June 20th, 2018 by Chris Chapman

No matter what time of year it is, if you’re a handy person, you probably need to spend a bit of time in your workshop. Depending on what you’re working on, whether it’s a car, a DIY project, painting a set of shelves, or anything in between, you need to make sure your workspace is at the right temperature to keep yourself comfortable and safe at all times. Sheds and garages usually don’t have the same quality central heating or ventilation that your home does, so they swing between being stiflingly hot in summer and freezing cold in winter! This isn’t just bad for your health; wood, metal, and even plastic materials can all be negatively affected in the wrong temperatures. We’ve pulled together the best ways you can keep your shed or garage feeling like Goldilocks – not too hot, not too cold, but just right!

Cooling Your Shed or Garage

If you’re working in your shed or garage, the heat can build up to unbearable levels in summer. Smaller sheds are particularly susceptible, but any size shed or garage can become like a greenhouse if it has the sun beating down on it all day. Leaving a door or window open always helps, but often it’s not enough. A lot of problems with heat can be avoided if you position your shed or garage somewhere that’s out of the sun. Of course, this isn’t always possible, but you can create some shade by planting a tree next to your building. This tree will soon grow into a great shady spot, and you can feel good that you’ve helped out the environment too! Unfortunately, planting a tree isn’t always possible, and even when it is, you’ll have to wait years to see the benefits. Another approach is to squirt your whole shed or garage down with a hose for a minute to 90 seconds. This will give the outside of your workshop a thorough soaking and will help you keep the temperature down for a few hours while the water evaporates. Naturally, this approach works best if you’ve got a wooden shed but be careful not to do this too much – you don’t want your shed to start rotting. Both of the above approaches are worth a try if you can, but they’re not the most practical solutions. This often means that, unless you have one or more windows and a door open along with a steady breeze to drag through your shed, the air will become hot and stuffy quite quickly in the summer. You need something to circulate cool air around your workshop without it being so powerful that it blows up dust or fumes into your face while you’re working.

HSD Recommends: Prem-I-Air 18 Inch Air Circulator Fan

An air circulation fan will cool you down with a minimum of fuss This Prem-I-Air fan ticks every box; it’s small enough to be picked up and placed anywhere you like and will keep you cool without disturbing you by blowing sawdust in your face! It also offers you incredible value and won’t cost anywhere near as much as an aircon unit. This air circulation fan is the best compromise between cost, portability, and cooling power, and will keep you cool in your shed or garage all day long.

Heating Your Shed or Garage

On the other end of the scale, sheds and garages can also be icy cold in winter. As much as they retain heat in the summer, they’re often poorly insulated from the cold weather. Heating your garage or shed up is usually a bit easier than cooling it down, thankfully. We advise using some black roofing felt on your roof, which will not only help prevent leaks but which will also absorb sunlight to keep you warmer while you work. You can also look to get some insulation installed in a similar vein to the insulation you have in your home. This usually comes in the form of foam placed between the inner and outer walls of a structure and may well already be in your garage, however, unfortunately, most sheds aren’t suitable for having insulation fitted. Garden sheds tend to be quite tight on space, so unless you’re seriously considering investing heavily in doing up your shed, having insulation fitted is probably not practical! That means your best option for staying warm is to look at heaters. There is a massive range of portable heaters that you can put in your shed or garage, and they’ve become much more efficient and eco-friendly in recent years.

HSD Recommends: Mylek 2kw EcoFlo+ Oil-Filled Radiator

A good heater will circulate warm air around your shed or garage This nifty portable radiator is light, easy to wheel around, and with 2kw of power, radiates an impressive amount of heat around even the coldest shed or garage. With a fully-adjustable thermostat and 24-hour timer, the EcoFlo+ gives you full control over how much energy you’re using, making it one of the most cost-effective and eco-friendly portable radiators for sheds and garages on the market. Its unique design ensures that warm air flows around the room it’s in, ensuring every part of your shed or garage will be kept comfortably and evenly warm while you work.