“Britain is a nation of hobbyists—eccentric amateurs, talented part-timers, Pooterish potterers and dedicated autodidacts in every field of human endeavour.” (Stephen Fry, The Ode Less Travelled)
In the fond words of Stephen Fry, we are a nation of hobbyists – and I think each of us dreams of that little place of our own where we can escape from the hubbub of home life to focus on those projects dear to our hearts. A designer’s den, a scientist’s sanctuary, a writer’s workshop, a crafter’s cave – a space dedicated to the pursuit of our favourite hobbies. It’s fun to fantasise about that luxury workspace cut off from the rest of the world, equipped with everything you need to crack on with creating. An extravagant reading room, perhaps, with glittering golden bookshelves navigated by a sliding library ladder. A luxury hand-crafted yurt with cosy corners for sewing, stitching and stuffing. A secret underground laboratory with bubbling chemistry sets, intricate conveyor belts and plenty of space for explosions!
Unfortunately, for most of us, if we’re lucky enough to have our own workspace, it’s rarely ever that glamorous. Perhaps you’ve set up a ramshackle man cave in the shed in your back garden; maybe you’ve claimed a corner of the conservatory for your lady’s laboratory; maybe the attic is serving as the nerve centre of your crafty endeavours; or perhaps a couple of benches in the garage is all the space you can spare for your beloved workshop. Well, never mind, we’re a pragmatic bunch, we work with what we’ve got – and one of the best ways to make the best of a bad space is to make sure you can get comfortable in it. We don’t want to be worrying about the goosebumps on our arms when we’ve got novels to write, atoms to split and stripy cardigans to knit.
So, how to heat the damp, draughty, ramshackle spaces that we use as workshops? Well, let’s be honest about it – the main consideration is always going to be price. If you’re like the majority of us, you scrimp and save, budgeting on life’s minor essentials to put every penny towards our beloved hobbies. Yes we could pay that little bit extra to enjoy optimum comfort from top quality heaters… but we could also spend that on some more of that vintage fabric, another metre of track for the model train set, or that latest processor for the home-built computer. Sound like you? Then our range of heating products can provide that cheap boost of heat to transform your grimy garage into a cosy, productive workspace.
Using conventional convection heaters – such as gas radiators or panel heaters – is a very expensive way to heat garages, sheds and draughty workshops. This is because these heaters work by filling a space with hot air – and in a large space where heat is constantly escaping through draughts, you need a large volume of air which is constantly topped-up. So what are your options?
Dry stone electric radiators, such as the Haverland Inerzia series, are specially designed for hard to heat rooms that may be large, poorly insulated or have high ceilings. If your garage or workshop feels like the arctic when you first walk in, this may be the choice for you as the dry stone elements of these radiators heat quickly and are able to push out heat with greater strength than ordinary radiators. The ceramic used in these models retains heat excellently and is much more economical than little blow heaters that whir away noisily in the corner, guzzling electricity. Dry stone element electric radiators may a little pricier than cheaper models, but as they are incredibly efficient, you may find the overall lower running cost much more affordable in the long term.
Infrared is another option and completely sidesteps any loss of heat through draughts by heating with radiation. The radiation given off by infrared products directly warms everything in the field of heating regardless of the motion of the air and feels similar to the heat from the sun’s rays. Fitting heaters or panels strategically around your garage or workshop lets you create specific zones that only heat where you will be working instead of wasting energy warming areas that are unoccupied. If you’re on a tight budget, some infrared patio heaters are very inexpensive and versatile, coming either in wall mounted or adjustable freestanding options.
It’s important to consider what your needs are before deciding which method to go with. If you tend to be sat in one particular area of your workshop or garage then perhaps a fixed, more permanent heating system will be preferable over something portable. Whatever you’re looking for in a heating system for your garage or workshop, we offer a wealth of products at prices that won’t hurt your wallet. Browsing through our hand-picked selection of heating solutions could make the difference between a chilly workshop you can only use in summer and a cosy workspace that can be your sanctuary all year round.