What’s the Best Way to Heat a Small Greenhouse?

The greenhouse is an excellent option to keep your plants healthier and growing in winter. But when the temperature drops down, isn’t it challenging to maintain the same heat in the greenhouse?

In frosting conditions, the greenhouse itself needs to stay warm!

Many people opt for various options to keep their glass or plastic greenhouse heated so that plants will grow accurately. Unfortunately, they make a massive investment in bulky heaters that may or may not be required.

But do you know, we can heat our small greenhouse with simple tricks that won’t scratch out our pocket much!

Let’s not roast your mind with the thoughts only. Here we’re going to provide you some essential tips that help to heat your greenhouse wisely and effectively.

Best Tips to Heat Small Greenhouse Naturally

1. Use Bubble Wrap

use bubble wrap to heat small greenhouse

The plastic bubble wrap cover acts as the best insulator that won’t allow heat to escape from the greenhouse. It is stronger, reliable, and even offers protection from UV light.

You can quickly wrap out the bubble wrap over the window panels to minimize the loss of heat and maintain the flow of heat inside the greenhouse.

 

 

2. Create Compost in Small Greenhouse

Compost in Small Greenhouse

The next best tip to heat the small greenhouse is composting. Did you ever touch the greenhouse and feel the intense heat released by the compost?

Well, if you’re a gardener, then you must know about it.

Excellent quality compost will be able to raise the temperature over 100°F in the greenhouse. Besides this, it is highly rich and essential nutrients that are required for plant growth.

But this doesn’t mean to dig out your pocket and bring out a composter as you can easily make it with the kitchen vegetable waste and paper waste too.

When the compost starts decomposition, it will automatically begin to release heat, which in turn helps to heat the greenhouse.

3. Use Thermal Objects

It is essential to use thermal mass objects as these are helpful to heat the greenhouse. And you may feel surprised to hear that some objects like bricks, clay, and even rocks absorb heat naturally.

These objects release heat when the air becomes cold. So, implementing these thermal mass objects in a greenhouse or making a slightly raised bed with rocks in the greenhouse will help to heat the greenhouse wisely.

4. Double The Window Panel Of The Greenhouse

use bubble wrap to heat small greenhouse
Source: flickr

Window panels of the greenhouse are made with either plastic polymer or with glass. These are quite helpful in trapping the sunlight and keeping the greenhouse warm.

But in some places where the temperature reaches zero or even less, these window panels won’t work effectively.

Thus, it’s good to double up their window wall because these are much more energy efficient and cheaper ways to keep the greenhouse heated. 

The double-wall panel allows it to trap the light of the sunlight in the daytime and would not allow it to escape it easily, thereby preventing loss of heat from the greenhouse.                            

However, it might be costly for some people to use a double window panel in the greenhouse. Still, it’s not a bad idea to grow your plants in the winter season.

Despite expensive window panels, you can also use a plastic cover to double the window panel. This also works similarly and would not cost you much.

5. Use Reflectors in Greenhouse

What if you are living in areas where the sun glows rarely? Then, how will you heat the greenhouse accurately?

Well, if you’re living in those areas where the sun rarely glows or glow in the opposite direction, then you can use reflectors in your greenhouse.

These reflectors will help to reflect all the heat in the greenhouse, thereby maintain the flow of heat inside them.

Although these reflectors may cost you little, it’s an excellent option for heating the greenhouse in those areas where sunshine is not perfect.

6. Greenhouse Heaters

greenhouse heater

The greenhouse heaters are one of the best ways of heating the greenhouse.

Moreover, these are the safest mode of heating and help to circulate the heat evenly in the greenhouse.

Above that, they help to maintain the moisture content in the greenhouse too. So, if you want to heat your small greenhouse, then make sure to install a greenhouse heater in it.

However, if you don’t have a power supply in the greenhouse, then you can also use propane-based greenhouses.

These are not only cost-effective but also energy efficient too. Apart from this, they have in-built fans that help in circulating heat effectively.

7. Use a Thermostat Controller

The thermostat controller is an effective way to save energy, money, time, and heat. Most of the heaters of the greenhouse have an in-built thermostat controller.

This will help you to control the temperature and amount of heat as per your requirement.

So, if you want to heat your greenhouse efficiently, then make sure to have the heaters that have a thermostat controller.

8. Sink Greenhouse

The majority of us think that basements are extremely colder. But that is not the truth!

In fact, underground places are three times warmer than the above-ground places in the winter season. The deeper we dig into the earth, the more the temperature will rise.

Thus, if you want to heat your greenhouse in the winter season too, then it is a good idea to sink the greenhouse underground. Sinking will help to maintain a particular amount of heat inside the greenhouse.

Word Wrap

The greenhouse is an ideal way to grow plants healthier in any environment. But when the temperature is not up to the mark, then these greenhouses also need to heat up.

So, in this article, we’ve covered some of the best ways that help to heat a small greenhouse in an effective way.

And the best thing is, all the ways mentioned above are highly cost-effective and energy-efficient. This will neither put a burden over your pocket nor consume much energy to install them.

So, if you wish to maintain the flow of heat in your greenhouses, then make sure to try these tips once to keep your plants growing.