I Have Been Thinking ( Oh-Oh )

[Mojo]

I just look at taller ceilings as more cubic space to heat or cool. Besides I am not a tall man so 8 ft is enough for me. :)

If I build this shop I will go with a heat pump. They are a great way to save money as they heat cheaper then electric strip heating. Actually I am converting our house over to a brand new heat pump system in January. The cost is $ 4,200 installed for a 2.5 ton Rheem unit which includes a new air handling system, line set and all labor. There are only a few mornings / nights that we will have to use the emergency electric heat strips because of our climate.

For those who are not familiar with heat pumps they are an air con system in the summer and through internal valving reverse flow and turn into a heating system in the winter. They are very economical to run but are not very popular in the North for obvious reasons. The reason being is that the heat part of the system is useless below 36 degrees. They wont heat if temperatures are below that level.

Our electric bill here at the house for everything ( pool, shop, house, air con system ) runs about $ 200 a month.

Chris

[Mojo]

I have not heard of the Geo-Thermal being used here Darren. Up North they use them but in Florida the last thing you want to do is screw with underground water. You start pumping water out of the ground and putting it back in and your going to lose your home probably.

Sink holes is a major problem in my area. When we get torrential downpours homes start sliding into massive sink holes. It is a constant worry of mine and our neighbors and us are very careful about the water we use. No one waters their lawn on my street.

Florida is nothing but one big huge swamp anyways. Speaking of pumping, the strawberry growers near Tampa last year pumped the hell out of their wells to spray their strawberrys to protect them from frost. A few days later they had massive sink holes and numerous homes and buildings within a few miles of the fields were lost. Of course the growers all said " it wasn't from us ". :(

Chris

[JDUpholstery]

I use a heat pump on my 2400 sq ft shop...my electrical bill through the summer averaged 80 bucks a month....the shop is very well insulated, I turn everything off when I leave for the night and even in the heat of summer I can walk in in the AM and temp is around 75-80 degrees, this winter so far even with 30 degree nights, I open the shop and its close to 70 degrees inside before heating it

[byhammerandhand]

I can give some thoughts on the "woodshop" side.   I read a few years ago a book on workshops that suggested 800sq.ft. was just about the right place for a one-person shop between tripping over stuff all the time and walking all the time.

I have a friend who when he retired from his executive job splurged on a 5000 sq. ft. metal frame building.  I think he spends half his time parked at his workbench.   The other half must be spent walking between pieces of equipment, tool and hardware storage, and other workstations.   He doesn't have one Unisaw, he has two -- one for ripping and one for cross cutting.   They share a 12x12 outfeed table.   He has heat, but mostly works in the cold with a radiant heater over the workbench.   In the summer, he runs a large exhaust fan and ceiling fans.

Me, I'm on the other end with a compact shop where I can't add more equipment and still move.  I was really stressed this fall when working on building two dressers.   Both were on dollies during construction and had to be moved in and out and back and forth in the shop to get things done.  I have a separate area for stripping / finishing and taken over parts of the basement for wood storage.

I think part of it depends upon how much equipment you have and how many and what sized projects you work on.  You'd have different requirements if you did a lot of carving and you only tools were a band saw and router next to your carving bench than if you make armoires and need to make and finish carcases, molding, doors and shelves.

[Darren Henry]

I have not heard of the Geo-Thermal being used here Darren. Up North they use them but in Florida the last thing you want to do is screw with underground water. You

I think your "heat pumps "are what i was thinking of. I'm not sure of the difference.

[Mike]

Darren you can run  the tap water waiting for a cold drink of water it never happens even my irrigation well  well water isnt .
not deep though only about 2o'