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Heat vs. Light - Which is more cost effective?

Winter growing - Do you suppose it is more affordable to grow in your home and provide the light or to grow in a greenhouse and provide the heat?
 
in the house under cfl's , i start mine 1st of january and they don't go out to greenhouse till april . about a 13 inches tall and i cut the tops off some . cfl is way cheaper than gas heat or electric especially as cold is it is outside now and not much sun to speak of . gotta heat the house anyway or momma won't be very happy with me !  indoors for me .
 
A 125w CFL or 2x55w T NEON is very afford able and works like a charm. The cost can be Simply calculated 18 hours per day for 5 months isn't thát much on your electric Bill.
 
I'd vote house, at the least adding to the heat generated within the home. Although there are some novel (cheap, DIY) ways to heat a GH, geothermal (heat exchange or simply lowering GH floor), composting, etc.
 
IMO, it's gonna depend on where you're at.  How cold and how dark is your winter climate?
 
If you live in Alaska, Migs' suggestion of heating the house with lights sounds about right.
 
In warmer climates, a well insulated greenhouse will keep the plants from freezing without killing your utility bill.  Add a few drums of water inside, attached to a cheap solar water heater, and the cost of operation will drop even lower.
 
The question has too many unspecified variables. for one, you are generally speaking about two different sized growing areas. thus, heating and lighting for each is radically different. So lets assume you have a 300sq ft room and a 300 sq ft green house and you are located say in N. Illinois. heating a green house in the winter of the Midwest is going to get really expensive whether you are using natural gas or electricity and you are only going to get roughly 9 hours of light. on the other hand and we are going to assume the room is part of your house, you are already providing heat for the room and providing light can be done much less than the cost of heating a green house and you have more control over the heat and light cycle. The HID lighting will also provide heat for the enclosed room. and that may provide a problem as it can get very hot using HID lights. one solution would be to cycle each light at different times so that no more than 2 are on at any one time. again you have more control.
 
willard3 said:
Electricity costs 2- 3 times as much per btu as oil or gas.
That only applies if you comparing both for heating only.  A gas heated green house is still going to cost more than a heated room that you are already paying to heat whether you use it or not.  Additionally, I have yet to see a fully insulated green house, and thus you are going to lose heat just as fast as you make it. in other words the gas is going to be burning your $$$ constantly. I was talking to another member here whose mother has a green house she uses all year long . Her costs last year if I remember correctly were$ 4,000.00. Conversely, It dont pay to be burning HIDs or growing indoors during the summer either if you dont need to.
 
If I had a green house I would definitely use it, just not during the harshest part of the year.
 
I keep toying with the idea of a greenhouse, but I keep coming back to how much they cost to heat.  Maybe I am just jealous over the Florida growers.
 
Light is cheaper if you want optimal grow temperature in an area where it was otherwise too cold for the plants to survive outside, but generally speaking people often pick growing outside instead of inside because they're growing too many plants to have space inside.  Never say never around here but most non-commercial grows don't heat their greenhouses, rather the greenhouse uses solar and geothermal (passive) heat to extend a growing season.
 
I grew mine in my garage last year using a cheap $20 greenhouse and about 10 100w CFL bulbs on a surge protector strip. It gets down in the 10's and 20's here in the winter often times. Granted I'm sure they didn't grow as fast as they would in a warmer climate (in the house) but if that's all you have to work with then it's very doable. I was ready to plant come late April/early May.
 
spicy_echo said:
I grew mine in my garage last year using a cheap $20 greenhouse and about 10 100w CFL bulbs on a surge protector strip. It gets down in the 10's and 20's here in the winter often times. Granted I'm sure they didn't grow as fast as they would in a warmer climate (in the house) but if that's all you have to work with then it's very doable. I was ready to plant come late April/early May.
20.00 greenhouse?? Do tell.
 
^  One option would be to make a frame out of PVC pipe and hang metalized/reflective emergency blankets, glued or taped to cardboard box panels for rigidity if you like, or plastic sheeting but that won't reflect the light back.
 
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