All The facts On Greenhouse Heaters.
As you may know the temperature changes several times during the day, and when the night sets in it can really plummet to a low level. Such temperature changes might not be very healthy for your plants, and therefore to keep your greenhouse temperature at the right level for the best plant growth, you’ll need to invest in a greenhouse heater.
When you do your research on greenhouse heaters you must take into consideration, besides keeping the greenhouse at the right temperature level, what the costs are in purchasing and using the heater, how easy it is to operate and also how easy it is to install the heater in your greenhouse.
I have compiled a list of greenhouse heater facts you should take into consideration before you go out and buy yourself a greenhouse heater.
What Kind Of Greenhouse Heaters Are There?
- Electric heaters. If you have a small greenhouse then a electric heater is more suitable, because they run on electricity and there are no fumes so there is no need for any extra ventilation.
- Gas heaters.These greenhouse heaters are, like the name says, fueled with gas. This can be natural gas or gas that you can get in a tank or bottle. When you use gas heaters make sure that you have extra ventilation, as there will be some fumes because of the combustion. Another thing is that you will need to keep an eye on these heaters and make sure that they are placed in a safe spot.
- Paraffin heaters. This is a very basic way of heating your greenhouse. When you use paraffin heaters you have to take into account the fact that you will be refilling them a lot and there will be a lot of fumes being released into your greenhouse. Like gas heaters, make sure that you have a good ventilation system in place.
We just talked about heater combustion. Now I will go a little bit deeper on this subject.
- Open heater combustion. This type of heater uses the air inside your greenhouse for the combustion of the fuel it uses. As long as the air inside your greenhouse doesn’t get contaminated, this will work fine. Make sure that flammable liquids are not placed near the heater, but if you use common sense you would have figured that one out on your own.
- Separated heater combustion. A lot of gas heaters work on this system. The gas heater will get its air from outside and also the air intake comes from the outside. This is the best solution because if it is all inside then you don’t have full control of the air inside your greenhouse.
- Sealed heater combustion. This type looks a lot like the separated heater combustion, the only difference here is that the burner has no access to any of the air inside the building. Sealed combustion heaters use the intake for fresh air and the exhaust to get rid of the fumes.
Greenhouse Heater Ventilation.
When you don’t use an electrical heater but use one which uses fossil fuels like gas, diesel, paraffin or whatever, then you’re going to need some good ventilation and I am going to tell you about the options you have when it comes to ventilating your greenhouse.
- Unventilated. This is not the best option as the heated gases are directly released into your greenhouse. Don’t do this for too long because some plants might not adapt to it and die.
- Gravity. The air that is exhausted from this sort of greenhouse heater should be rising through the pipes and released outside. The vents should be placed vertically and the air that is expelled should be replaced with fresh air from outside.
- Power. Power vented heaters are equipped with an air blower that pushes the air through the pipes and outside your greenhouse. You can position these vents horizontally or vertically and the pipes that you use need to be smaller, making it more efficient.
- Direct. This type of ventilation is specially for the sealed combustion heaters. Here you only have one pipe with both the inlet and the exhaust, with one pipe being placed inside the other. The amount of air that this type of venting throws out is the same as it takes in so there is no need for an external air supply.
Mounting the heater can be a tough thing to do, here are some tips and facts about mounting a greenhouse heater.
- Hanging. With this type of mounting you will be placing the heater directly on the ceiling. A big advantage is that you will save a lot of room on the floor. Make sure it is hung high enough so that it doesn’t become an obstruction.
- Wall. These kind of heaters are mounted on the wall and they blow towards the outside of the structure. You won’t be needing floor space but the space in front of the vent needs to remain clear.
- Floor. This type is placed on the floor and is not mounted on anything. It can be a disadvantage because it can take up a lot of space.
As you can see there are a lot of greenhouse heaters to choose from and you should make a careful decision on what kind of heater you are going to buy. You can also seek the advice of a local expert to get even better results.
