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5kW garage heater for a workshop

Updated: October 2026

You want the garage or the workshop warm enough to work, and a 5kW garage heater looks like the shortest route. It is the right class only when the building already has a red 400 V socket, or an electrician is pricing one before you buy. A domestic garage with a single 13 A outlet is a different job. The four listings are on the [5kW fan heater comparison](/hub/portable-heaters/5kw-fan-heater). Products Compared used the amazon.co.uk files and UK seller and safety pages, checked 19 October 2026. We did not measure a garage. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You want the garage or the workshop warm enough to work, and a 5kW garage heater looks like the shortest route.

Our top picks

Bimson Power Bimson Power BP-EC5

Best overall

Bimson Power Bimson Power BP-EC5
7.6/10about £112.10
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DAHTEC DAHTEC BGP1506-05

Best value

DAHTEC DAHTEC BGP1506-05
6.4/10about £58.00
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DAHTEC DAHTEC IFHO2-50H silver

Alternative

DAHTEC DAHTEC IFHO2-50H silver
5.8/10about £101.15
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On this page
  1. 1.What you are heating
  2. 2.Coverage claims that do not share a unit
  3. 3.Why these listings are electric
  4. 4.The supply is the real project

What you are heating

An hour at the bench with the roller door shut is not the same load as an hour with the door opening for every car. A 5 kW fan heater pushes dry heat into the air while it runs. It does not store that heat in the brick. If the door cycles all day, the carton claim will not describe the job.

Coverage claims that do not share a unit

The Bimson claims up to 100 m³. A Sealey EH5001 page, not one of these ASINs, says 48 m³. The DAHTEC files say 516 sq ft, about 48 m² of floor, not 48 m³ of air. CoolEasy’s table suggests 3–5 kW for a double garage or workshop. That is a shop guide, not a test. Hireload’s 9 kW three-phase cutoff does not match these 5 kW listings. Do not copy it.
Bimson Power Bimson Power BP-EC5

Testsieger

Bimson Power Bimson Power BP-EC5
7.6/10about £112.10
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Why these listings are electric

An unflued propane heater puts water into the workshop as it burns. Heathfield’s seller article puts that at about 1.6 kg of water vapour per kilogram of propane. That figure is theirs, not a test of these ASINs. None of the four listings is a flue. The only written UK comments are three Bimson reviews, from a workshop, a workplace and a lock-up. The yellow DAHTEC says not to use it in damp areas. The IFHO2 pages state IP24 and still say indoor.

The supply is the real project

The heater is the cheap part only when a red 16 A three-phase outlet is already there. Tombling notes that bringing three-phase onto a building that lacks it can cost more than the heater. An adaptor will not create that supply. A home garage on a 13 A ring should leave this category. The exit is 5kW vs 3kW heater. If you are an employer, the heater belongs in the fire-risk assessment before the first morning.

Common questions

Is 5 kW enough for a double garage?
Sometimes, for bench work with the door shut, and not as a promise. CoolEasy’s seller table puts 3–5 kW against a double garage or workshop, and that is their guidance, not a test. The listings here claim 100 m³, 516 sq ft, or, on a Sealey page that is not these ASINs, 48 m³. An open roller door throws those claims out. If the door cycles all day, 5 kW of fan heat may still feel short.
Will it work in a normal home garage?
Only if that garage has a 400 V three-phase outlet. A typical home garage has a 13 A socket on the house supply. Every heater kept here says it will not run on a 220–240 V household socket. Buying one and adding an adaptor does not create three-phase power. For that building, a heater in the 2–3 kW class is the honest look, with the sustained load kept in mind.
Is electric better than gas if I care about tools rusting?
Electric heat from these fan heaters adds no combustion moisture. Heathfield’s seller article estimates about 1.6 kg of water vapour per kilogram of propane from an unflued burn, which is their figure, not a lab result on these ASINs. The Bimson reviewers who already had three-phase power wanted off a propane blower for fumes and noise. Gas can still be the practical heat where there is no electrical supply. It is a worse neighbour for bare steel in a closed workshop.
What if the roller door is open all day?
You are heating the yard as well as the bench. A 5 kW fan moves warm air quickly, and an open door lets it leave. The coverage numbers on the boxes assume a space, not a missing wall. Work with the door down when you can, or accept that the heater is a local blast at the bench and will not hold the whole garage. Switching to a higher industrial rating is a supply question, not a setting on these four.
Do I need an electrician before I buy?
Yes, if the red 16 A three-phase socket is not already in the workshop. Fitting that outlet, and finding out whether the building has three-phase at all, is electrical work. Tombling notes that bringing three-phase onto a site that lacks it can cost more than the heater. If the socket is there and in good condition, you still match the plug to the plate. You do not need a new circuit merely to own the listing.
Is a greenhouse the same decision?
No. Greenhouses appear in the DAHTEC room-type bullets, and the yellow listing still says not to use the heater in damp areas. The IFHO2 states IP24 and indoor use together. A greenhouse is humid, often splashed, and rarely has a red three-phase socket. Treat a greenhouse line as marketing breadth, not as a second set of instructions. A dry workshop with the right socket is the case these pages support.

Related pages

How to use a 5kW fan heater

5kW fan heater buying guide

5kW fan heater

Best 5kW fan heater: reviews, price or an IP24 line

5kW vs 3kW heater: the wall socket decides the class

Sources

Public UK sources for the supply limit, clearance, marking, and the unit rate. Listing prices, stars, and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures in this set, checked 19 October 2026.

  1. Ofgem — Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Electrical Safety First — Ratings of electrical appliances (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Electrical Safety First — Portable heaters (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK — Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Tombling — Electricity supply for heaters (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. HSE — Fire safety (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. RC15 — Recommendations for portable heaters in the workplace (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. BEAMA — IP ratings guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)