If you're starting from scratch, I would at least look into the radiant floor heat option. ? My shop had a new concrete slab but it was sloped towards the middle for washing the previous owner's RV and that was going to make a terrible shop floor. ? I installed rigid insulation and tubing myself and the plumbing was easy enough. ? I run it from a cheap secondary gas hot water heater which I just turn off 6 months out of the year so I have no standby heat loss. ? This was 20 plus years ago and the system requires essentially zero maintenance. ? There are no filters to clean and no moving parts other than the hot water. ? A non forced-air system is also nice if you are going to be doing any finishing in the shop. ? There's nothing worse than having your HVAC turn on unexpectedly and blow dust all over the wet finish you just laid on. ?The radiant heat is nice and even and with no moving air and wild temperature swings, my lumber and machines are perfectly happy. ? ?You don't get AC with such a system but I can get away without it here in the Pacific NW.
-Rusty
