Warm Up To a Greener Shop 12/20/2010 11:43:00 AM 
Greening our cabinet shop practices means rethinking what we do, and there are some great options timed for the cooler months that help save energy and are good for both the environment as well as our pocketbook.
Work spaces heated with conventional heat, heats the air which in turn warms our bodies and can be very inefficient as well as costly. Infrared radiant heat is much more efficient and heats the object, not the air, and is especially good in drafty shop environments where heated air escapes along with the heating energy cost.
Keeping the back of the neck warm warms the entire body and a well placed small infrared radiant heat strip secured to the rafters behind the table saw and angled forward and downward most likely will be the best $50 you spend this winter; check out this
option or this one that
includes a light.
There are a number of other good options and to expand use of infrared radiant heat with smart placement throughout the shop space:
- Smaller low cost heaters can be good for the office or restroom
- Mats are available where the heat can rise below a desk or in a workspace though some mats can appear to get dangerously hot if left continuously plugged in.
- Larger 4-to 5-ft. strips can heat a broader assembly area and work space where movement is involved as smaller quartz heaters provide directed heat in a narrow line and are better for work stations. Larger strips with fewer watts work well over a cement slab that is sealed and will reflect the heat upwards (emissivity).
Note: quartz infrared heating strips can get very hot and pose dust fire/explosion concerns, so it is important to have good dust collection in place and to be mindful of potential risks and hazards.
Infrared heating strips are also available for use with natural gas where some thoughtful calculations can determine whether electric or gas is more cost effective as fuel prices vary significantly across regions.
A search for “quartz radiant heater” in Google or Froogle.com (Googleʼs shopping arm) is a great place to start in exploring available options that can supplement conventional heat and provide a more comfortable and productive workspace on those exceptionally chilly mornings when it takes time to heat a shop and support lessened use and dependence on more inefficient conventional heat.
