 20,000 BTUs, which, at a minimum, is enough for a 350-square-foot space and possibly a larger one. The company claims this heater can heat a space as large as 1,000 square feet, but judging from reviews, this is probably unrealistic in very cold weather.   

Think what you can do with that extra space. You can set up a woodwork shop or an artist's studio, or if you're into body-building, you've got a place for your equipment. With the right floor covering, you could even turn your garage into a yoga studio, enabling you to enjoy this activity without worrying about getting freezing in your yoga gear. It's probably not ideal for hot yoga, however. The heater's maximum temperature of 99 Fahrenheit isn't high enough to reach the upper hot yoga temperature of 105 Fahrenheit.

An electric heater with a 6,000-watt output would raise your monthly energy costs significantly if you used it indiscriminately. At the national average rate for electricity — $0.18 per kilowatt hour — it costs over a dollar an hour to use, or almost $26 per day if you forget to turn it off. That's unlikely to happen with the Heat Storm heater, however, because it's Wi-Fi enabled. You can turn it off and on, and even control the temperature, using your mobile device. To avoid the discomfort of working in a freezing garage, get it going before you go in. That way, you won't have to wait for the space to get warm before you start your activities. 

The Heat Storm heater mounts to a wall or ceiling, which keeps it off the floor and increases usable space in the garage. Rather than simply letting hot air rise to the ceiling and collect there, as a space heater would do, a fan blows the heat toward the floor, where you actually need it while working in a cold garage. "Does the job taking the chill out of my garage," wrote one Home Depot customer.

However, some reviewers have commented that the fan runs intermittently for no apparent reason and that they've sometimes had to use more fans to get the garage warm enough for comfort. Customers say the fan is quiet, though, so it won't drown out your music. This heater must be hardwired to a 240-volt circuit, so you need an electrician for installation unless you have an accessible 240-circuit in your garage you aren't using, or you have the skill to wire a new circuit.