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Heat Storm 6000-Watt Wi-Fi Garage Heater Review
A cold garage can turn into a pretty useless space for half the year. This heater is built to make that space usable without eating the floor.
Whether you're working on a project, working out, detailing a vehicle, or just trying to get something done without freezing, having a reliable way to heat the space makes a huge difference.
The Heat Storm 6000-Watt Wi-Fi Smart Garage Heater is designed specifically for that job. It puts out up to 6,000 watts of heat, runs on 240 volts, and can be mounted on either the wall or ceiling. More importantly, it adds something that most garage heaters don't have: Wi-Fi control from your phone.
A garage heater that doesn't take up garage space
One of the first things I like about the Heat Storm is the mounting design. It's a relatively compact 17-pound unit that can be mounted on the ceiling or wall, keeping it out of the way of vehicles, tools and everything else that inevitably ends up in a garage.
That's a much better solution than putting a large portable heater on the floor where it can get knocked over, take up valuable space, or become another thing to work around.
The heater measures just 12.75 by 17.5 by 7 inches, so it doesn't have the oversized appearance you might expect from a 20,000-BTU garage heater.
Plenty of heat for a typical garage
The Heat Storm produces up to 20,400 BTUs and has two heat output levels, 3,000 and 6,000 watts. Heat Storm rates it for up to 1,000 square feet as primary heat, although that's obviously going to depend heavily on insulation, ceiling height, garage doors and outdoor temperatures.
That's worth keeping in mind. A well-insulated two-car garage is a very different heating challenge than a drafty 1,000-square-foot shop with poorly insulated doors.
Customer experiences seem to back that up. Owners with insulated garages generally report good results, while some users with larger spaces have found that the advertised coverage is optimistic. One Home Depot reviewer reported easily heating a 600-square-foot insulated garage, while another said their roughly 800-square-foot garage was a stretch for the heater.
For a typical two-car garage, especially one with decent insulation, 6,000 watts is a useful amount of heating power.
The Wi-Fi feature is actually useful
The Wi-Fi functionality is probably the feature that separates this heater from a lot of the competition.
Using the Smart Life app, you can turn the heater on or off, adjust the temperature and create schedules from your phone. That means you can have the garage warming up before you head out there instead of walking into a 35-degree garage and waiting for it to become comfortable.
The scheduling feature is particularly useful if you use your garage regularly. You can have it heat the space before a weekend project or turn it down automatically when you know you won't be using the garage.
It also gives you some peace of mind when you leave. If you forget to turn the heater off, you don't necessarily have to drive back home to check it.
The heater also includes a physical remote and an external thermostat, so you're not dependent on your phone for basic operation.
The external thermostat is more important than it sounds
The external thermostat is another feature I really like on this type of heater.
Since the heater itself is mounted high on a wall or ceiling, the air immediately around the unit can be warmer than the rest of the room. Having a remote temperature sensor gives the heater a better idea of what the actual space feels like.
That's especially useful in a garage where you're trying to maintain a specific temperature rather than simply blast heat until the room feels warmer.
Installation is the catch
There is one major consideration before buying this heater: this isn't a plug-in space heater.
The Heat Storm requires a 240-volt electrical connection and is designed for permanent installation. The company recommends having a licensed electrician handle the installation. The unit itself doesn't include the wiring.
That's obviously more involved than buying a $100 portable heater and plugging it into an outlet.
On the other hand, once it's installed, that's also one of the things I like about it. It becomes part of the garage rather than another appliance you have to drag around.
It's quiet enough to work around
Heat Storm rates the heater at roughly 45-49 decibels. That's not silent, since it uses a fan to move the heated air, but it's quiet enough that it shouldn't dominate the garage.
That's an important consideration if you're using the space as a workshop. A heater that sounds like a leaf blower running in the corner gets old pretty quickly.
Who this heater is for
I'd look at the Heat Storm 6000-Watt Garage Heater if you have a garage or workshop that you actually spend time in and want a permanent heating solution.
It's especially appealing if you:
- Have a one- or two-car garage
- Have reasonable insulation
- Want to keep the floor clear
- Have 240-volt power available
- Want to maintain a specific temperature
- Use your garage regularly
- Like being able to control things from your phone
I'd be more hesitant to recommend it as the only heat source for a large, poorly insulated shop. The 1,000-square-foot rating is a best-case sort of number, and real-world reviews show that garage construction and insulation make a big difference.
THE VERDICT
Makes the garage usable in winter.
It solves a problem without creating another one on the floor. You will need a 240-volt circuit and realistic expectations about square footage. In a reasonably insulated garage, the heat and the phone control are both worth the install.
| Category | Rating |
|---|---|
| Heat output | 8.5/10 |
| Space saving | 10/10 |
| Wi-Fi and scheduling | 9/10 |
| Install difficulty | 6/10 |
| Noise | 8.5/10 |
| Overall | 8.5/10 |