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Original Greenhouse Heating Question
Just to clarify the question, here's my original post to the home
improvement group: We have a small greenhouse attached to the south side of our home. It's 14' X 12' with a shed roof tapering from 10' on the house side to 6'. Roughly 1,400 cubic feet. It's a 2x4 frame with double-walled polycarbonate sheeting, 10mm for the roof and 6mm for the sides. We're in Maryland, near Baltimore, so it rarely gets below the mid-teens in the winter. We heat it with a 220V electric heater, 5,600 watts and 19,110 BTUh rating. This generally keeps it at the 50 degrees the plants require but occasionally my wife puts on a 110V supplimental heater on cold nights. The power hasn't failed in the winter since we got the greenhouse but it's probably only a matter of time. I was thinking of getting a kerosene heater as back-up to the electrical heaters. Home Depot has a 23,000 BTU heater for $129 which seems to fit our needs. Could I use home heating oil for this or would it be better to stick with pure kerosene? I was wondering about a propane heater; would that be more efficient than kerosene? We have a propane ball/tank for some other applications which aren't used in the winter. Paul |
#2
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Original Greenhouse Heating Question
Pavel314 wrote:
Just to clarify the question, here's my original post to the home improvement group: We have a small greenhouse attached to the south side of our home. It's 14' X 12' with a shed roof tapering from 10' on the house side to 6'. Roughly 1,400 cubic feet. It's a 2x4 frame with double-walled polycarbonate sheeting, 10mm for the roof and 6mm for the sides. If you want to cut down on the heating bill you can add some insulation. Home Despot has 1/2" polyiso (R3): http://www.rmaxinc.com/ I use it in my solar stuff, works well outdoors and is non flamable and relatively green. You aren't getting much light from other than your south facing vertical wall (with the sun so low), so you may wish to have a winter cover for this. It would add R3 to your R2 walls and roof. Take it down when you don't need it. Cut the bill in half or so... Just an idea. Jeff We're in Maryland, near Baltimore, so it rarely gets below the mid-teens in the winter. We heat it with a 220V electric heater, 5,600 watts and 19,110 BTUh rating. This generally keeps it at the 50 degrees the plants require but occasionally my wife puts on a 110V supplimental heater on cold nights. The power hasn't failed in the winter since we got the greenhouse but it's probably only a matter of time. I was thinking of getting a kerosene heater as back-up to the electrical heaters. Home Depot has a 23,000 BTU heater for $129 which seems to fit our needs. Could I use home heating oil for this or would it be better to stick with pure kerosene? I was wondering about a propane heater; would that be more efficient than kerosene? We have a propane ball/tank for some other applications which aren't used in the winter. Paul |
#3
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Original Greenhouse Heating Question
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/solar-gh.html Lots of stuff. Bill -- Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM deals with Sugars |
#4
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Original Greenhouse Heating Question
"Pavel314" wrote in message ... Just to clarify the question, here's my original post to the home improvement group: We have a small greenhouse attached to the south side of our home. It's 14' X 12' with a shed roof tapering from 10' on the house side to 6'. Roughly 1,400 cubic feet. It's a 2x4 frame with double-walled polycarbonate sheeting, 10mm for the roof and 6mm for the sides. We're in Maryland, near Baltimore, so it rarely gets below the mid-teens in the winter. We heat it with a 220V electric heater, 5,600 watts and 19,110 BTUh rating. This generally keeps it at the 50 degrees the plants require but occasionally my wife puts on a 110V supplimental heater on cold nights. The power hasn't failed in the winter since we got the greenhouse but it's probably only a matter of time. I was thinking of getting a kerosene heater as back-up to the electrical heaters. Home Depot has a 23,000 BTU heater for $129 which seems to fit our needs. Could I use home heating oil for this or would it be better to stick with pure kerosene? I was wondering about a propane heater; would that be more efficient than kerosene? We have a propane ball/tank for some other applications which aren't used in the winter. Paul Here is a BTU and an Area calculator that may help, however it sounds like you have a good primary and a very good supplement/emergency system. http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/area-calc.shtml http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/heat-calc.shtml Try transparent bubble wrap insulation inside instead of insulation material and clear packing tape to secure it. Comes in 4 ft rolls but buy it from a place like he http://www.starboxes.com/medium-bubb...?CategoryID=44 and not the UPS or the FEDEX stores. Much cheaper and free shipping. |
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