Don't hate me cuz I have in-floor hot-water heat, supplied by a wood burning boiler, in my basement that also supplies hot water to the house radiators.My garage is more like a workshop, about 18 x 28.
This is the cat's meow all right; quiet, draft-free,and like said; comfy to lay on. Plus there is never standing water anywhere for more than a few minutes. Ummmmmm.
Electric heaters,and such, heat the air, which then heats you. Your body likes it to be maybe 68 to 72, to work in shirtsleeves. Not so in floor heat. I mean yeah it heats the air, but once that slab gets warm and stays warm,it warms you by direct radiation. I find an air temp of 65 to maybe 68 is more than sufficient. Any warmer than 68 I better be moving slow.
Yeah I know it ain't cheap to install, but in the grand scheme of things, it was my cheapest option.
Did I mention quiet and draft free?lol
In another building, I had a gang of 5kw,220v heaters. Those suckers used to be cheap to buy, but man do they empty your wallet in a hurry during use! And of course they are pretty drafty and somewhat noisey.
Another time I had kerosene back-up type heater.This was a hot air/radiant type heater. It was a small space ,maybe 14 x 22, in which I built my 68 Barracuda. That heater required a continuous source of combustion air. And guess where it got that;yup right under the big door.Man that floor was cold in January.It worked ok on kerosene, but cheapazz me burned diesel in it.That worked ok too but if it didn't get enough fresh air it could give me a whopping headache.
You know when I was young, I was told that electric heat is 100% efficient. What does that even mean?Tell me in terms of dollars how much it's gonna cost to feel warm.In this regard, electric is the least efficient in my experience.
Heat is transferred to humans (and other living things) in three main ways; convection,conduction, and radiation. In-floor heat does all three.
Yeah I know, kinda late now.But you can retro fit it in about 1.5 inches of concrete.
Otherwise yeah, I installed a second-hand 15 kw forced air unit into my daughters garage. It gets the job done.Just don't be standing in front of it when it cycles on; the draft is 900mph ferocious!