A/C In The Garage - Good Idea

[Mike3461]

Hello. I have a 2 car garage Villages home.

Has anyone installed air conditioning in the garage? What would you recommend? Would a mini-split do the job? Or, would a portable unit such as they sell at Best Buy work?
Thanks in advance.

[villagetinker]

You will need to add insulation to the ceiling area of the garage, and this maybe complicated if you have attic storage. You will probably want (need) to insulate the garage door. IMHO, I would definitely go with a minisplit. Most if not all of the ones I looked at required 240volts at 15 to 25 amps which typically require a permit and licensed electrician. I know there will be several who will disagree and state that you can DIY but I believe there are limits on the type of DIY electrical work. Also, I think FL requires a license for the refringent lines. As for the portable AC unit, you cannot use a window AC unit, you may get away with a window exhaust type unit with the large flex exhaust hose. Be sure to look at the customer reviews on these, and also figure on where and how you will handle the drain line.

[retiredguy123]

If you are considering a portable unit, I would not believe the square footage coverage that they claim. You will probably need a much larger unit. But, one advantage to the portable unit is that it can be moved to a bedroom when needed.

By the way, the portable units that sit on the floor with a round duct through a window are allowed, according to ARC. Window units are not allowed.

[GpaVader]

I have done this in my 2 car w/golf car garage, 3.5 years ago. I had a mini-split installed. As Villagethinker suggested, I did insulate the garage door, as I have an East facing door, that made a huge difference. I also had the garage door windows tinted. I elected not insulate the ceiling because it was already set up for storage and I was not sure I would gain as much since heat rises and want to let that out. I shopped around on the mini-split and opted to go with Munns, the did my houses HVAC and they had the best value.

I did this because my garage is also a workshop for both my model building, where I have a small spray booth and also for my 10 needle embroidery machine and 3D printing. Adding this added about $15-20/month to my electric bill in the summer months. I typically have the space set for 74* and it recovers nicely when the door is opened for a long period of time. My main purpose for this is reducing humidity in addition to making it more comfortable.

[retiredguy123]

I have done this in my 2 car w/golf car garage, 3.5 years ago. I had a mini-split installed. As Villagethinker suggested, I did insulate the garage door, as I have an East facing door, that made a huge difference. I also had the garage door windows tinted. I elected not insulate the ceiling because it was already set up for storage and I was not sure I would gain as much since heat rises and want to let that out. I shopped around on the mini-split and opted to go with Munns, the did my houses HVAC and they had the best value.

I did this because my garage is also a workshop for both my model building, where I have a small spray booth and also for my 10 needle embroidery machine and 3D printing. Adding this added about $15-20/month to my electric bill in the summer months. I typically have the space set for 74* and it recovers nicely when the door is opened for a long period of time. My main purpose for this is reducing humidity in addition to making it more comfortable.
I would suggest that you reconsider not insulating the ceiling. You are losing a lot of energy through the roof.

[shaw8700@outlook.com]

We added a mini-split to the garage and it works without any additional insulation, just sayin’.

[retiredguy123]

We added a mini-split to the garage and it works without any additional insulation, just sayin’.
If it is sized large enough, it may work fine, but you are losing a lot of energy and spending more money on electricity. No builder or building code writer would ever allow a house to be constructed that way.

[jsa]

When we built we added an insulated garage door. We had Kalos insulate above our garage and install a Mitsubishi 24k BTU mini-split. All in it was about $7k.

[MFN-VAN]

For those that did the mini split, what was the approx cost to install. My walls are precast concrete.

[Rwirish]

It’s a garage.

NFM

[MandoMan]

I have done this in my 2 car w/golf car garage, 3.5 years ago. I had a mini-split installed. As Villagethinker suggested, I did insulate the garage door, as I have an East facing door, that made a huge difference. I also had the garage door windows tinted. I elected not insulate the ceiling because it was already set up for storage and I was not sure I would gain as much since heat rises and want to let that out. I shopped around on the mini-split and opted to go with Munns, the did my houses HVAC and they had the best value.

I did this because my garage is also a workshop for both my model building, where I have a small spray booth and also for my 10 needle embroidery machine and 3D printing. Adding this added about $15-20/month to my electric bill in the summer months. I typically have the space set for 74* and it recovers nicely when the door is opened for a long period of time. My main purpose for this is reducing humidity in addition to making it more comfortable.

Yes, heat rises, but an uninsulated attic that is easily 120° much of the year separated from the garage by half an inch of drywall with an R value of less than one radiates a LOT of heat, like a hot oven does or a hot car. If you don’t need to insulate an attic over an air-conditioned garage because heat rises, then why does the rest of your house have insulation in the attic? In your garage, the cooled air comes into contact with the hot drywall and is heated up.

[retiredguy123]

Yes, heat rises, but an uninsulated attic that is easily 120° much of the year separated from the garage by half an inch of drywall with an R value of less than one radiates a LOT of heat, like a hot oven does or a hot car. If you don’t need to insulate an attic over an air-conditioned garage because heat rises, then why does the rest of your house have insulation in the attic? In your garage, the cooled air comes into contact with the hot drywall and is heated up.
I agree. The insulation above the ceiling is absolutely the most important insulation in your house, but only above conditioned spaces. So, if you install a mini-split unit in your garage or in your lanai, you need to install at least R-30 insulation above the ceiling. The more the better. Having no ceiling insulation is like trying to fill a bucket with water when the bucket has a large hole in the bottom.

[NewFLgirl]

Hello. I have a 2 car garage Villages home.

Has anyone installed air conditioning in the garage? What would you recommend? Would a mini-split do the job? Or, would a portable unit such as they sell at Best Buy work?
Thanks in advance.

We have a three car garage and we sprayed the ceiling of the attic above as well as have insulated garage doors. It’s awesome! The garage stays very cool and the attic is a decent temp for storage. We installed a mini split and hired one of the local companies. Be careful…we got three estimates and they were wildly different…by thousands! We settled with sunshine. Installation was great and they were very easy to deal with.

[GymJim]

Our garage is east-facing and over 1,000 sq ft. We installed a mini split (from Munns) about 4 years ago and did not add any insulation to the storage/attic area above it. However, our garage door is insulated. It is absolutely amazing how quickly that mini split can cool down the garage (and keep it cool) - even during the hottest days. It only takes about 10 minutes before the temperature reaches the selected level. In addition to storing 3 cars and 2 golf carts, we have a small workshop in one corner, a workout area (treadmill, Peloton bike, dual-rack functional trainer [cable machine], free weights] in another corner and a golf simulator/launch monitor with 10x15 foot movie/TV screen across the back. Whenever we want to use any of those or just work on our vehicles, we simple turn the mini split on and wait 10 minutes. Once it is cooled, doing anything in the garage is completely comfortable. We do not cool it all the time - only for extended use activities as noted above.

[HJBeck]

I’m not sure if the outside walls are insulated. Am sure that the attic is not. What about the garage door and the lack of real seals on the edge? Doesn’t sound very practical, but if it floats your boat, do it.

[retiredguy123]

I’m not sure if the outside walls are insulated. Am sure that the attic is not. What about the garage door and the lack of real seals on the edge? Doesn’t sound very practical, but if it floats your boat, do it.
I would insulate the ceiling and the garage door, but not the exterior walls. You won't lose much energy through the exterior walls.

[RON S]

We installed a 2 ton Mitsubishi Ac and leave it on 78 and it's great



has anyone installed air conditioning in the garage? What would you recommend? Would a mini-split do the job? Or, would a portable unit such as they sell at Best Buy work?
Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]

[Rickmartin]

Absolutely! I have a 2 car garage and a golf cart garage as well. I had a 2 ton Mitsubishi 27 Seer unit installed. I also had the ceiling and garage doors
insulated. All for less than the cost of motorized screens. I keep the thermostat at 78°. ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. Negligible increase in electric bill.

[goneil2024]

MFN-VAN poses an interesting question not to be overlooked.

For those that have installed A/C in their Garage/Lani, are you owners of Frame/Stick construction or HCB or PreStressed Concrete? I would expect that the cost difference between one building system vs. the other is material?

[jrref]

If it is sized large enough, it may work fine, but you are losing a lot of energy and spending more money on electricity. No builder or building code writer would ever allow a house to be constructed that way.

Agreed 100%. Airconditioning your garage without insulating the door and ceiling is throwing money away every day. I also thought the heat from the garage would go up through the ceiling but when I got my garage ceiling insulated, I saw that I was wrong.

Also, remember, mini-splits use the new inverter, variable speed technology which is expensive to repair so get a good extended warranty if you can afford it. They are not easily repaired by the average homeowner. They are also considered a separate A/C system when it comes to maintenance if you do maintenance. I see many get one then do nothing and then complain on how expensive it is to fix when it fails. It's an A/C system just like any other so just understand and plan for any additional expenses if you get one.

[Driller703]

I have done this in my 2 car w/golf car garage, 3.5 years ago. I had a mini-split installed. As Villagethinker suggested, I did insulate the garage door, as I have an East facing door, that made a huge difference. I also had the garage door windows tinted. I elected not insulate the ceiling because it was already set up for storage and I was not sure I would gain as much since heat rises and want to let that out. I shopped around on the mini-split and opted to go with Munns, the did my houses HVAC and they had the best value.

I did this because my garage is also a workshop for both my model building, where I have a small spray booth and also for my 10 needle embroidery machine and 3D printing. Adding this added about $15-20/month to my electric bill in the summer months. I typically have the space set for 74* and it recovers nicely when the door is opened for a long period of time. My main purpose for this is reducing humidity in addition to making it more comfortable.

Absolutely do it! And choose Munns

[Miboater]

My neighbor just had a mini-split installed in his garage by either Sunkool or Sunshine. The company advised him against getting the ceiling insulated. They told him that he would never make up the cost of the insulation with the gain in efficiency. I would have thought getting the ceiling done was a no-brainer but now I'm not so sure. They do advise getting the garage door insulated but his was already done.

[Bealman]

Hello. I have a 2 car garage Villages home.

Has anyone installed air conditioning in the garage? What would you recommend? Would a mini-split do the job? Or, would a portable unit such as they sell at Best Buy work?
Thanks in advance.

If you have a Costco membership, checkout their A/C installers for a quote. We saved a lot in CO having them do two A/C units. Costco uses rebuttal contractors as they don't want to lose customers to poor workmanship.

[GpaVader]

MFN-VAN poses an interesting question not to be overlooked.

For those that have installed A/C in their Garage/Lani, are you owners of Frame/Stick construction or HCB or PreStressed Concrete? I would expect that the cost difference between one building system vs. the other is material?

Ours is cinderblock with stucco...

[jrref]

My neighbor just had a mini-split installed in his garage by either Sunkool or Sunshine. The company advised him against getting the ceiling insulated. They told him that he would never make up the cost of the insulation with the gain in efficiency. I would have thought getting the ceiling done was a no-brainer but now I'm not so sure. They do advise getting the garage door insulated but his was already done.

That had to be Sunkool. Sunshine would never say anything like that. I can't believe some of the ridiculous things Villagers are told.

If you are talking about cost. You can have your garage ceiling insulated for about $800 by the Solar Guys for example, and if you do it in 2025 you get a 30% Federal Tax Credit, not a deduction, on your income tax. This lowers the price significantly and this Federal Tax Credit will go away this year so no waiting to think about it.

[jimhoward]

I had a mini-split quoted and the prices all included blown-in insulation (above). So the installer may just take care of it for you.

I had it quoted 2 ways in my house, one was for just the Lanai, and it was around $10K and the other was for a two-headed system with one head for enclosed Lanai (large) and one for the garage (2+golf). That was $15K. Both included insulation. Seemed reasonable but I haven't acted.

One consideration would be: are you good with a 2-car garage and are you staying in the house? Lots of people want 2+golf garages these days. If that is potentially you, then I would hesitate to spend $10K. But if you are happy where you are then, sure go for it.

[ZPaul]

My neighbor just had a mini-split installed in his garage by either Sunkool or Sunshine. The company advised him against getting the ceiling insulated. They told him that he would never make up the cost of the insulation with the gain in efficiency. I would have thought getting the ceiling done was a no-brainer but now I'm not so sure. They do advise getting the garage door insulated but his was already done.

If you are keeping a space at a constant temperature, partial insulation can still be worthwhile as heat flow will be reduced in this area. As long as the temperature is held constant, insulating part of the space should NOT increase loss in uninsulated parts of the attic floor. With attic storage, it may make sense to dump fiberglass bats in areas without a floor even if the area with a floor is not insulated. Also if you can not do 12", even 3.5" is better than nothing(dollar saving per quantity of insulation at least as good). There is nothing magical about 12". More is always better, but lesser amounts still help.

[jrref]

I had a mini-split quoted and the prices all included blown-in insulation (above). So the installer may just take care of it for you.

I had it quoted 2 ways in my house, one was for just the Lanai, and it was around $10K and the other was for a two-headed system with one head for enclosed Lanai (large) and one for the garage (2+golf). That was $15K. Both included insulation. Seemed reasonable but I haven't acted.

One consideration would be: are you good with a 2-car garage and are you staying in the house? Lots of people want 2+golf garages these days. If that is potentially you, then I would hesitate to spend $10K. But if you are happy where you are then, sure go for it.

This all sounds good and well researched. But I have an observation. So, some may be willing to spend $15K, for example in your case, for a mini-split system and many when replacing their main home HVAC system will never spend that on a comparable inverter system which is the same technology as the mini-split, and usually go with the cheapest basic system they can get their hands on. And we never hear how complex new technology, how hard they are and expensive to fix these mini-splits. Can someone explaing this logic?

[nn0wheremann]

If you are considering a portable unit, I would not believe the square footage coverage that they claim. You will probably need a much larger unit. But, one advantage to the portable unit is that it can be moved to a bedroom when needed.

By the way, the portable units that sit on the floor with a round duct through a window are allowed, according to ARC. Window units are not allowed.
If you cut a hole in the side of the garage specifically to fit a “window” air conditioner, then mount the air conditioner in it, does that not become a permanent through the wall air conditioner(PTAC), and no longer a forbidden window a/c?

[LianneMigiano]

I agree. The insulation above the ceiling is absolutely the most important insulation in your house, but only above conditioned spaces. So, if you install a mini-split unit in your garage or in your lanai, you need to install at least R-30 insulation above the ceiling. The more the better. Having no ceiling insulation is like trying to fill a bucket with water when the bucket has a large hole in the bottom.
I've seen (on computer videos) the use of foam sheet insulation glued to the interior of garage doors to insulate hot garages. If one were using the attic above the garage for storage, could this same concept be used on the garage ceiling in lieu of disturbing stuff up into the attic?

[rpalumberi]

Hello. I have a 2 car garage Villages home.

Has anyone installed air conditioning in the garage? What would you recommend? Would a mini-split do the job? Or, would a portable unit such as they sell at Best Buy work?
Thanks in advance.

We would recommend a mini-split for the garage. We also have a 2 car garage. It gets real hot in there, we face east with small garage door windows. Its unbearable for us at times and definitely for everything we store in there since we have no basement. I think it also protects the cars & golf cart. We had Munn's install it. We did insulate the attic floor, garage door and added solar tinting to the windows in the garage door. Good luck

[Jaybird777]

I would suggest that you reconsider not insulating the ceiling. You are losing a lot of energy through the roof.

If his total cost is only $15-20 per month it would take a very long time to recover the cost of insulating. Not to mention the impact it would have to storage. If it were me, I’d count this as a win and spend my money elsewhere.

[jrref]

If his total cost is only $15-20 per month it would take a very long time to recover the cost of insulating. Not to mention the impact it would have to storage. If it were me, I’d count this as a win and spend my money elsewhere.

You are not taking account of the extra wear and tear on your mini-split running a lot longer because of the added heat load shortening the life of the unit. Sheesh.....

[retiredguy123]

If his total cost is only $15-20 per month it would take a very long time to recover the cost of insulating. Not to mention the impact it would have to storage. If it were me, I’d count this as a win and spend my money elsewhere.
If this space is heated and cooled year round, almost any amount of ceiling insulation will pay for itself. Also, when the house is sold, the home inspector could very well cite this as a building code violation and possibly jeopardize the sale.

[Smalley]

So happy that we air-conditioned our 1.5 car garage. It's a pleasure to get into a cool car or cart. Very pleasant to go out to the washer and dryer and it just keeps all the things stored in the garage cool and dry. We insulated the door and the ceiling beforehand.

[BostonRich]

What if when you replace your AC unit you add some ducts and include cooling of the garage? I would think it's not much if anything to go from a 3 ton unit to a 3.5 ton unit if that would do it. It's already in the room. Has anyone done this?

Edit: Just did a quick check with AI and it said this would possibly bring dangerous fumes into the living space. Good point!

[dadspet]

Hello. I have a 2-car garage Villages home.

Has anyone installed air conditioning in the garage? What would you recommend? Would a mini-split do the job? Or, would a portable unit such as they sell at Best Buy work?
Thanks in advance.

We have a 2 1\2 car extended garage with radiant barrier insulation above, and I insulated the garage doors with foam from Lowe's.

I decided to install an air conditioner in our garage so I could work on my car when needed. I was set on a mini-split since this is what most people seem to use. I received three estimates from various AC contractors that ranged from about $ 6,500 to $ 8,500, which included a veterans' discount of $ 1,500.
We have a 2 1\2 car extended garage with radiant barrier insulation in the ceiling of our 4-bedroom concrete block house, including over the garage. I insulated the garage doors with foam from Lowe's. Since we really don't use the garage often for actual work but wanted to keep it reasonably comfortable for the limited time, I did some work on the car or in my small workshop, and also kept the temperature about 80°F most of the time. I checked on a portable MEDIA AC unit with an advertised 12000/14000 BTU, 550 sq ft, (my garage is a little larger than 550) from Sam's for about $550. It had a variable speed inverter motor (more efficient) with heat and a remote control, both intake and exhaust hoses combined into 1 large oval hose (made it look a bit neater) connected into my garage window, and an air director that could be set to swivel up and down to move air. WOW, I THOUGHT, about a minimum of $6000 less and no yearly maintenance contract required on a mini split AC unit, why not give it a try, what do I have to lose? I was concerned about a few things before I bought the unit. 1. Can I move it into the garage and install it myself (not exactly a spring chicken) > The AC unit has wheels, and my wife and I were able to easily remove it from the box and move it to the window area, and install it within a day. 2. Of course, will it cool our garage to 80 most of the time > yes, often down to 79, and most time below 81. When we move our hot car into the garage after driving it the temp will clearly go up, and it takes the unit several hours to cool it back down to 80 +-2 even when the outside temp is well up there. So if you want to bring the temp down rapidly, this unit will not do that. 3 I was concerned about the 110 V outlet I had to use being able to handle charging my golf cart, and also the portable AC - turned out to be no issue. 4. What about water from the AC unit? This unit has a water evaporative system, and after several months of use, I haven't had any water issues, but there is an option to connect a narrow hose to it to drain it outside if needed. 5. Window install wasn't that hard, and it really doesn't take up much space in the garage, and doesn't look bad either. Would I buy it again > yes.
BTW, insulating the garage door with foam boards was a lot more work than I imagined and took me about a week at the rate I work, since the garage doors have hurricane bracing and require you to cut the foam into several pieces to fit behind the bracing. Oh, we did already have radiant barrier insulation, but the sun beating on the garage doors in the morning was a bit much, and I wanted to improve it some - additional foam did by about 4 degrees surface temp in the mornings.

[retiredguy123]

We have a 2 1\2 car extended garage with radiant barrier insulation above, and I insulated the garage doors with foam from Lowe's.

I decided to install an air conditioner in our garage so I could work on my car when needed. I was set on a mini-split since this is what most people seem to use. I received three estimates from various AC contractors that ranged from about $ 6,500 to $ 8,500, which included a veterans' discount of $ 1,500.
We have a 2 1\2 car extended garage with radiant barrier insulation in the ceiling of our 4-bedroom concrete block house, including over the garage. I insulated the garage doors with foam from Lowe's. Since we really don't use the garage often for actual work but wanted to keep it reasonably comfortable for the limited time, I did some work on the car or in my small workshop, and also kept the temperature about 80°F most of the time. I checked on a portable MEDIA AC unit with an advertised 12000/14000 BTU, 550 sq ft, (my garage is a little larger than 550) from Sam's for about $550. It had a variable speed inverter motor (more efficient) with heat and a remote control, both intake and exhaust hoses combined into 1 large oval hose (made it look a bit neater) connected into my garage window, and an air director that could be set to swivel up and down to move air. WOW, I THOUGHT, about a minimum of $6000 less and no yearly maintenance contract required on a mini split AC unit, why not give it a try, what do I have to lose? I was concerned about a few things before I bought the unit. 1. Can I move it into the garage and install it myself (not exactly a spring chicken) > The AC unit has wheels, and my wife and I were able to easily remove it from the box and move it to the window area, and install it within a day. 2. Of course, will it cool our garage to 80 most of the time > yes, often down to 79, and most time below 81. When we move our hot car into the garage after driving it the temp will clearly go up, and it takes the unit several hours to cool it back down to 80 +-2 even when the outside temp is well up there. So if you want to bring the temp down rapidly, this unit will not do that. 3 I was concerned about the 110 V outlet I had to use being able to handle charging my golf cart, and also the portable AC - turned out to be no issue. 4. What about water from the AC unit? This unit has a water evaporative system, and after several months of use, I haven't had any water issues, but there is an option to connect a narrow hose to it to drain it outside if needed. 5. Window install wasn't that hard, and it really doesn't take up much space in the garage, and doesn't look bad either. Would I buy it again > yes.
BTW, insulating the garage door with foam boards was a lot more work than I imagined and took me about a week at the rate I work, since the garage doors have hurricane bracing and require you to cut the foam into several pieces to fit behind the bracing. Oh, we did already have radiant barrier insulation, but the sun beating on the garage doors in the morning was a bit much, and I wanted to improve it some - additional foam did by about 4 degrees surface temp in the mornings.
A radiant barrier does not replace the need for a 12-inch thick layer of fiberglass insulation above the ceiling. I would suggest that you add fiberglass insulation above your ceiling.

From AI:

"A radiant barrier does not have a significant R-value because R-value measures resistance to conductive heat transfer, which is not how a radiant barrier works. Instead, a radiant barrier's effectiveness comes from its ability to reflect radiant heat across an air space, drastically reducing heat gain by 90% or more. While the material itself provides very little R-value (often around R-2 or less), its true benefit is achieved by improving the performance of traditional insulation in a building's overall assembly by preventing radiant heat from entering the structure."

[Runway48]

We have a three car garage and we sprayed the ceiling of the attic above as well as have insulated garage doors. It’s awesome! The garage stays very cool and the attic is a decent temp for storage. We installed a mini split and hired one of the local companies. Be careful…we got three estimates and they were wildly different…by thousands! We settled with sunshine. Installation was great and they were very easy to deal with.

I like the idea of gaining some attic storage space at reasonable temperatures so a wider variety of items can be stored there. When you say " we sprayed the ceiling" I assume you mean you sprayed foam insulation between the rafters. Insulating between the rafters can also be done with batt insulation but it has to be done correctly otherwise you run the risk of trapping moisture that could lead to wood rot of rafters and roof. Did you hire a third-party contractor to do the sprayed-on insulation or was it part of a new house construction?

[retiredguy123]

I like the idea of gaining some attic storage space at reasonable temperatures so a wider variety of items can be stored there. When you say " we sprayed the ceiling" I assume you mean you sprayed foam insulation between the rafters. Insulating between the rafters can also be done with batt insulation but it has to be done correctly otherwise you run the risk of trapping moisture that could lead to wood rot of rafters and roof. Did you hire a third-party contractor to do the sprayed-on insulation or was it part of a new house construction?
Batt insulation comes with or without an aluminum or paper moisture barrier. If you are concerned about trapping moisture, you can buy batt insulation with no vapor barrier. Spraying insulation does not necessarily mean foam. You can also spray fiberglass insulation above the ceiling, which is actually more common than foam.

[Nana2Teddy]

Hello. I have a 2 car garage Villages home.

Has anyone installed air conditioning in the garage? What would you recommend? Would a mini-split do the job? Or, would a portable unit such as they sell at Best Buy work?
Thanks in advance.
We added a minisplit in our garage shortly after closing escrow back in 2022. No regrets. We keep it at 78 unless we’re working out there, and it’s still super comfortable at that temp, plus it keeps the humidity low. We insulated the garage door, but not sure about the attic ceiling. I think solar guys might’ve done that when they added a solar fan up there. We haven’t added solar film to the windows (west facing), but we might eventually. We aren’t sure it’s necessary as the garage is always comfortable. We had ours done by Kalos, and since we had two minisplits added to the lanai at the same time they did all three with one condenser unit.

[jrref]

So at the end of the day, many who are installing mini-splits in their garage are doing the right thing by insulating and putting film on the garage door windows if they have them and a whole lot not doing the right thing thinking they are saving money but in the long run they are not because by not insulating, the extra heat load is causing your system to run a lot more shortening it's life in addition to throwing money away every day. It's the Villages, so that makes sense, LOL

[zuidemab]

Our garage is east-facing and over 1,000 sq ft. We installed a mini split (from Munns) about 4 years ago and did not add any insulation to the storage/attic area above it. However, our garage door is insulated. It is absolutely amazing how quickly that mini split can cool down the garage (and keep it cool) - even during the hottest days. It only takes about 10 minutes before the temperature reaches the selected level. In addition to storing 3 cars and 2 golf carts, we have a small workshop in one corner, a workout area (treadmill, Peloton bike, dual-rack functional trainer [cable machine], free weights] in another corner and a golf simulator/launch monitor with 10x15 foot movie/TV screen across the back. Whenever we want to use any of those or just work on our vehicles, we simple turn the mini split on and wait 10 minutes. Once it is cooled, doing anything in the garage is completely comfortable. We do not cool it all the time - only for extended use activities as noted above.

How did ou get all that out of one garage? I have a 31 x 26 but I don't get all that into it. :BigApplause:

[Mike3461]

:bigbow:Many excellent tips. Much I had not considered. Thank you. :bigbow:

[Wjcarbone7202]

A large exhaust fan might be very effective and preclude insulating various areas.