Heat greenhouse in winter

Depending on, which plants are raised when it gets cooler, the question is almost always how a hobby gardener can heat his greenhouse in winter. We have already described in another how the heat requirement that the plants under glass have during the frosty months is calculated. But what about the technical implementation?

The types of heating briefly explained

First of all, the various Divide systems into three categorieswhich differ in the type of heat radiation.

• Underfloor heating: the heat source is 20 to 30 cm deep in the ground and works in a similar way to underfloor heating in residential buildings;
• Vegetation heating: direct heat emission at the height of the plants; warm water (around 40 ° C) is conducted in plastic pipes directly past the greenhouse crops; However, the energy consumption of these systems is quite high;
• Space heating: the entire interior is completely heated; disadvantageous are relatively high heat losses due to the heated air rising upwards;

Greenhouse heating for the winter - the systems

Which system you ultimately choose depends a lot on the local conditions, but also together with the intended type of use. How you heat your greenhouse in winter is also next to it an essential cost issuethat must be taken into account. In general, the following systems are available for greenhouse heating:

• Hot water heating: Here, if economically justifiable, integration into the heat supply of the house is recommended;
• Oil stove: operated with heating oil and set up separately in the house; provides only selective heating; Exhaust gases must be routed to the outside separately; relatively high fuel consumption;
• Petroleum heating: similar functional principle as oil stove, but the design is smaller; helps when set up individually only for heating smaller areas;
• Propane gas heating: does not require a separate exhaust gas discharge and can be better regulated in terms of temperature; very high efficiency (between 90 and 98 percent);
• Electric heaters: very easy to install via the house electricity network; no emissions; comparatively expensive in terms of operating costs;

Heat a greenhouse with solar power in winter?

At comparatively high acquisition costs Solar power panels score particularly well because they cause hardly any operating costswhich can definitely pay off over the years. However, the permanent dependence on the available sunlight has a disadvantage, and the space requirement for the collectors on the roof is not insignificant. The solar power supply is cheaper for the Greenhouses attached to residential buildings. If used as a winter garden at the same time, this sustainable method of energy supply would be in the As part of the energetic building renovation, possibly even partially through KfW subsidies affordable.