The purpose of self-storage is to keep your belongings safe and secure in a private and enclosed space. Plain and simple right?
When thinking about putting items in storage, the misconception had by most is that the only consideration is how much space is required to fit your items. There are in fact, other important factors to consider.
With an increasing demand for facilities, self-storage is getting more advanced, specifically with temperature and humidity regulatory technology. Facilities are starting to offer a wider variety of options including temperature controlled units (heated storage units) and climate controlled storage units. These units are more expensive to rent compared to standard units. With this in mind, you may be wondering are these self-storage units better, and worth the added cost?
To answer these questions, let’s first explain what heated storage and climate controlled self-storage are:
Now that we’ve explained the difference between heated storage and climate controlled storage, you may be wondering, do I need regulation like this in my storage unit? Here are some important questions to think about, which will help you figure out what you need:
1. What items are you storing?
Not all belongings require an environment with temperature and climate regulation. If items can be stored in a typical home garage or a backyard shed, they should store perfectly fine without temperature or humidity regulation. Keep in mind that storage units are sealed and offer protection from the elements just as a basic home garage does.
There are some items which tend to fare better when stored in units with regulated environments. These include:
2. Are the items you wish to store of high value or sentimental importance?
Consider the items that you’re storing:
Climate controlled storage units are more expensive to rent than regular storage units due to the specialized equipment needed to maintain the climate within the unit. If you answered ‘yes’ to one or both of the questions above, investing in the extra protection and cost of climate controlled self storage will help guarantee that your items will come out of storage in the same condition as when they went in.
3. How long are you planning to store your items?
It’s important to give the duration of your storage a thought as it may affect what kind of storage you need. If you’re living in areas with extreme temperatures, the items you place in storage may be affected. Here in south-western Ontario, where Storage Solutions is located, we experience extreme temperature variations between seasons. If you’re storing long-term, a year for example, your belongings will be stored through temperatures reaching -20°C in the Winter and 30°C in the Summer. This means that the temperature and humidity levels inside our storage units will fluctuate greatly.
4. What is your budget?
The extra protection provided by climate controlled storage units is nice to have, but runs up the rent costs of the unit. If you’re on a budget and are looking for more affordable self-storage, there are ways to better protect your items without the need for climate control systems.
For example, to keep the air within a sealed storage unit dry and humidity levels low, consider trying these easy and affordable storage hacks:
Let’s recap - climate controlled storage provides an added layer of protection for your belongings, at an added cost, but isn’t always necessary. It’s important to evaluate whether your items require extra temperature or humidity regulation for safe storage.
If you’re looking for safe, secure, affordable self-storage, consider Storage Solutions! Our Ayr Self-Storage facility offers a wide variety of small, mediuam and large sizes of climate-controlled units for rent.
BTW - Our Woodstock facility offers a wide varietyy of sizes of heated storage units. And while our Milton location solely offers 24/7 accessible drive up containers, we are self-storage experts and have great tips and tricks to share with you to help reduce humidity levels in our sealed containers, thus creating an affordable place for you to store your belongings.
We hope to hear from you, and happy storing!
Your friend in self-storage,
Storage Solutions