Thank you Tom. I realise that now but it's going to take me a few days to resolve. We both work full time so it will be the weekend before we can re-design his living area to get through the winter. The heat mat is coming next week, I understand that will help, but not solve the issue. I have a number of good recommendations on radiant heat panels but we need to work out how and where to site them in the shed to maximise the heat. We also need to insulate the inside of the shed better. I should have done all this BEFORE he arrived but I stumbled on this site only very recently, others I would have been better prepared.
My advice, living somewhere colder than you do in the UK, forget trying to further insulate/heat the larger shed any energy you spend there is literally going to be wasted. Focus on the inner box, it should not be too hard to keep that box warm enough, just needs to be heavily insulated, needs to have an insulated door for the nights, you will have to close him in and let him out each day when its really cold though. In the meantime, if you are really worried and cant keep temps up you can try this in a pinch, I use one in a workshop outside and it does a good job keeping it warm while Im working. Uses a lot of electricity though. They produce a constant low level of heat, so no risk of burning, no red elements, just slowly heating a space and they have a built in thermostat which seems to max out about 26-28c.
Stanley 2000W Freestanding Fan heater | DIY at B&Q
Stanley’s ST-52-241-E is an ideal way to heat localized indoor spaces (for any area up to 210 sq. feet on 220-240V power) because it doesn’t require any ventilation. It is very effective for heating spaces such as garages, workshops and warehouses with a voltage of 220-240V 50Hz. It has a simple...
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