Greenhouse (Large Vivariums) Construction

harrywitmore · #1 (**permalink**) 11-07-2006, 03:22 PM

What have been the experiences here on building heating and cooling greenhouses. I have built to from scratch one from an old Leonard Building frame and another from lumber. Both are heated with propane gas one vented and one not. I keep the larger one at a minimum of 60F and the smaller one a minimum of 50F. In the summer I cool with just fans but I have good tree cover so getting too hot is not a problem for me. What are you experiences if any?

KEVIN S · #2 (**permalink**) 11-10-2006, 04:42 AM

Harry

i have no experiance in building a temp controlled green house but have plans of constructing one very soon and am very interested in any info i can get on the subject. i was considering propane for heat and a window air unit for cooling, if needed. i've also noticed electric space heaters at local hardware stores and have thought of possibly using them instead of gas. have you ever used this type of heater on any of your green houses? do you think if it were housed outside of the green house in its own enclosure and vented in, it would be safe? what are the temps in the summer using fans?

Kevin

harrywitmore · #3 (**permalink**) 11-10-2006, 12:15 PM

First, I would not use a a/c for cooling. It removes way too much humidity and most likely would be overwhelmed anyway. There are a number of plans for creating swamp coolers. My temps stay around 95 in summer but sometimes it's hard to keep the humidity up while the fans are constantly running. Again, I have tree cover in the summer so it stays cooler for me. I have a Electric Unit in the passive solar greenhouse that is a part of my house. It has been there for more than 10 years with no problems at all. It's probably about the same to heat with Propane or Electric now as long as you go with 220 and not 110. i also have a water heater installed in each greenhouse so that I'm not watering plants with cold water in the winter.

Lancejr · #4 (**permalink**) 11-10-2006, 01:24 PM

I too have been interested in constructing a greenhouse with the ultimate goal of adding PDF's. Are you guys planning on having frogs in your greenhouses or just plants?

Here in Central Florida we have a lot of greenhouse nurseries and in my limited research I have learned a little to add here. Propane is a good option for heating and will work if you lose power. Swamp coolers and thermostatically controlled misting/fogging systems are good cooling options, relatively inexpensive and I've been told can lower the temperature 10 -15 degrees. Operable venting is also a good choice when it gets real hot and it's so humid outside you don't have to worry about losing humidity.

Tree cover is great, but I guess the main reason I haven't built one yet is the potential hurricane damage. Folks around here lost a lot of greenhouses from wind and falling trees. I'm not sure what structure to use for my greenhouse. Still researching...

harrywitmore · #5 (**permalink**) 11-10-2006, 01:35 PM

When you buy a propane heater you have to make sure it can operate with no power. Most I've seen have an electronic thermostat and will not come do anything but burn the pilot light with no power. I have not had too much problem with the unvented greenhouse but when the power goes out I have to open it some to allow air to circulate for the heater. Otherwise it shuts down due to the lack of Oxygen. I personally would stick with the vented models. Electric heat also is bad to dry out everything.
I have only native tree frogs in mine (stowaways) I was thinking of adding a few more exotic species if anyone has any to suggest.