Whether you have an outside office, workshop or summerhouse, you need to ensure it is comfortable to use all year round. This means making certain it has adequate heating to keep it warm and cosy during the autumn and winter months.
Which methods of heating are available for garden rooms, and which are the best for your requirements? Here we take a look at another five ideas:
Bottled gas heaters
This is the ideal choice if you already use bottled gas in your main house, as you can just add another bottle onto your usual delivery. Bottled gas heaters run on propane gas and are usually used in instances where mains electricity is not readily available. They can be bulky, however, and require plenty of ventilation to ensure toxic fumes are not an issue.
Air conditioning
Air conditioning systems can be used to both cool and heat a room; therefore, they are ideal for garden rooms that may need cooling in summer and heating in winter, such as a summerhouse in a particularly sunny position or a workshop in which heat-producing equipment will be used. They need an externally-mounted unit, which can be quite noisy, so you will need to factor in potential disturbance for yourself, your family and your neighbours.
Infrared heaters
Infrared heaters are one of the most recent additions to a room’s heating options. According to TheGreenAge, they work by emitting infrared light that heats up any object it encounters; therefore, they heat you, not the air.
Intelligent design
There are certain steps you can take at the design stage to ensure your office space or workshop is cooled and heated naturally without the need for extra energy; for instance, placing windows so that they face south, using overhanging eaves, installing ‘garden roofs’ and ensuring the right type and amount of insulation will all help to keep it at optimum temperature. For more ideas on design, consult a specialist such as http://www.gardenspaces.co.uk/.
Solar heat
Harnessing the energy of the sun to warm your outside space can be a truly ‘green’ way of heating. Solar heating systems work by collecting the sun’s energy to warm water, which is fed through tubes on the roof and then collected in a radiator; however, they can be expensive to install.