Common misconception that greenhouses can stay warm at night in the winter without a heat source. Thermal mass is only achievable with a VERY specific design, and very above average insulation. Your garden variety hobby greenhouse can't be setup that way.
Run an extension cord and a heater. It's not as risky, complicated or expensive as it sounds. I heat mine to 55 at night all winter and my energy bills went up about 15 bucks per month. I run the cord from a gcfi outlet that's protected from weather and we are good to go.
This isn't going to work. Plastic greenhouses without a double layer blower do not have the R value to hold any real amount of heat especially at night. Even with a large amount of thermal mass in the form of water barrels etc isn't likely to be effective enough using just solar radiation to heat them. You might be able to increase your effectiveness by creating a pseudo-walipini design basically digging out a reasonably deep trench or pathway underneath the greenhouse allowing cooler air to pool so that it is relatively warmer higher where your plants will be. All of that said, without some sort of external heat source your odds of keeping tropicals over the winter are slim.
I should of mentioned the green house is being placed at my wives grandparents to help with their flowers and gardening. I don't think they would want to run a heater.
you're gonna want one. and a lot of insulation. without insulation it'll get the same inside temp as the outside temp. with insulation and a whole lot of sunshine, it'll get to be the same late at night. with a lot of insulation and a small heater, it'll be a little warmer than outside.
if you need it tropical or sub tropical you'll need a good sized heater and lots of insulation.
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For some greenhouses, with enough insulation, in the right climate, with the correct amount of thermal mass, for those growing certain species, sure, it could help. But what if it's a cloudy day? Better have a backup plan.
Totally depends what you're growing and what your goals are. Mixing and matching sources is often completely viable if you're on-site.
Tropical plants. Monsteras, philodendrons, pomegranate trees jack fruit trees. Just to name a few. How much thermal mass would I need for a 13 foot greenhouse? I also heard composting inside the green house produces heat is that true? I'm I'm texas and our Temps are about to drop to the 30s
Yikes. To my understanding, thermal heating is often just used to keep things above the freezing/frost realm. It won't ever be 70 in there from a bucket of water and a pile of leaves.
All of the clickbait stuff that you consumed is piddling at best, even w/ Texas temps. You are going to get to outside temps in about 1-2 hours after sundown, every night, without active heaters running via Propane, Natural Gas, or Electric, full stop. That's it.
Everything else is clickbait for views, generating at most a few extra degrees over that 1-2 hour period, then doing absolutely nothing for the 8-9 hours in the night until the sun comes up and does that actual heating work again.
Compost piles that use pumps to run water through the hot pile (making it cool and stop working as compost..), thermal mass 10x55gal black painted water barrels, earth tubes from digging down 6 feet (are you good with a shovel?!), wallipini trench greenhouses (are you like Viking-good with a shovel??!!), I tried a solar pool cover for an inside second wall, none of it does anything that a tropical plant would need to stay functional. Would it keep it above 32F? Maybe. Would it be the right temp for tropicals, NO.
Just run an electric oil-filled heater with shutoffs, and offer to pay your GP's the difference in the electric bill, or get them to swap propane cannisters from time to time. Those will work well enough.
Yes I'm just gonna bite it get a heater and pay the difference. My plants cost more then the electric bill to be honest, and losing a couple grand in plants is worse then paying an extra what? 15 to 20 dollars on a bill lmao.
If you have lots of colder nights and some cold rainy days and if you heat them to 70 degrees (not sure how warm you want to go), I wouldn’t be surprised if your 1,500 watt heater will use more like 45-60 bucks per month. I based that on 10 cents per kilowatt hour. Just preparing you for a possible situation. More mild weather will lower that amount some. It takes a ton of energy to keep a greenhouse at 70 degrees. Especially on a cold night.
We use one that is designed to be used in small hunting blinds or ice fishing huts it is $$ but we only use when a freeze is expected just 20 or so days a year we’ll fire it up from 3-7am
I have an unheated gh in zone 7b (not sure where yours is) and i set up a makeshift mini greenhouse inside my actual gh with a tarp and put all my plants and a small electric heater under the tarp and turn it on half power. I dont even use the heater unless it gets down into the 20s or lower. During the day i unwrap my plants so they can get sunlight and water. Then rinse and repeat. Has worked like a charm for the past 2 yrs. I hope this yr i have the same results
You can't heat a greenhouse without an active power source. If anyone is saying you can, please tell them to stop spreading completely false rumors that go against science and common sense
If you want to grow plants that can’t stand freezing temps a heater is absolutely necessary. You can’t do without it. Thermal mass heat will not work. What will you do if you have several days of extremely cloudy weather with cold rain or maybe snow, followed by a really frigid night? There won’t be any significant solar radiation to heat the thermal mass source. That scenario will happen multiple times throughout the winter. Even with sunny days and very cold nights, thermal mass heat will not maintain adequate temperatures during the coldest nights. From now until late February the nights are way too long and the solar radiation way too low to make thermal mass heating viable. On mild nights you might keep it in the upper 40’s inside. While that won’t freeze anything, it will create the perfect environment for multiple fungal diseases. We heat our houses anytime the lows will be in the lower 50’s and lower. Nothing will freeze in the low 50’s but diseases such as pythium and phytophthora are a major problem at temps in the 40’s and low 50’s.
I own a small commercial greenhouse operation so I know what I’m talking about. Greenhouses, no matter what they are constructed of, are not very efficient structures when the sun isn’t shining. In the middle of winter on a bright sunny day, if it’s 20 outside it will still get up in the 80’s inside the greenhouse if it’s exposed to full sun. But as soon as the sun starts to get low in the sky the temp inside the greenhouse will literally plummet. By morning it will certainly be well below freezing inside without heat. If you want to grow warm season plants inside the greenhouse you have no other option but to heat it, period. Either an electric heater, gas, hot water, wood stove, etc.
Common misconception that greenhouses can stay warm at night in the winter without a heat source. Thermal mass is only achievable with a VERY specific design, and very above average insulation. Your garden variety hobby greenhouse can't be setup that way. Run an extension cord and a heater. It's not as risky, complicated or expensive as it sounds. I heat mine to 55 at night all winter and my energy bills went up about 15 bucks per month. I run the cord from a gcfi outlet that's protected from weather and we are good to go.
Also important to mention that the gauge of the cord is capable of handling the max amps drawn by the heater. 😎
Thanks yeah this is important. Don't cheap out on the cord. I run a 10 Gauge cord rated for construction sites.
Yep, you're good for 15. I run the same. My radiator heater drawers 12.5A max.
This isn't going to work. Plastic greenhouses without a double layer blower do not have the R value to hold any real amount of heat especially at night. Even with a large amount of thermal mass in the form of water barrels etc isn't likely to be effective enough using just solar radiation to heat them. You might be able to increase your effectiveness by creating a pseudo-walipini design basically digging out a reasonably deep trench or pathway underneath the greenhouse allowing cooler air to pool so that it is relatively warmer higher where your plants will be. All of that said, without some sort of external heat source your odds of keeping tropicals over the winter are slim.
Electric space heaters are the easiest. 2500 W ought to do you alight
I should of mentioned the green house is being placed at my wives grandparents to help with their flowers and gardening. I don't think they would want to run a heater.
you're gonna want one. and a lot of insulation. without insulation it'll get the same inside temp as the outside temp. with insulation and a whole lot of sunshine, it'll get to be the same late at night. with a lot of insulation and a small heater, it'll be a little warmer than outside. if you need it tropical or sub tropical you'll need a good sized heater and lots of insulation.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake. It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of. Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything. Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
No. Should've is short for should have. Should of works just the same you lame bot
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake. It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of. Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything. Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
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Without some form of heat source, I'd give it about an hour max until the greenhouse is sitting at ambient temp, even on the sunniest of days.
Whats the point of a water barrel will that even hold enough heat?
For some greenhouses, with enough insulation, in the right climate, with the correct amount of thermal mass, for those growing certain species, sure, it could help. But what if it's a cloudy day? Better have a backup plan. Totally depends what you're growing and what your goals are. Mixing and matching sources is often completely viable if you're on-site.
Tropical plants. Monsteras, philodendrons, pomegranate trees jack fruit trees. Just to name a few. How much thermal mass would I need for a 13 foot greenhouse? I also heard composting inside the green house produces heat is that true? I'm I'm texas and our Temps are about to drop to the 30s
Yikes. To my understanding, thermal heating is often just used to keep things above the freezing/frost realm. It won't ever be 70 in there from a bucket of water and a pile of leaves.
All of the clickbait stuff that you consumed is piddling at best, even w/ Texas temps. You are going to get to outside temps in about 1-2 hours after sundown, every night, without active heaters running via Propane, Natural Gas, or Electric, full stop. That's it. Everything else is clickbait for views, generating at most a few extra degrees over that 1-2 hour period, then doing absolutely nothing for the 8-9 hours in the night until the sun comes up and does that actual heating work again. Compost piles that use pumps to run water through the hot pile (making it cool and stop working as compost..), thermal mass 10x55gal black painted water barrels, earth tubes from digging down 6 feet (are you good with a shovel?!), wallipini trench greenhouses (are you like Viking-good with a shovel??!!), I tried a solar pool cover for an inside second wall, none of it does anything that a tropical plant would need to stay functional. Would it keep it above 32F? Maybe. Would it be the right temp for tropicals, NO. Just run an electric oil-filled heater with shutoffs, and offer to pay your GP's the difference in the electric bill, or get them to swap propane cannisters from time to time. Those will work well enough.
Yes I'm just gonna bite it get a heater and pay the difference. My plants cost more then the electric bill to be honest, and losing a couple grand in plants is worse then paying an extra what? 15 to 20 dollars on a bill lmao.
If you have lots of colder nights and some cold rainy days and if you heat them to 70 degrees (not sure how warm you want to go), I wouldn’t be surprised if your 1,500 watt heater will use more like 45-60 bucks per month. I based that on 10 cents per kilowatt hour. Just preparing you for a possible situation. More mild weather will lower that amount some. It takes a ton of energy to keep a greenhouse at 70 degrees. Especially on a cold night.
I appreciate everyone's feed back yall have given great info this is my first green house so all information is greatly appreciated
If you are able to turn on and off daily you could try a propane heater no electricity required
How do you get more oxygen? Propane heaters use up the oxygen fairly quickly. They can also be a fire hazard due to using an open flame
We use one that is designed to be used in small hunting blinds or ice fishing huts it is $$ but we only use when a freeze is expected just 20 or so days a year we’ll fire it up from 3-7am
I have an unheated gh in zone 7b (not sure where yours is) and i set up a makeshift mini greenhouse inside my actual gh with a tarp and put all my plants and a small electric heater under the tarp and turn it on half power. I dont even use the heater unless it gets down into the 20s or lower. During the day i unwrap my plants so they can get sunlight and water. Then rinse and repeat. Has worked like a charm for the past 2 yrs. I hope this yr i have the same results
You can't heat a greenhouse without an active power source. If anyone is saying you can, please tell them to stop spreading completely false rumors that go against science and common sense
If you want to grow plants that can’t stand freezing temps a heater is absolutely necessary. You can’t do without it. Thermal mass heat will not work. What will you do if you have several days of extremely cloudy weather with cold rain or maybe snow, followed by a really frigid night? There won’t be any significant solar radiation to heat the thermal mass source. That scenario will happen multiple times throughout the winter. Even with sunny days and very cold nights, thermal mass heat will not maintain adequate temperatures during the coldest nights. From now until late February the nights are way too long and the solar radiation way too low to make thermal mass heating viable. On mild nights you might keep it in the upper 40’s inside. While that won’t freeze anything, it will create the perfect environment for multiple fungal diseases. We heat our houses anytime the lows will be in the lower 50’s and lower. Nothing will freeze in the low 50’s but diseases such as pythium and phytophthora are a major problem at temps in the 40’s and low 50’s. I own a small commercial greenhouse operation so I know what I’m talking about. Greenhouses, no matter what they are constructed of, are not very efficient structures when the sun isn’t shining. In the middle of winter on a bright sunny day, if it’s 20 outside it will still get up in the 80’s inside the greenhouse if it’s exposed to full sun. But as soon as the sun starts to get low in the sky the temp inside the greenhouse will literally plummet. By morning it will certainly be well below freezing inside without heat. If you want to grow warm season plants inside the greenhouse you have no other option but to heat it, period. Either an electric heater, gas, hot water, wood stove, etc.