Sep
The Ins And Outs Of Greenhouse Heating
When you are thinking about getting a greenhouse or if you already own one, one of the most important things you really need to learn about is greenhouse heating. How do you decide what greenhouse heating will required for your greenhouse? Here is some information that should help you get started.
A good place to start is to calculate how many BTU’s it will take to heat your greenhouse. First figure out what type of plants you want in the greenhouse & research the temperature needed for growing them. Other questions you will need to answer to calculate your greenhouse heating requirements are: What is the surface area of the greenhouse? What is the heat loss factor in your greenhouse? What about the outside temperature at night & the highest temperature inside the greenhouse? The list goes on from here. You have to answer all these things in order to be easily able to calculate the right greenhouse heating settings.
Once you know your BTU requirements, you can select a heater for your greenhouse. Heaters either run on electricity or gas, & each have their own benefits. Electric heaters are generally less expensive to purchase & work well if you have electricity wired to your greenhouse site. Gas heaters run with either natural or propane gas. There is more. There is more. They are usually less costly to operate & require no electricity. So gas heaters are a great choice if you have no way to get electricity to your greenhouse.
You will find that your greenhouse heating has a lot to do with what you can grow in your greenhouse. You can select to simply keep the frost at bay for wintering over your favorite plants, or you can fully heat your greenhouse for growing tropical & exotic plants all year. The most important thing is to decide what you want to grow & purchase a heater based closely on that decision.
Michelle Torres has nearly 20 years experience using & designing greenhouses & is an avid home gardener. You can find additional useful greenhouse information at http://www.greenhousecatalog.com
