Distributing Heat in the Greenhouse
Greenhouses use sunlight as a means of heat as a source of nutrients. There are times of the year, however, that you may not get enough heat from the sun. Supplemental heat is needed in all sizes of greenhouses when the weather is cooler. Some of the most common forms of heat and energy in the greenhouse are coal, oil, and gas. It depends how large your greenhouse is and the size of your budget to determine what type of heat you can afford.

Posted Thursday, April 6, 2006

Electric is another form of heat, but one that is used as a back up as it can be more expensive than others. For all the different types of heat that can be used in a greenhouse you can use different sized equipment. Large commercial greenhouses may use gas, hot water, or heated coils, while the smaller hobby greenhouse may only need a small gas powered standing heater. Matching your preferences and needs will be a requirement in heating the greenhouse.

No matter what type of heat you use, you want to have a plan to distribute that energy evenly through out your greenhouse. Fans, tubing, and gravity are what will get the heat from one end to the other.

Remember, if you choose an open burning flame of any type you have to be careful of the gasses that are given off . If you are not careful your plants could lack the proper oxygen requirements for proper growth and development. The arranging of tubing through the greenhouse for hot water can be expensive to set up, but in the long run is going to be one of the most cost efficient to run and permanent heating methods.

In the commercial sized greenhouse where boilers and heating systems are installed costs can be quite high. But it is wise for the times when your heating system fails or the electricity goes out, to have a back up plan. Haveing a back up generator or a back up heating system in place with a warning system could be the difference between life and death for your plants.