Anyone got any tips for cooling down the garage?

Mini split AC and a 30" HF fan. I leave the AC in dry mode most of the time to keep humidity down, not a huge problem most of the time in Utah, but we do get humid days.

And yeah, sometimes it's still too warm in the hottest part of the day with 100F+ outside temps. I usually wait for the sun to go down, open the doors and run the fan for a while to get the worst heat down, hit the AC and cool some. Working out there at night can be the best option.
 
My garage is attached to the house with the garage door facing east. Morning sun really bakes the garage.

The garage happens to have a support beam about 4' back from the door, which captures rising heat at the ceiling. On one side is a small porch, the other side a bare wall. I placed a powered exhaust fan high on the bare wall and cut inlet air louvers high on the porch wall (out of sight from the road). The exhaust fan is on a switch and t-stat. It's not AC, but it helps.

The garage door is due for replacement, so an insulated door would help my situation.

I would certainly add a ceiling fan if I spent more time out there in summer. I head for the basement when it gets really hot.
 
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Garage fully insulated and I use a 20” fan in the ceiling corner on medium 2 windows opened for fresh air. Fan keeps Air movement for those humid days so no rust issues ever.
 
At the house in Orlando we replaced the water heater with one of those heat pump water heater…. Dropped the electric bill by a $100.00 and it cools the garage as a bonus!
 
My shop's the same way, HOT. I use a big construction fan and it does a good job, keep it pointed right at me from about 15 feet or so. You can buy them at HD or Lowes for 150 bucks or so. I think mines 24 inch.
 
I'm going to figure out a fan solution, I'm using 2 fans for the time being. My working time is about mid 80s 60-70% humidity.
 
Best solution is AC that has a dry feature. I used fans for years and didn't get .ugh done when it was hot and/or humid. After I put one of the portable AC units in it all got much better. Mine has a timer so I can run it on dry when its humid. Works great so far.
 
Insulation does well for me, but I live in a wussy climate. I stay 15 degrees below ambient, which is usually enough except for the 117 F temps we hit in June (shop was under 100, but barely). My next step is to install fans. I don't really want to push my amperage limit with a mini-split, but a couple more heat waves like the last one might just send me over. Sweat drips and sweaty forearm prints start rust spots on the machines.
 
I added a 5’ fan to the vaulted ceiling in my uninsulated shop. It’s hard to say it made much difference.
 
jwmay said:
Ha! It's about 90 degrees outside, with the setting sun in clear line of sight of my brick covered shop from about 4 until 8 pm.
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If it's an option, you could try to address the solar gain on your brick. Insulate on the inside. Use something with a radiant barrier. Ex: poly-iso foamboard with the aluminum facing.
Position something on the outside to catch the sun before it hits the brick. Tall bushes etc. Simply putting one of those white vinyl solid fences right in front of the brick would help a lot. Of course outside ideas are totally restricted to asthetics...

If your problem is that it's warmer inside the garage then outside ambient, solar gain is one reason. Brick is fantastic for solar gain (great in the winter but horrible in the summer). Your roof would be the other culprit. Shingles soak up a lot of sun.
High R-value insulation of the entire roof and sunward/south facing walls should help in that regard.
Hopefully get the interior temps down to ambient and lighten the cooling load for your fans or split AC.

I plan on a split unit for my garage after proper insulation. Need a little heat in the winter and dehumidification in the summer. My main issue is rust prevention, but working conditions are also important.
 
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