Should I Air Condition the Garage?

With the amount of time that some people spend in their garages – doing projects, arranging storage or simply escaping for a time to enjoy a favorite hobby – it only makes sense to keep those spaces as comfortable as possible. Especially when there are so many different cooling and heating solutions available these days.

But even though adding air conditioning to a garage space can be done, does it make sense? Are there factors that would make adding AC to a garage less beneficial, either in the short or long run?

As always, it makes sense to look at the pros and cons. Here are a few, as outlined by About.com:

While we are always willing to provide you with advice on finding the right AC system for your needs, it pays to consider whether a garage space might be able to be cooled sufficiently by using a fan or two.

In many cases, however, fans simply can’t mitigate all of the nasty effects of high humidity. A window unit could help to provide a cool atmosphere inside of your garage – and, in the case of a garage that’s attached to a home, could also assist in lowering the temperatures in some of the home’s rooms.

What makes less sense, say the experts at About.com, is to draw on your home’s central air conditioning powers to help to make the garage space cooler. In the first place, your home’s central air unit was very likely sized to cool only the home’s living areas. Asking it to take on a garage (particularly one that might be uninsulated, as many garages are) could make it work harder than it should.

And unless a return air system has been properly installed in the garage area, the whole system will be out of sync, as the central unit might not receive enough air back from the treated spaces in order to keep forcing more throughout the home.

More questions about what kind of cooling system might make your garage space more comfortable during the warmer months of the year? Contact AC World today.