Running central heating to a garden office

dilby

Hi all - I have a garden office approx. 10 metres from my house which I heat with an electric wall-mounted heater. I know this is not the cheapest method but up until covid i only used it half the week so wasn't a huge deal. Now it looks like I'll be in here much more full time I'm considering a radiator and running the pipes under the ground, as we are digging up the patio anyway. I'm curious if anyone has experience of this and whether its worth the money saving given the expense doing it and the heat loss in the ground (would do my best to insulate but still there'd be loss). It also means I'd have to update my heating system so i could turn on just some radiators and I know there's a range of hi-tech stuff out there but its certainly another cost to consider (I don't want to have to turn on all my central heating just to run my office).
Thanks for any input!

brewerdave

I suspect that such a strange set up would only pay if you intend to spend the rest of your working life in the garden shed! 
Assume a 1kw wall heater on for 8 hour per day = ~ £7.50 per week in the winter - so say for 30 weeks pa =~ £225 pa. To extend your central heating out there would cost £thousands and might require a bigger boiler PLUS I think you would need to get building regs approval and maybe planning. 

dilby

Flip, didn't even consider building regs! Thanks Brewerdave!

ariba10

The pipe work running underground would loose a lot of heat . 

It would be cheaper to run the pipe work above ground and a lot easier to insulate.

Greatgimp

Spend a bit super-insulating it, if you can afford to lose maybe 6" internally on each wall.

macman

You'd need to install zone controls, and to just run one or two rads off the same boiler would be highly inefficient. 10m is a considerable run so the pump could also be a factor. It can be done, but I doubt it's worth the investment.
I think your money would be better spent improving the insulation of you garden office. And consider using an LPG heater rather than electric (but ensure that you have adequate ventilation)?
The other option would be to run a gas supply down to the garden office and install a gas fire, which would be about a third of the cost of the electric heater to run.
I cannot see that either PP or building regs approval would be required for installing CH into an existing temporary structure?

Talldave

Frost protection would be a significant issue, particularly for the 10m pipe run.

brewerdave

macman said:

I cannot see that either PP or building regs approval would be required for installing CH into an existing temporary structure?

Only thinking that you do need building regs. for a conservatory if you extend central heating out from the house and as for Planning ,at what point does the garden office become a "permanent" structure? He was talking about long term use.

matelodave

I would have thought that something like an air-air heatpump might be a better solution as you've got the option of cooling in the summer and heating in the winter with a cop of around 4 

Rodders53

Insulate Insulate Insulate.  Roof, walls and underfloor, plus any doors and windows.  Then an electric heater may not work out too expensive to run.  

A small air to air heat pump is an alternative to electric fan or radiant heater - but the break even time could be considerable for that investment.

poppellerant

I agree with upgrading the insulation of your shed, as well as looking for obvious drafts and holes to seal up.  On top of that, I would upgrade your 1kW heater to 3kW - it will heat faster and only come on when it needs to, depending how high you have it set.