Insulating a greenhouse correctly can save you money
Insulating a greenhouse in your garden can help save a small fortune due to the rising energy prices that are squeezing us all at the moment. Even a small amount of insulation can add up in energy savings and in addition help to promote a warm and cosy greenhouse environment for your plants and vegetables.
While greenhouse heaters are necessary, certainly during winter growing when frost can seriously damage your plants and vegetables, the cost to initially set up and to maintain them during the year can add up, therefore greenhouse insulation is a must if you want to help your growth, increase your yield, protect against damage and save a few pennies to boot.
Fortunately, greenhouse insulation is a fairly simple affair and doesn’t take much work to ensure your greenhouse is protected from the greatest loss of heat, which is draughts and through the structure itself.
- Make sure any gaps in the structure of your greenhouse are sealed. Even a small gap can result in a heat reduction of about 5% and with many small gaps, this heat loss can soon build up.
- Ensure your vents and doors are a good fit. Similar to gaps above, the heat loss from ill-fitting doors and vents can be significant. Replacing the seals periodically is good idea but sometimes taping plastic sheeting across your vents and over your door can help reduce draughts.
- It many sound obvious, but replace any broken panes in a glass greenhouse, even cracked panes. Gaping big holes in your structure tends not to help when you’re insulating a greenhouse! Make it a habit to check in the hard to see places for any cracks or broken glass and especially so if your greenhouse sits against one of your garden borders.
- Similarly, if you have a polythene greenhouse you have to keep checking for any rips or tears and either repair them or replace the sheeting.
- You can add a layer of bubble wrap to your greenhouse insulation strategy and it will certainly help prevent heat loss. However, you have to be aware that each layer will reduce the light coming into your greenhouse by about 10%.
- If you have a large greenhouse, it can be practical to drape a screen of polythene sheeting to cordon off a particular important crop from any potential draughts.
- Installing roll-down blinds or thermal screens can protect from the colder temperatures at night. The blinds especially can protect against any draughts from unknown gaps in your structure. Just be sure to roll them back up during the daytime.
There are always going to be costs associated with keeping your plants at the correct temperatures to encourage growth, but by applying the practical tips above and ensuring your greenhouse insulation is in top shape, you can reduce those costs over the year and give your plants and vegetables the best environment to grow.