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I’m working on a new simulator build that I’m going to put out in my detached garage. In in northern Indiana and it gets pretty cold outside, getting that detached garage down to around 15F. I’d love to not pay to heat it all the time, rather just when I’m using it. Will my electronics go bad from that temp? Gaming desktop, mevo +, projector, probably some screens? Anyone else deal with this and find a way to keep their electronics at a decent temperature without breaking the bank? Any help appreciated!
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I would at least try to keep it somewhat heated. Obviously you don’t need to keep it at say 70* 24/7, but I would keep it at like 40 or 50ish when not using it. Shutting it off completely will take a bit to get up to temp from 15* and could potentially create some condensation also as everything starts to warm up and sweats. I had that happen in my weight room in my shop. I don’t keep the entire shop heated all winter but have an insulated room and would kick the heater on before I went out to lift and once things started to warm up, they would sweat -
The design temperature range for most consumer electronics is 32 - 95 or so farenheit. They will run outside this range but may be unstable at times. I find in my garage which goes down to 30 F once in awhile the startup is sometimes iffy.. I have electric heaters in the garage which I turn on before starting the sim. Once the garage heats up a bit no problem .
As to heating the garage you can use electric heaters or a mini split. A mini split can also provide cooling if desired.
As to cost either way you will need a 220V supply to the garage to get heat in a reasonable time frame. I20 volt service limits you to about 1500 watt output per heater.
You probably already have 220 into your house if you have an electric range, dryer heat pump etc. If you do running a line to the garage isn't much of a problem or expense.
You could use gas or propane to heat the garage if suitable electricity is not available.Comment
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I have had my system in an outdoor shed for over 5 years now here in the Northeast and I have never had an issue. I do heat the room before using the system though. I bought the Big Buddy Heater and hook it up to a big propane tank located outside the room and it goes from like 19 degrees to 60 in 1.5 hours on high and that's with the door or window slightly cracked for fresh air to come in and to be safe. I was using plug in heaters for years but I would have to turn them on like 8 hours before to get to the same temp in the room. My room is 16x12 with like 15 foot ceilingsComment
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I've had my sim in Michigan in the garage for over a decade without issue. My projector that's in there is now 9 years old and hasn't had any issue. Monitor and tv's have been in there the same amount of time. My computer is in the house though, cables just run through the wall to the garage. I use a 220 electric heater and depending upon the temp outside, I will start it 20-30 mins prior. When it's really cold like the last few weeks, it will go from the 20's to 50's according to the LED temp display in that time and then will get to upper 60's within the time we play, about an hour or so. If it's really cold, I'll also use one of those radiant heat dishes that directs heat at you. For the summer, I use a window AC unit.
This is the projector I'm still using, post was from March 2016. I didn't realize how old my projector actually was.
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