Backyard greenhouse
 

Hopefully this will allow some pictures now. We built this greenhouse this spring in our backyard to house all our orchids and tropicals. We looked online to find what would fit our space and our budget the best. Grower Solutions, out of Tennesee had what we where looking for a 16x32 foot greenhouse package kit.(I think I said 16x30 before , !my fault, don 't want to short the last two feet because they important). We added more poly for the roof and sides, a 75,000 BTU heater and extra wiggly wire and channels. Ordered, then sat and waited. About a week later a semi pulled in front of the house. Now the fun could begin.Attachment 117305Attachment 117303Attachment 117302 wow this is stressful. I will add more pictures later

Excellent!

Looks awesome! That's a large space! are you planning on using it all year or just spring thru fall. I would think Missouri gets pretty cold in winter, but have never been there.

Great! It's not as cold as Saskatchewan but it's cold enough to freeze orchids.

We plan on using it all year long. We double polyed(6mm) the roof and the sides and installed a small blower fan to inflate the two pieces of poly on the roof and sides. We plan to install lexan sheets on the end walls this spring, witch should help in keeping more heat in. This will be the first winter, so we don't know what the gas bill will be. We just got November's bill and it was not to bad, a little less than a dollar a day extra. Thank god for global warming. During the summer we used a reflective shade cloth (Aluminet 50%) to keep the heat down inside. Six months of trying to get rid of the heat and six months of trying to keep the heat inside.

With your summers, do you really need to keep it shut in the summer? What about removing the end wall coverings then and having a fan to blow air through the structure to help keep it cool?

I hear ya! We have a greenhouse attached to our home. Somewhat different structure than yours and our winters are very cold. And summers can have some very hot days. So I too struggle to keep it cool in summer and then have to pay to heat in the winter. Our heat bills are not so bad, but our set up is rather unique. We are attached to a wall of our home that is also all windows, so they would be a real heat sink in summer and lose a lot of heat in winter. The greenhouse buffers that. We have triple glazed Low E glass windows on 2 of the 3 outside walls and a triple glazed polycarbonate roof. The snow covers the roof a lot of winter so I need lights in winter but it likely helps lock the warmth in too.

I could be wrong but that type of GH is made so the sides roll up in the spring and summer to let air flow through. If their summer is anything like ours that still isn't enough to keep things reasonable lol.



Awesome setup you guys, everything looks really great! I can't believe how much better my orchids do in the GH. This'll be my first winter with mine also, but mine is a lot smaller than yours. I always have wondered how well GHs that use radiant floor heat work. Do you still have to use a heater plus the floor heating system, or can they stand alone?

Thanks for all the interest and ideas. In the summer we opened the doors at each end and placed a fan in each doorway and blew air through the house. With the reflective shade cloth and the fans we could keep the temp inside the house the same as the temp outside. Some days that is still near 100F. The sides can roll up if you get the kit but we made the sides more permanent,so we could double poly them with an air gap for better insulation.

Great looking space, wow!

I recommend you take a somewhat different approach.

Install shutters in one end, and make sure they are covered with window screen to block the entry of insects. I have mine automated with solar-powered vent openers, so they open as the greenhouse warms to allow some passive ventilation.

In the opposite end of the greenhouse, you could install a swamp cooler to push the warm air out and blow cooler, humidified air in. I only have an exhaust fan in the rear, pulling the air in through the shutters. That fan shutter is screened, as well.

Ray, they're in Missouri. The summer air is already so wet you can't eat potato chips outside.

Backyard greenhouse
 

I had a swamp cooler on my greenhouse when I lived in Louisville KY, and even with all that heat and humidity trapped in the Ohio valley, having been blown east out of MO, it worked fine.

How big was your g/h and how big was the swamp cooler? My swamp cooler is 20' x 3' and when the humidity is above 50%, I can only keep the g/h around 82-85 and boy is it humid but not really cool.

Below 50% I can keep the temps in the 70's and the air is cool but not sticky humid. Lexington isn't as warm or humid as L'ville.

Brooke

There's minimal evaporative cooling when the dew point is over 55 F / 13C but the effluent air will be quite humid.

I know that is why I asked Ray the question. It has been too humid for the last two years.

Brooke

I saw a swamp cooler INSIDE of a very humid greenhouse in Houston once, and despite science suggesting otherwise, the air coming out was cooled.

The air is cooler Ray but it doesn't cool as much as I would like when the outside air is also humid. The air is cooler two feet but that doesn't help 30' away.

How did you get your g/h in L'ville to cool with a swamp cooler.

Brooke

thanks for all info on evaporative cooling. They are not real effictive around here. There are times that they do work (cool), but most of the time they are inefficent, do to our high humidity. My friend, who use to let us barrow space in his greenhouses, used one to cool his houses. Last year we kept our house as cool as his, with only running fans that blow air through the house. I am looking to add loovers and an exhaust fan and a thermosat soon