Garage Gym Heating-Cooling-Venting

[garrion]

Im in the process of converting my garage into a gym.

Walls have been battened and Eurothane insulation will be put up followed by cross bettens and finallly plasterboard drylined.
Ceiling plasterboard and 250mm insulation.

Only access and opening is a door

Question and help i need is what to use for heating....cooling...and venting the Gym..bearing in mind the cost

size of finiahed room is 5m x 4.8m x 2.49m

Any help would be appreciated

I live in the U.K so any product recommendations for there would be appreciated

 

[stem]

The obvious answer would be a heat pump air conditioner capable of heating and cooling. Cheap to run, but expensive to buy and would usually need professional installation with specialised equipment to charge the refrigerant.

If you are only using the gym for short periods and need to heat it from cold, then an electric fan heater would give a good fast warm up. For summer, you could add a packaged 'in wall' air conditioner that cools only for about £500, or a freestanding portable unit (takes up space and is noisy) for about £250. This unit does have an advantage in your case, in that as it cools, it sucks air out of the room to expel waste heat down a flexible hose to outside, so is actually providing some ventilation at the same time.

The size of the unit depends on many things. For a domestic room about the size you describe (25 square metres) kept at 21 degrees with two sedentary occupants, then 7,000 BTU's (2Kw) would be OK. In your case as the occupant(s) are working out more heat will be generated, also any heat from direct sunlight would also need to be taken into account, as would the temperature you require to get down to. This would really need to be calculated by an expert, but I would guess it to be in the region of 9,000-12,000 BTU's

With regard to ventilation. The air in a small home/hotel gym is typically changed 4 times per hour so any fan would need to be able of extracting about 250 cubic metres per hour.

If money were no object, then a HRV (Heat Recovery and Ventilation) unit would be the way to go as this would provide ventilation and prevent the loss of a good percentage of the heated air (or cooled air depending on the season) Whilst a simple extractor fan will be cheap, you will also loose some of the air you have just heated (or cooled) and will need to allow for this when sizing the air conditioner.

The lack of replies to your post is probably because the AC guys normally frequent the Plumbing and Central Heating Forum.

 

[garrion]

Thanks for the reply

Would these 2 be a good solution?

Rref to venting as im in there for 2 hours a day max would the air con extraction be enough in summer and the de-humdifier in winter?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dimplex-DXA...TMM6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1344522607&sr=8-4

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dimplex-Ele...1_13?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1344522681&sr=1-13

 

[stem]

The AC unit looks OK. Dimplex have a good reputation in general for their products. I was surprised how the prices for portable A/C units have gone up since I bought one (for the office) but it was 6 years ago, and with these, as with most things, you get what you pay for. I don't know how much air it would expel outside and I doubt the manufacturers provide this figure as it's not its main function. You could always try it and add a simple extractor fan (or open a window if you have one) for a bit extra ventilation if needed.

You may not get any ventilation from it in winter as the exhaust may not operate when it runs in dehumidifier mode. Some models cool the air to condense the moisture out of it then add the warm air back to it to keep the temperature the same and return it all to the room.

Regarding the radiator, it looks to me like a convector rather than a radiator. A convector heats the air directly and not via another medium such as oil. The description does say it's oil free and the reviews say that it does heat up quickly. 3kW is the biggest unit you will get that is portable and plugged in via a 13A socket, so if it is a convector, probably a good choice.

A fan heater would make you feel warm more quickly but maybe in a gym you won't want too much hot air blowing around.

 

[garrion]

Thanks for the input Stem much appreciated

Im going to go with those 2 products and would appreciate some advice on the best way to allow for the exhaust hose through the wall

(no windows only a side entrance door into ex detached double garage )

All the walls are single brick - battened with 50mm treated timber with 50mm Eurothane,then cross battened and platerboard drylined-ive framed in front of garage doors (4x2) and sealed with roofers barrier and then Same as other walls.All pillers have been sealed with a thermal wrapping (dear stuff but not as thick as the 50mm Eurothane )

so what would you do to allow the exhaust hose to attach into or through the plasterboard/insulation/wall while trying to maintain as small as possile thermal bridging

gary

 

[stem]

Some portable A/C units come with their own kit, but if not, there are kits available. The same sort of thing is also used for cooker hoods and tumble dryers. A circular hole through the wall is all that is required (Usually 100mm diameter but possibly 125 or 150mm) The solid tube can be cut to the required length and it makes sure all of the hot air goes outside and not between the inner and outer walls.

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• stem
• 10 Aug 2012
• 1

If it helps, you will find the instructions for the DXAC12000 by clicking here. I notice that it mentions that it gets rid of condensation by evaporation down the hose rather that using a collection tank as some models do. That suggests to me that you will get some extraction when using it in dehumidifier mode as there will be moisture to get rid of. Whether it runs all of the time, or intermittently remains to be seen

 

[garrion]

The a/c unit came today but i havent a clue what to do about venting it through wall as the end of the exhaust hose is oblong (7 1/4 inch x 3 inch )see photos ?

Any help would be appreciated

 

[stem]

It looks like it's pre-formed probably to fit some sort of outlet sold as an extra by Dimplex. Can the end section be removed back to the circular section, or is it moulded on? If it's moulded on, here are some suggestions you might like to consider.

1. Cut off the rectangular section and connect the hose to a standard venting kit. Check you can get one of the correct diameter for the hose first though. However I don't know if this may effect your guarantee or not.

2. Insert a pipe or flexible duct of a larger diameter than the rectangular section through your wall, slope it downwards slightly towards the outside so that any moisture that gets in doesn't run indoors. Fasten a grille on the outside (one which has as little restriction to the airflow as possible) Then insert the rectangular section of the A/C hose inside it. A close fitting cover can be made to fill in the gap between the two hoses and prevent exhaust air comming back into the room. The cover can be cut in half placed around the pipe and screwed to the internal wall after installation of the ducts. Here's a sketch.

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• stem
• 15 Aug 2012
• 1

3. Call the Dimplex helpline on: 0845 600 5111 and ask for their advice.