Friday, February 7
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Everything You Need to Know About Greenhouse Design

Greenhouses utilize glass walls and roofs to trap solar heat during the daytime hours and enable plants to photosynthesize, but cannot retain enough warmth during winter nights to keep plants growing healthy.

Greenhouses require large fans to passively cool the space. Each fan should be capable of exchanging air every minute in the greenhouse space.

Space

A greenhouse can be either freestanding or attached to a home, garage, mudroom or other space on your property. A freestanding greenhouse offers more growing space and flexibility when choosing its location on your property; while lean-to greenhouses typically have limited options and have more limited footprints.

Layout considerations must be given great care when it comes to designing a greenhouse in order to fulfill its intended function and meet local building codes. It should reflect the type of crops being grown as well as access for loading, shipping and receiving trucks. Furthermore, arrangements for the headhouse, work areas for flat filling and transplanting operations, employee rooms and utility spaces must all be included within its design as well.

An elevated greenhouse ceiling is essential to ensuring that plants receive proper ventilation, keeping their temperature under control and preventing hot spots in their canopy that could impede growth or survival. Convection keeps air moving upwards from lower parts of the plant towards the ceiling where sunlight can be absorbed before returning it back down again, keeping plants warm through this process. It also serves to avoid hot spots within their canopy that might hinder their development or survival.

Not only must greenhouses maximize space, they must also be divided into distinct zones to allow each crop to flourish optimally. For instance, heat-requiring crops should be located nearer the heating system while cold-resistant varieties should be situated further from it. At HudsonAlpha’s facility housing numerous researchers this means Alex Harkess can grow tropical plants next to Kankshita Swaminathan’s grasses at moderate temperatures – giving him plenty of opportunities for collaboration!

No matter the size or design of your greenhouse, adding green to living spaces is easy. Skylights in kitchens, bathrooms and mudrooms provide extra light for indoor gardens; just be sure to clear away trailing vines or any overgrowth which could cause diseases or insect infestation.

Light

Lighting quality is crucial to greenhouse environments as plants use it during photosynthesis, their primary metabolic process. There are three aspects of light that impact plant growth: spectrum (color), intensity and the length of day (photoperiod). By increasing daily lighting integral through window sizes with larger window areas, yields can be increased and photosynthesis improved, leading to improved yields and greater profit potential.

The ideal window size depends on the crops grown and their lighting needs. For instance, tomatoes have high lighting requirements, so their windows should be larger than others. Furthermore, how you position the greenhouse relative to the sun also determines how much sunlight is available – for instance a north-south orientation provides more even distribution across its entirety and therefore ideal conditions.

Notably, light penetration to plants decreases with distance; as such, it is imperative that light sources within greenhouses be located close enough to the plants for maximum light penetration.

Greenhouses can also be used to increase the amount of light reaching particular crops by shifting sunrise/sunset times throughout the year, which can help to reduce stress on a crop and boost its yields. It is essential that this light be balanced against environmental factors like temperature and humidity to achieve maximum benefits for maximum yields.

Supplementary lighting may also be necessary, using LEDs designed to replicate the colors and intensities of sunlight and integrate well with greenhouse’s existing light fixtures. Other sources such as high pressure sodium lighting or ceramic metal halide bulbs offer their own set of advantages when managing optimal greenhouse light variants.

Ventilation

Greenhouse air circulation must be performed regularly; otherwise temperatures in just minutes may rise by 10 degrees or more without adequate ventilation, leading to stress on plants that reduces yield and quality of crops produced as well as humidity which breeds mildew and mold growth.

There are multiple methods available for ventilating greenhouses. Passive ventilation uses openings in walls and roofs to facilitate air exchange, providing sufficient wind velocity to create pressure differential. When winter approaches, vents should be sealed shut tightly to reduce heat loss.

Active ventilation involves using fans to move or circulate air within a greenhouse. These fans typically operate using electricity and may be controlled using a thermostat sensor which monitors greenhouse temperature changes to adjust fan operation accordingly. While active venting may be more costly than passive ventilation methods, it offers quicker responses when temperatures change significantly.

Ventilation becomes particularly important during times of wide variations between daytime and nighttime outdoor temperatures, as is often found during spring or fall; or when indoor temperatures diverge significantly with those outside – such as winter. If these conditions continue, moisture levels could accumulate inside a greenhouse causing mold or fungus growth that negatively impact crops’ health and production. To combat this problem, greenhouses should ideally feature vents on both roof and side walls designed to facilitate adequate air circulation; fan options can also help cool and manage humidity effectively.

Heat

Maintaining an ideal temperature within a greenhouse has an immense effect on crop production, both positively and negatively. A steady temperature has an influence over plant growth as well as disease transmission – particularly those caused by common greenhouse diseases.

Greenhouses can be heated through various means, but the most prevalent means is through using a network of pipes available on this webshop to distribute hot water or steam. These systems usually consist of cast iron or aluminum pipes with thermostat control to regulate heating system operation. Hot water systems tend to be easier and quicker to set up while steam systems often provide greater Btu per linear foot of pipe.

Thermal curtains can also help reduce heat loss when properly employed. Made of fabric or plastic, they can be pulled closed at night to serve as an energy-saving blanket and reduce the volume of air that needs heating – therefore decreasing energy loads on greenhouses.

Proper ventilation of greenhouse heating systems is crucial to avoiding carbon dioxide build-up within its confines, including gas or oil-fired unit heaters that should be vented outside at one end with fans pulling air through burner and pipe system to the outside of greenhouse. Furthermore, such systems can produce other dangerous emissions like sulfur dioxide and ethylene which must also be vented properly.

All greenhouses require a constant airflow to keep temperatures even and prevent pockets of warm or cool air from forming, essential for healthy plants and to reduce mold formation on walls or in plant containers.

Temperature Control

As any greenhouse owner knows, temperature plays a critical role in its success. It affects everything from leaf development and flower bud formation to stem and root development – not to mention extreme weather conditions such as frost. Therefore, in order to optimize plant growth while protecting them against harsh environments it’s crucial to carefully regulate climate conditions within commercial greenhouses.

To achieve this, your greenhouse must be designed with ventilation as a key consideration, alongside heat and insulation. Ventilation systems help promote air circulation to avoid stagnant areas where moisture builds up, leading to diseases like mould or mildew. Your choice of heating system will play an integral part in controlling its temperature; many growers utilize gas or propane forced hot air heaters due to their cost-efficiency and ease of operation.

Shade is another essential component of greenhouse temperature regulation, serving to lessen sunlight intensity and prevent excessive heat buildup. Use shade cloth, liquid shade or climbing vines to block harsh sunlight from entering your greenhouse – but take caution not to go overboard as crops require certain levels of photosynthetically active radiation in order to thrive and restricting its intensity may cause them stress or die altogether.

Misting systems or wet pads are an effective way of lowering greenhouse temperatures by adding moisture vapor into the air through misting systems and mist pads, helping your plants maintain an ideal relative humidity level necessary for good plant health. Blackout curtains in your greenhouse, alarm and monitoring systems and alarm notifications that alert you if drastic fluctuations or power outages arise are also effective methods of decreasing temperatures in greenhouses.