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-   -   Heating a New Hangar? (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=136719)

s10sakota 04-13-2016 12:35 PM

Heating a New Hangar?
 
Currently I'm talking to a builder as we are designing my hangar home. At this air park, the homes look like regular houses with hangars built into the house so it all blends together. Think LARGE garage.

Being that it's in the northern country and winter about 364 days a year (ok almost) I'm trying to figure out the best way to heat the hangar.

Note that I am an addict and build one plane after another so this 55' X 50' hangar will be my perpetual workshop.

I could go with heated floors and perhaps a separate furnace. I could use a radiant heat system, or the builder suggests I could hang two gas furnaces in the corners.

Obviously I'm looking for the most efficient system to run. Can anyone discuss their heating system to give me ideas?

Thanks in advance!!

Mike S 04-13-2016 12:51 PM

I would suggest you take a serious look at hydronic floor heat. Lots of good info available from your friend Mr. Google:D

I am looking at the same issue for our new place, my plan is to only heat a walled in workshop/office/bathroom area, not the entire hangar. The plane has electric sump heat for the times I need to have a warm engine.

Whatever you do, be sure to insulate well. No sense loosing any more of the heat (that you have paid for) than necessary.

David Paule 04-13-2016 03:29 PM

Ditto what Mike said.

Dave

horndesign 04-13-2016 03:34 PM

+1 on the hydronic floor heat. That's what I did in my shop. Why heat the air that's 20'+ above you before it reaches you? Hydronics can use a gas or electric fired boiler (small wall mount). Very simple and trouble free systems once up and running, and far more efficient that forced air systems.

s10sakota 04-13-2016 03:39 PM

The one guy I talked to at the airpark has the hydronic heated floors and he said it works well. In fact he said he installed the tubes himself to save some money which might be an option for me too. I can't recall but I think he said that his house furnace is also ducted into the hangar so he has floor heat, and forced air heat.

I've been searching Google and so far it seems that floor heat is the way to go. There's a lot of good reviews on the infrared radiant heat too.

It's good to hear about experiences of others too...

GaryK 04-13-2016 04:03 PM

Hydronic all the way
 
We built our hangar home 8 years ago. I use the same gas fired boiler for the hangar and lower level of the house. 3 zones in the finished basement and one zone in the hangar. I keep the entire hangar at 58 degrees all winter.

We live in Michigan so the winters are pretty cold.

Gary

Cyclone 04-13-2016 04:06 PM

Shop Heat
 
I have a 48 x 72 x 16H shop/hangar with infloor heat. It runs off a small wall mount boiler burning 500 gal propane a season maintaining 55F. Great system, no noise or air movement, warm feet and will bump up 5F in an hour if I want more heat. (Iowa winters)

coffeeguy 04-13-2016 04:11 PM

+1 floor heat
 
I kept my plane outside of a very large hangar. It had floor heat and a supplemental radiant? tube system up high. They rarely if ever used the radiant heat. The floor kept it nice and warm in the Chicago area. I pulled my bird in a few times to deice my wings and once I shut the door it would warm up very quickly as the concrete floor would retain the heat well.

bpattonsoa 04-13-2016 06:21 PM

We built our house at Independence Airpark four years ago. It has a gas commercial furnace hanging in one corner.

How you heat it is not as important as how you insulate and seal it. Our hanger is attached to the house and insulated to the same standards as the house, I.e., R-38 in the ceiling and R-21 in the walls. The windows are same Eglass double pane as the house. The slab should have edge insulation, but it is not critical in a 44' X 50' 16' high hanger. There are four ceiling fans that have not been shut off since we occupied the house. They keep the hot air mixed and not all up top.

The doors are a problem. There is a large insulated RV door. The Hanger door is covered with R-11 foam board. Keeping it tight is a problem. Pay careful attention to how the top is made airtight, a flexible fabric attached to the door frame and the hanger works best, but it is not a standardized thing.

A heated floor would be nice in the winter.
.

PixelWorker 04-13-2016 10:18 PM

I have 2 forced air heaters in opposite corners of my 60x60. They definitely heat the place up quick but the floor will stay cold for a while. I have big *** fan that I turn on to help move the air and that helps the floor. All of this is controlled with an app on the cell phone so I can turn on the heat as I head to the hangar and its warm when I get there. While this works it's probably not the most efficient system. Gas infrared heaters are nice to put over work areas since they'll heat up work surfaces and tools very well.


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