Heating

I was wondering on members experince with heating greenhouse costs etc last year I used electric blower but trying to keep the cost down had temp a bit to low and although dident lose any some plants had a real set back so have invested in a parrafin heater is this going to be anymore economic any comments welcome

 

You have to careful using paraffin as some plants can be severely affected by the fumes given off.

 

Having used parafin and electric, I know which I would choose.

Have you seen the price of parafin these days? Its dearer than petrol, add to that, that it stinks even if you dont light it, I'm surprised the stuff has not been banned in this modern world we live in now.

I still use it in the allotment greenhouse but only because running electric that far would be a problem.
Never tried gas, but I'm guessing it creates a lot of water, and condensation is something that I dont need in mid winter.

 

I think it depends on the temperature that you want.

I have a greenhouse and a summerhouse that I keep just frost free. I find an electric heater with a thermostat very good as you have complete control. You can set the temperature you want and go away for as long as you want and it will run by itself.

Heating with electricity, per se, is very expensive compared with any other method. However if you only want a low temperature, ie frost free, it can be very cheap - because it's controlled by a thermostat and in a mild winter the heater may only come on for an hour a week. With paraffin, without a thermostat, you must have it on all night most nights.

If you get one of the small consumption meters (only £10 or so), you can measure exactly how much energy you are using. Over the last 5 winters the power used in my 10' by 8' summerhouse was - 11, 13, 27, 113 and 339 Kwh. I believe the reason it was so much more in the last year was partly the cold winter but mainly because my external thermostat that I could set to 1C failed, so I used the built in thermostat in the fan heated which is set to about 4C. It think it is quite likely that the cost could double if you just set the thermostat 2C higher, or the winter is 2C colder.

 

I have just invested in a Tropic 2000 2k electric heater for my 8x6 hoping to keep it at about 4/5c, I haven't connected it up yet but I think it is the bset option (for me). I know propane is lethal to some plants, ie Coleus, and not too keen on parafin (little temperature control). I will find out this winter how successful it is and how costly. I intend replacing the old Marley (no offence marley!!:D) with a 10x8 in the future , no doubt the cost of heating that will rise considerably.

 

Up to this week I haven't had to heat my greenhouse but as the temperature is now dropping to around freezing at night I have connected mine up. Now it remains to be seen if it keeps 5c.

 

Strongy - I have found a power consumption meter really useful for letting me know what my greenhouse heater is doing and costing.



I have got one of these - £9.99 from Plug-in Electricity Cost and Usage Calculator : Power and Energy Monitors : Maplin Electronics

Not only does it tell me the cumulative Kwh used in the greenhouse, but you can also use it in the house to show exactly how much power is used by various appliances. - but then I like toys. :D

 

Good idea Peter, might invest in one.
It's tiny but almost full.

 

I also bought a power consumption meter, was a massive help. Broke things down very well. I now have more power over my plants mwahahaha

 

I have 2 Fir Tree propane heaters, one awaiting me to fit a new ignitor, so when I saw these Gardman 2kW electric heaters going cheap at Tesco Direct for only £11.15 with free collection instore (about £19 everywhere else) I thought it would be useful as a backup, additional heat if there's another freeze after I put the heating on (I'm on Economy 7), or as a cold blower in summer and have ordered one:



Gardman Greenhouse and Conservatory Heater reduced to £11.15 - Final chance to buy - Order now whilst stocks last


P.S. 3% cashback from Quidco.

(These are £21.98 at B&Q or £17.95 + £6.25 P&P online at JungleSeeds)

EDIT: ALL GONE! - I thought they would last long at that price - did anybody else get one?

 

Do you not think the Electric would be cheaper than Propane? I've found that with accurate thermostatic control they are "on" a lot less than Propane, and thus work out cheaper. In really cold weather it might be the other way around though, but you could light the Propane then and let the electricity thermostat just work as a top-up / backup ?

It would be really helpful if some organisation put some 10x8, or similar, greenhouses side by side with different heaters and compared the cost ...

 

It would be cheaper until there was the inevitable power cut (that we regularly get in this village with overhead cabling and antiquated infrastructure) and then I would lose all my plants.

 

Ah yes, I am sure you have mentioned that before. We have a powercut once in a blue-moon, but I would be ill prepared for it if it happened during a particularly cold night ... I ought to get a mains-failed alarm ... hooked up to a temperature sensor ...