Options for insulating small greenhouses

[silken]

Could you lay sheets of plywood on the deck just for the winter and store them upright somewhere in the summer. Or even large firm slabs of foam insulation would be warmer. Since its not a huge area it shouldn't be too horribly expensive.

I have seen several guys in Europe on this forum who use the bubble wrap on the outside of the structure in the winter. Can't think of his name but we saw lots of pics when he was building his. I think he is from France. Also Kelo a member in Sotland I think here just built a greenhouse so he may have some ideas too.

I think the bubble wrap would work well.

I think its Kavanaru who uses the bubble wrap in france.

[DelawareJim]

If your deck is elevated, your best option is to buy rigid foam insulation, cut it to the width of your deck joists and attach it underneath between the joists. The thicker you stack it, the better your insulation properties will be. Unfortunately, that requires a lot of crawling under the deck on your back.

Cheers.
Jim

[Stray59]

Congrats on having a greenhouse - I hope you have as much fun as I had with mine.
I have always had to work on a shoe string and when I find something inexpensive that works as well as anything else, I remember it!
For your greenhouse - I really like the looks of your greenhouse, but next year you might want to try another approach. The private collector who mentored me simply put two layers of heavy drop cloth on the outside of the greenhouse. He simply draped it across in two layers and attached it to the outerframe. Now we could get some horrific winds in winter, so he had the two sheets glued together with silicone glue and then attached it to the frame of his greenhouse with thin wooden strips and nails. His heater rarely kicked on in the day and seldom at night. You can even use the silicone to lay a grid pattern on one sheet and then, with help, lay the second sheet on top and gently press the plastic to the silicone grid. This makes cells of any size you want. It really works well and any condensation and problems with algae or fungus is on the outside, not the inside of the greenhouse.
For your heating issues. Look into passive heat systems, those that trap the day's radiation and then hold it into the night. I know from experience you can place sealed one-, five- and ten gallon jugs of gravel and water in any space available and they will hold the heat very well - So should your brick wall. The larger the jug/barrel, the more heat it will hold. The sun heats the water and gravel in the jugs and then releases heat at a rather slow pace; many passive systems use something like this. It also cuts down on your heating bill!! The ultimate gravel to use is lava rock due to the little insulating cells naturally formed, but pea gravel works well too.
Best of luck - let us know what you do!
Steve

[Rivka]

the deck is actually elevated by quite a bit, maybe 2 2.5 ft. it has lattice on it so im not sure what is under there, but that is a great idea and i will go pull some lattice and look tomorrow.
i was planning on lining my shelves with these large shallow pans i got (actually made for dog kennels) and plumb them for drainage, so that i can water and not have it drip down on the level below it, i am planning on the drain lines to go out between the slats and out onto the ground away from the foundation, so that was mainly to protect the decking and keep thing neater. so lining the deck, specially the underside would not be a concern for drainage and just might.

i guess it was silly of me to think that as long as i stopped convection currents from happening by sealing the top that i could slow cold air from the bottom enough. i will focus on sealing up, from underneath if i can.

[msaar]

I believe the suggestion of a propane heater was for backup use during your power outages.

[Rivka]

yeah i did very much plan to have a heater for power outage back up and regularly keep a "Mr Heater" style tank mounted one around for various things, this winter since the stakes are higher with the plants , i plan on keeping a few tanks full locked up in my shed.

do you folk have any big opinions on the various styles of 120v electric heater? or with that already annoying subsection of underpowered stuff are they all really the same?
Does a Infrared do a better job or is it all the same if the watts or btu are the same?
if there something to look for and spend money on once up front that will same me on my monthly heating bills?

[Rivka]

got my insulation put up, not testing how stable the conditions are. i dont have the final under deck insulation in yet, but i covered the top of the deck with foam tiles since i had some laying around, it will work for a little while till i get a day to crawl under it.

[Rivka]

Well I took a diferent approach in part because I had different priorities and a special set up.
Looks is very important to me. In part because I have a rental house and I need everything to look clean and uncluttered, so laying extra insulating on the outside was a non starter. I will Neely put up aluminet next summer on the outside but thankfully that is a lot prettier than plastic sheeting.

The bubble wrap I got is great and is durable enough that I could use it for many years I'm sure. And it's amazing how thick and sturdy it is. The change I the temp inside was noticeable the moment it went in.
I'm now having no problem keeping it 70 even 75 while it is below 40 at night.

I do agree on passive heating, though I am limited by space. I have a 75gal rain water tank gong into the corner this week, plumbed into a downspout just outside the greenhouse. It will have the extra benefit of being black and sitting in the corner getting sun on it. It should do a nice job as a heat exchange at night.
It's taking up a ton of valuable space but is doing so much for me that it's worth it. The orchids will be watered from it of course, but it's also plumbed into the fogger system so that works off a float switch.

I have some set ups that need nearly pure water ad it was this or a RO system and this was less waste and less maintenance. It also got running water out I the great house. The RO system would have to be a remote thing, yuck.

I'm putting in the shelving today and will take some more pictures when I get done.

[Ray]

Looks good, Rivka.

[Stray59]

Rivka:
If looks are important, then the inside sheeting is the way to go. Also, I envy your water system! Nice way to go. And yes, that large of a barrel will hold a lot of heat.
Nice work! Good to hear it is holding hear well!
Enjoy!
Steve