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greenhouse greenhouse talk, making it work

hotenuff4u

hotenuff4u

i just posted a thread about tracking the sun and delved into this a bit, but i'd rather just get a lot of opinions and post some pics of what i have right now, and see what you guys are doing for winter growing....

here are some pics
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i was very happy when this first was finished, but now that the nights are getting colder it's efficiency is depressing

so it will stay a full 20degF warmer during the highest peak of the sun if its around 50F outside it will be consistantly 70F inside, but as soon as the sun is not in direct view of my balcony the temps start dropping, at night when its 40 outside its barely 45 inside...i have a space heater that will keep it 75degF all day long if i want, but that will get very expensive leaving it running a lot

i plan on throwing in a black barrel full of water i guess to try to use a little thermal mass, but, then wtf...i doubt this will be enough, or will it, any ideas?
 
I have a freestanding GH outside, 192 sq. ft. Glass windows on the front and part of the sides, wood siding in the back. The top is GH plastic. Inside, it is covered with IR/AC 6-mil film. Inside, I have a 600 watt heater with a fan and a 450 watt convection heater. Currently, the inside temp is 74, the outside temp is 34.

The 450 watt is a Envi wall mounted one that is suppose to heat 130 sq. feet in a home.

I've read a bunch about water barrels and how well they work - at the least, I'm dubious. I would probably try to find a way to add another layer of clear plastic so as to provide an airspace.

Mike
 
I recall in another thread that the vinyl on your patio ceiling is really just soffit underneath your upstairs neighbor's patio flooring, and that you were thinking about putting something up to cover it. Have you done anything there yet? I'd imagine that the heat is getting out much quicker through simple heat dynamics of rising through the soffit.
 
yeah, that's what i originally thought, but i went upstairs during the day and looked onto his porch and it's solid concrete which i didn't know from looking underneath, so as i know concrete isn't the best, it's a hell of a lot better than what i thought was up there, and i still plan on insulating my ceiling and walls, which will help hold heat a little longer, but i would like to only HAVE to run my electric space heater less than 6 hours/day, just to save my electric bill, which i am afraid to see in 2 more weeks,

based on my math IF my heater ran 24/7 it would cost $90/month, so i'm running it about 8 hours a day, and it's only really on half that time so 4 hours of actually running is still probably going to cost me about $15/month on top of my regular power bill; and the only thing i'd get out of it is my plants won't be dead....on the other hand if i can get some decent upgrades: insulation i know will be big, i'm going to try double paneing the window as suggested by wordwiz, and anthing else, i hope i can keep it 80-85 degF and continue producing peppers all winter long, and still only run my heater the "4 hours"....Now that would be well worth my $15/month



so this water barrel idea isn't too great then?
 
I am with wordwiz, if you could add another layer of plastic say 3-4 inches from the exsisting one the efficiency would be increased a lot. Think of the way a thermos works. I really think that ot would be your best bet.
Great thinking by the way.
 
I'd have to agree that putting a second layer of plastic on the wood frame you've built would probably help quite a bit. Since there's space between the soffit and the concrete at the ceiling, I'd probably put it up there as well. Having double barriers at both those areas will maximize the insulating qualities.
 
Are you just trying to keep your plants alive, or are you hoping to get production during the winter?
I know nothing of your climate but trying to grow during the coldest, lowest sunlight time of the year is likely going to be costly and problematic. I suggest you don't worry about production until the coldest/darkest part of winter is over
 
POTAWIE said:
Are you just trying to keep your plants alive, or are you hoping to get production during the winter?
I know nothing of your climate but trying to grow during the coldest, lowest sunlight time of the year is likely going to be costly and problematic. I suggest you don't worry about production until the coldest/darkest part of winter is over
Click to expand...

lmao, yeah, i know i'm crazy, but i figure if i can get 3 hours of direct sunlight/day in there, and keep it at 85F, then, why the hell not try to keep producing, lol :) if it doesn't work, then i know i already have the capability to let my plants survive dormant and get an early start in late feb, but as i posted on the other thread that was with this one, i ended up getting a really nice barrel for free, and i'm buying some more plastic and insulation soon, so it'll be a cool little scientific experiment i guess

thanks for all your input i will report back!
 
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