Greenhouses rarely disappoint when it comes to energy efficiency and conservation. Known for their durability and energy effectiveness, greenhouses are ideal for growing your favorite plants, flowers, and food crops all year round.
But owning, maintaining, and keeping greenhouse energy efficient is a continuous task. Greenhouse owners need to be on the lookout for high-quality greenhouse kits and greenhouse accessories that can make their investment more rewarding and environmentally friendly.
Greenhouses are great at extending crop season, saving and using natural heat to aid crop growth, and maximizing plant quality. They ensure smooth light transmission and provide sufficient humidity, moisture, and other nutritional factors to plants. Hence, whenever and wherever possible, you should put in extra effort to make your greenhouse energy efficient.
Doing so will not only elongate your greenhouse’s useful life, but also reduce your energy costs and maintenance expenses.
1. Insulate and Seal the Greenhouse
Many greenhouse owners overlook the importance of making their house leak and heat loss-proof. This ultimately creates a long-lasting, negative impact on their greenhouses' energy efficiency and leads to higher energy costs.
By choosing the right glazing material and ensuring regular inspections, you can make your greenhouse more energy-friendly and less prone to heat loss. Since greenhouses rely on sunlight and air to create a micro gardening environment, there should be no leaks or holes in their structure.
A non-tightened greenhouse allows warm air to escape the internal environment, increasing the risk of infestation. With proper greenhouse insulation, you can save as much as 10% of the total energy costs spent on fueling and energizing your house. What’s more, tightening a greenhouse’s walls can positively impact airflow control and ventilation quality.
2. Install Thermal Screens
While your clear, glass greenhouse is aesthetically appealing and really beautiful, there’s one major downside to it. Clear walls are not great at heat insulation. They allow sunlight and heat to escape the microenvironment, ultimately increasing the need for heating.
But don’t worry, we have a solution to this problem. Greenhouse gardeners can effectively curb nighttime energy losses by investing in thermal screens. These movable screens serve as an insulating sheet for the greenhouse and can protect the plants the perils of excess sunlight or vice versa.
Depending on the size and requirements of your greenhouse, adding thermal screens to it can lead to as much as 40% cost savings in the long run.
3. Upgrade Your Lighting
It’s a no-brainer that poor quality and non-energy efficient lighting can destroy the dream of making your greenhouse energy efficient. Hence, you shouldn’t delay replacing outdated, filament-based greenhouse lighting with energy-efficient alternatives.
Using low-efficiency incandescent lighting bulbs instead of compact LED products can increase energy consumption inside a greenhouse by 50%. What’s more, if you don’t clean and wipe the lights and fans regularly, the chances are that you’ll have to replace them sooner than you think. Try investing in LED lighting for a greenhouse, particularly the ones with a mobile or remote control system. This will allow you to optimize daytime energy utilization without spending too much on lighting costs.
Whether you’re a greenhouse newbie or a seasoned gardener, buying a greenhouse can be quite a challenge. Due to so many options available in the market, choosing between a Riga, Solexx, Moticello, Exaco, or a Riverstone greenhouse may get confusing.
Head over to Mulberry Greenhouses’ website to buy affordable greenhouses, small greenhouse kits, and accessories. We’re also offering an exclusive 70% autumn discount. Get in touch for more!
