So I realize that this is really off topic here, but there are a lot of smart people here and I’m hoping to get some good advice. If you have any suggestions of better forums for this question I’d be happy to hear them as well.
In any case, living in Florida, I have no basement, so I’ve been using part of my garage as a workshop. I’ve recently been spending a lot of time in there working on a few projects and working in a non climate controlled workshop in florida is pretty miserable during most of the year, so I want to do something about that, and I think a mini split is probably the answer. The only thing that gives me a little concern is the fact that the exterior walls and ceiling are not insulated. The garage door is insulated with R8 fiberglass batts. The exterior walls are cinderblock and one exterior wall is north facing, so luckily it doesn’t get a lot of sun. The garage door is west facing and there is a small section of south facing wall. (The rest of the south facing wall as well as the entire east facing wall are attached to the house and are insulated).
I’m not planning to run the AC 24/7, but rather just for a few hours now and then when I’m working on a project in the garage. I realize that with the lack of insulation that this won’t be the most energy efficient thing ever, but I’m trying to figure out exactly how much of an impact it will make. I don’t want to just be throwing money out the window every time I do run the AC.
Given that the walls are cinderblock it would be quite an effort to insulate them. I’d probably have to frame something out, insulate it, then install sheet rock, which is way more work than I’m really hoping to do. I do have access to the attic above the garage, so insulating the ceiling would be less effort, but I question exactly how much it would help, given that heat rises anyway. Since I live in Florida and the garage doesn’t get cold enough in the winter to require heating I’m thinking I might be OK without insulating the ceiling.
So all that said, does anyone have any thoughts on this? Should I really go through the time and effort of fully insulating the garage just for a few hours of cooling now and then? Is it worth insulating the garage ceiling when I won’t have to worry about heating the garage at all?
At this point the temperatures are starting to fall, so I’m probably not going to be getting the mini split until spring, so I have a few months to figure things out and insulate if I must.
Thanks for your thoughts
In any case, living in Florida, I have no basement, so I’ve been using part of my garage as a workshop. I’ve recently been spending a lot of time in there working on a few projects and working in a non climate controlled workshop in florida is pretty miserable during most of the year, so I want to do something about that, and I think a mini split is probably the answer. The only thing that gives me a little concern is the fact that the exterior walls and ceiling are not insulated. The garage door is insulated with R8 fiberglass batts. The exterior walls are cinderblock and one exterior wall is north facing, so luckily it doesn’t get a lot of sun. The garage door is west facing and there is a small section of south facing wall. (The rest of the south facing wall as well as the entire east facing wall are attached to the house and are insulated).
I’m not planning to run the AC 24/7, but rather just for a few hours now and then when I’m working on a project in the garage. I realize that with the lack of insulation that this won’t be the most energy efficient thing ever, but I’m trying to figure out exactly how much of an impact it will make. I don’t want to just be throwing money out the window every time I do run the AC.
Given that the walls are cinderblock it would be quite an effort to insulate them. I’d probably have to frame something out, insulate it, then install sheet rock, which is way more work than I’m really hoping to do. I do have access to the attic above the garage, so insulating the ceiling would be less effort, but I question exactly how much it would help, given that heat rises anyway. Since I live in Florida and the garage doesn’t get cold enough in the winter to require heating I’m thinking I might be OK without insulating the ceiling.
So all that said, does anyone have any thoughts on this? Should I really go through the time and effort of fully insulating the garage just for a few hours of cooling now and then? Is it worth insulating the garage ceiling when I won’t have to worry about heating the garage at all?
At this point the temperatures are starting to fall, so I’m probably not going to be getting the mini split until spring, so I have a few months to figure things out and insulate if I must.
Thanks for your thoughts