How To Warm Up Your Garage During Cold Months With An Easy-To-Install Solution

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If you live in a cold climate and have an unheated garage, you already know that keeping that space comfortable in winter can be a hassle. Waking up in the morning and stepping into a freezing car in a cold garage before your commute is not a fun way to start your day. Many people install forced-air heaters in their garages, but perhaps you haven't because setting up a hard-wired heating system is too difficult. There's no reason to live with getting into a freezing car every morning, however. There are simpler garage heaters which are much easier to install — no hard-wiring required.

The easiest way to keep your garage warm in winter without hard wiring is to use a portable electric or propane heater. An infrared electric garage heater is an unobtrusive option, or you can use a portable propane heater, which is even more powerful. Either will be cheaper and less complicated than a hard-wired system, such as a ceiling-mounted forced-air heater. The advantages of a portable garage heater don't end there: you can also install them where you need them most (such as next to a workbench), and you can store them during the warmer months so they're completely out of the way.

A portable or wall-mounted heater is an easy do-it-yourself solution for keeping your garage warm in the winter. If you'd prefer something electric, an infrared heater is one of the cheapest ways to heat your garage. A wall-mounted heater offers a semi-permanent solution without hard wiring, and this wall-mounted Dr. Infrared Portable Space Heater is a top-rated pick from Amazon. It's designed for indoor and outdoor use, so it can withstand any temperature and humidity swings in your garage.

Electric infrared and wall-mounted heaters work best for smaller one- and two-car garages. Electric heaters are generally insufficient for large three- and four-car garages. If you have a small garage or only need to warm up a specific area, this shouldn't be a problem. However, your heater's efficiency also depends on how well-insulated your garage is. There are several DIY garage insulation methods to heat your space and stave off the freezing temperatures.

That said, good portable heating solutions do exist for larger garages. If you want something that can keep a larger space warm, consider a propane heater. The Lowe's Mr. Heater Cabinet Heater is propane-powered and puts out 18,000 BTUs of heat. Need something even bigger? This Tractor Supply Master Propane Forced Air Torpedo Heater delivers up to a whopping 60,000 BTUs of heat, making it a good (and still portable) choice for three- and four-car garages.

Take safety precautions when installing any heating system in your garage. According to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (via the U.S. Fire Administration), garage fires are especially dangerous because they tend to spread faster and cause more damage than fires that start elsewhere in the home. Many people store flammable materials, like fuel and other chemicals, in their garage, and a large, open space gives flames plenty of room and oxygen to spread quickly.

When setting up a portable or wall-mounted heater in your garage, keep it safely away from any flammable objects or materials. If you can, avoid keeping things like gasoline, paints, varnishes, and other volatile compounds in your garage. Store these outside the home, such as in a shed, whenever possible. Furthermore, if using a propane heater, ensure your garage has proper ventilation. Propane heaters also get hot during operation, so do not leave yours unattended when it's on. And finally, as an extra precaution, be sure to install a heat detector (which is not the same as a smoke detector) in your garage, because a heat detector is less likely to trigger a false alarm due to dust and fumes the way a smoke detector might.