How do you heat your pump house?

[Rodent]

Up to now, all of the places I've owned/rented that had a private well had the pump house inside the garage or attached to the side of the house. these were all older places, and given when they were built it made sense that regulations allowed for this.

We are about to enter our first winter at my current place. The well and pump house are out in the orchard and about 200' away from any structure. The small 6' x 8' x 7' high structure is 2x4 construction with insulated walls and OSB covering the inside so there's no exposed insulation. I currently have a pair of 60w incandescent bulbs providing a full-time 'heating' source, but am concerned that these may be inadequate when overnight temps drop into the low teens (F)

Curious how others are heating their pump houses - especially those in climates where low teens (F) are nowhere near where the overnight lows will be at the coldest time of the year.

 

[oakbarn]

My brother uses heat tape. He had used one of those infrared spotlights before.

 

[easttex]

How cold does it get where you are?

My FIL in East Texas has a (really nice) pump house that stands by itself. He may put a small space heater in on the coldest nights but otherwise, he claims the pump generates enough heat to keep the lines from freezing. He's from Northern Indiana where it gets significantly colder than where he is now so I trust his opinion on the topic.

 

[Rodent]

I'm told we hit single digits F for several days at a time, 2-3 times per winter.

My pump is a variable speed unit that's 180' down the casing. The pump house contains a pressure tank and the initial 2" distribution PVC piping that serves the house, shop, and irrigation system.

 

[Rodent]

So far this winter our low point has been a couple back-back days where the overnight low dipped to -4F and a week-long period where overnight lows were in the 0F-5F range with accompanying highs in the mid-teens F

I swapped out from a pair of 60W incandescent light bulbs to 100W bulbs during the cold spell, and the pumphouse remained more than toasty warm inside despite the cold and somewhat high winds. With temps dropping into the mid 20sF at night, I've swapped back to a single 60W bulb. Hoping the cold is over for this season