How To Choose The Best Heater For Horse Barn?

Keeping your horses – and yourself – warm in the winter can be as tricky problem as keeping them cool in extreme heat. During summer, you usually turn your stall fans on, but what can you do in winter months? Horse can be rugged up, and you yourself can wear more layers and lot of gloves – but wouldn’t it be nicer if there was a better way? You may be pleased to hear that there actually is! You should have a look into the best heater for horse barn, to keep you and your beloved four legged as warm and cosy ass you can be through the chilly winter months.

Best Heater For Horse Barn Reviews

To take the hard work out of choosing the heater that is right for you, we have found three of the best products for you to have a look at:

Image	Heaters	Price
	Heavy Duty Fan Forced Ceiling Heater A great permanent solution to a large chilly barn.	CHECK PRICE
	TOP PICK: Dimplex Large Forced Space Heater A great little heater for small areas in your barn.	CHECK PRICE
	Comfort Zone Wall Mount Heater A strong, sturdy, hard working large heater.	CHECK PRICE

1. Heavy Duty Fan Forced Ceiling Mounting Heater Review

This is a ceiling mounted heater that is bound to warm up you, your horse and your barn. It is rugged and heavy duty, and so is ideally suited to a barn environment.

Pros

• Built in single pole thermostat adjusts from 45 to 135 degrees farenheit – It’s great to have such a wide range of heating options, because you can adjust it from warm to hot, depending on the weather conditions and how warm you want to be.
• High level cut-out in case of overheating – The unit will automatically shut off the current in the event of overheating, and as an added bonus it will reactivate the heater when the temperature returns to normal, so you don’t have to remember to switch it back on.
• Adjustable louvres to direct the warm air – You can send your lovely warm air in whatever direction you want to, with these moveable vents, meaning that you can heat corners and nooks and crannies with ease.
• Easy to mount horizontally or vertically – The built-in ceiling mount bracket means that this unit can be hung from the ceiling or the wall, adding to its convenience.

Cons

• Needs to be hard wired – This one is not suitable for simply plugging into a socket, so you will need a bit of expert electrical advice to get it set up.

Recommendation

This is a great heater which will warm up your barn and your horses in cold weather, and will reduce the need for many extra sweaters for you too! It’s good as a permanent solution to a chilly barn, as it will be wired in.

CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON

2. Dimplex Large Forced Air Industrial Space Heater Review

This is a small but powerful unit which will work hard to keep you and your barn space warm. It is rugged, strong and effective, and will make your time in your stables much more pleasant.

Pros

• Fan delay uses residual heat – This is an efficient way of heating a space, and wills ave you money in the long run.
• Plugs into a socket and has a 6 foot cord – No need to wire this heater into your electricity; you can simply plug it into a socket – this makes it a convenient, as well as a portable, heating solution. The long cord means that you can position the heater far away from the plug without having to stretch it and risk it coming out of the socket.
• Corrosion resistant – The unit is housed in a durable steel shell, which is powder-coated with an epoxy finish to protect it from any damage. This is ideal for a heater which is to be kept in the semi-outdoor environment of a barn or stable block.
• Can be wall or ceiling mounted – The included mounting bracket allows the heater to be attached to a wall or ceiling, and the heater swivels to direct the heat so you can choose the areas you want to warm the most.

Cons

• Better for smaller spaces – If you are trying to heat an entire barn, you may want to buy a few of these heaters! They effectively heat up smaller spaces, but the heat may be lost in large areas.

Recommendation

This is a great little heater which is efficient and works well at warming the air around it. It will warm up small areas of your barn, such as a tack, feeding or tea room, with great efficacy.

CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON

3. Comfort Zone Wall Mount Heater Review

An industrial style heater, this big heater will warm up just about any area you want it to! You can adjust the temperature depending on the weather and the size of the area you want to heat.

Pros

• Heavy duty, high output heater – At 208-240v, this heater is a great addition to your barn heater collection, and the fact that you can select the output makes it even more convenient.
• Wide heat dispersion area – The powerful fan inside the unit will spread out the hot air over great distances, meaning that you can warm up larger areas.
• Motor is fully enclosed to prevent damage – When you are installing a heater in and outside area, or even in a barn, you need it to be safe and protected from the elements. The motor in this one is completely enclosed, meaning that it won’t be damaged.
• Thermostat control to allow temperature changes – Being able to select the temperature you want is a great feature, and this heater will allow you to choose how warm you want your surroundings to be.

Cons

• Needs resetting in the event of a power outage – If there is an unexpected power cut, you will need to reset your unit manually, it will not work it out by itself and turn back on.

Recommendation

This is a great, heavy duty heater that will keep you and your four leggeds warm in the barn. It is strong, sturdy, hard working and does the job that it’s meant to.

CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the best options for heating a horse barn?

There are a number of different heating methods which may be suitable for your barn. Among them are:

• Furnace/Forced air heaters
• Radiant heating
• Passive solar
• Heat pumps
• Stoves

a. Furnace/Forced Air Heaters

What are the advantages and disadvantages of furnaces and forced air heaters?

As with a home furnace, a barn furnace will create heat by burning propane, natural gas or some other fuel. This type of heating system is best used in a barn that has a finished and fully insulated interior. Just as with your house, a furnace will need to have ductwork to carry the hot air where it needs to be. Furnaces work by blowing hot air over large areas.

A forced air heater works very much like a furnace, but in a barn, you could use forced air heating units which can be hung from the rafters. When you make this choice, you will not need to have ductwork installed.

b. Radiant Heating

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a radiant heating system?

Unlike furnaces, forced air heaters or heat pumps, radiant heaters work by warming objects and occupants rather than by warming the air. They do this by projecting infrared light onto nearby objects. This produces instantaneous heat, but the object (e.g. your horse) must be very close by to enjoy the benefits of this type of heat.

For this reason, radiant heating panels may be better used as zoned or supplementary heat. These panels can warm up a smaller area quickly when they are turned on, but the temperature drops in the area very rapidly when the heater is turned off.

It is also possible to install a radiant floor heating system if you are pouring a concrete floor. This type of system is quite expensive, but it is also very efficient and effective. A radiant floor system works by transmitting heat via water. It takes quite a while for a radiant floor system to heat up, but the water and the concrete retain the warmth for a very long time.

c. Passive Solar

What are the advantages of passive solar?

Even in areas where the winters are quite cold, having a sort of greenhouse arrangement along one side of your barn can generate great deal of natural heat. Roofing one part of the barn with greenhouse panels and/or enclosing an area with heavy duty greenhouse plastic can create a nice, warm, sheltered, sunny space where horses can enjoy loafing on very cold, sunny days. If you have a good, sturdy barn and provide ample bedding and judicious use of blankets, this may be all you need.

d. Heat Pumps

What are the advantages of heat pumps?

Electric heat pumps are more energy-efficient than furnaces and forced air heaters. Another advantage is that a heat pump heats in winter and cools and summer because it works by transferring heat rather than producing it.

During cold weather, a heat pump extracts heat from an exterior source and transfers it into the barn. In the summertime the direction of the flow of heat is reversed. The unit extracts the heat from inside the barn and transfers it out.

You can achieve even higher efficiency if you’re able to incorporate geothermal capability, which transfers heat between a water source or the ground and your building.

Heat pumps are extremely efficient and cost less to operate, but they do cost more to set up. Additionally, it takes a while for a heat pump to warm or cool and area.

e. Stoves

What are the advantages of a stove?

Stoves can burn a wide variety of fuels ranging from wood to oil to corn to compressed sawdust pellets. The obvious problem in a barn is that any source of flame is a hazard. Even so, a small stove in a tack room could be advantageous.

Alternately, stoves can be located on the exterior and then connected to a forced air component or a heat pump that brings the heat inside.

Generally speaking, a small stove as a supplemental source of heat for a small area may be a good idea for your barn, but keep in mind that with this type of heat source you’ll need to purchase fuel and store it; tend to the fire and deal with any air-quality issues that may arise.

Furthermore, having a stove in your barn may not be acceptable to your local authorities. Be sure to check local building codes before putting a stove in your barn.

2. Why heat your horse barn?

When the temperatures drop to the single digits or even below zero, keeping your horse safe and warm can be a serious matter. Although healthy horses can tolerate very cold temperatures as long as they have shelter from the elements, extremely cold temperatures for a prolonged period of time can be life-threatening to horses who are very young, very old or perhaps ill. Furthermore, excessive cold causes horses to expend a great deal of energy just to keep warm. This can cause a rather alarming feed bill!

3. How much heat do you need?

To determine how much you’ll need to heat your horse barn, you need to take a number of different factors into consideration. Among these are:

• Distance of stalls from the heat source
• The temperature outside
• Your barn’s insulation
• Your barn set up

If your barn is small, and the stalls are close together and near the source of heat, your best horse barn heater can be quite a bit smaller than if you’re trying to heat a large, uninsulated, open area.

4. Is heating a horse barn always a good idea?

If it’s done right, providing the right amount of heat to your horse barn can make it more comfortable for you to work in in the wintertime and can make it a healthier situation for your horse. If you do it wrong, you run the risk of increasing humidity and causing a buildup of bacteria and ammonia levels. Both of these situations can lead to respiratory problems for horses. It’s important to provide good ventilation at all times and to remember that horses do not generally like to be as warm as people.

5. How warm should you keep your barn?

Generally speaking you should not keep your barn warmer than 55°F even on very cold days. This may feel chilly to people, but it’s just about right for horses. If you keep your barn too warm, you’ll prevent your horse from growing his winter coat and this could cause problems when going in and out into the cold weather.

Prepare Your Stable For Winter

Conclusion

Keeping your barn warm is an important thing, for both you and your horses, especially in the colder months of the year. Finding the best heater for horse barn will make your life – and your horse’s – much more comfortable. Yes, stall guards or stall mats are important, but proper heating can be really a life saving thing, at least in certain parts of the US.