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Post by Rug on Sept 12, 2007 2:27:55 GMT -5
I am thinking of buying a small outdoor greenhouse approx. 8' x 12'. My question is this. Does anyone else have one they grow their cp's in and is it able to support tropical's during the winter??? If so how would one go about heating it and keeping the humidity up? Will a space heater work? I am finding that with all the lighting that I have that my electric bill is high enough that it may justify the purchase of one and it would pay for itself through less of an electric bill. Any tips or experience with this would be a great help, before I go out and spend the money. I would even like tips on just summer use as well if thats all they r good for. It would be an aluminum frame with uv coated polycarbonate panels. Thnx
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Post by vraev on Sept 12, 2007 2:34:37 GMT -5
I think the bad thing about canadian weather is that :
- summers are really bad for the highlanders - winters are dreadful for the lowlanders even with heating.
Based on these two cases, If one has enough plants..I would suggest (even though I don't have one) to go ahead... get a indoor greenhouse (like curlingguy's) and put on a nice 300 watt HPS or metal halide OR get like 120 watts of flouroscent lighting and you are good to go. I have seen insane plants grown inside but the thing about outside is...that you can let yourself go and get a pretty big greenhouse allowing the neps to rule.
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Post by Rug on Sept 12, 2007 2:42:25 GMT -5
Well thats the problem exactly. I have 6, 4' tubes running and 5, 2' tubes plus a couple fans which makes for an elevated electric bill given those, a pool, hot tub, pond, central air and a 500 watt computer. So thats y I am asking about the greenhouse.
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Post by Rick Hillier on Sept 12, 2007 9:41:41 GMT -5
In my grow area (inside), I am presently running 3 x 400W metal halides, plus a three-tier stand with 6x40W flourescents and 6 x 27W of those high efficiency bulbs. The whole thing runs for about 12 hours per day. At our present hydro rates, the cost to run the lights is about $2 per day, give or take (total wattage is 1.602 KW x 12 hrs x ~$0.10/KWH). In your case, your lighting totals 340 watts and you'd still have to run the fans in the greenhouse for circulation. I would imagine that a 300W heater would be sufficient, so the cost would be pretty close to what you are running now. The real killer is if you need to go into the greenhouse in the dead of winter... the cold shock in a greenhouse that small might be detrimental, and if you are not using insulated glass or at least some sort of material that is double layered with a gap between it, you could be running your heater many more hours per day than you are running lights in order to compensate for the rapid rate of heat loss. We had brutal electric bills this year (no pool, no hot tub ), but the air conditioner (which isn't working all that great) would run nearly 24-7... our house gets hot for some reason, even on cool days (yesterday, the high here was 18C yet the air conditioner ran half the night trying to keep the inside temps down to 75F... does THAT ever make for a high bill! >>> Rick <<<
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Post by vraev on Sept 12, 2007 13:36:22 GMT -5
ooh wow. That is brutal Rick. yeah....air conditioners take up a lot of juice. well...personally Rug, I think its better to stick to the current setup of indoor greenhouses and only invest in the outdoor stuff when you really think it is required. Based on your grow list...it is a big size....but not "OLD enough". Don't try to get me wrong though...you still have to know how this factors in a long run. I still have to learn that too...through which sometimes I feel I have an unnecessary burden of these plants. I would suggest running it as you are currently...try growing this for atleast one growing year. See the results, asses your commitment and then decide. Because, the way I see it outdoor greenhouses are a couple of hundred and the lighting, heating, watering, temperature control and all that takes up insane amount of time, energy and dough. lol! the last one is probably the most important.
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Post by Rick Hillier on Sept 12, 2007 15:01:15 GMT -5
I just found this that might be beneficial to those who have plants indoors and are running up a high electric bill for lighting. It isn't for all, especially in basements, but it might be interesting to some. It involves gathering sunlight via dome on your roof and "bringing" it to a more useful location in your house via reflective tubes. Here's the website: www.sun-tek.com/Tube.htm>>> Rick <<<
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Post by vraev on Sept 12, 2007 16:09:26 GMT -5
lol Rick....no way are my parents going to let me do that. lol lmao! I just find it funny considering if I go to my parents and suggest the idea... They will first laugh out loudly and say...well! Remember the basement we are finnishing for you... How bout trying to help out in that first before taking apart the roof . lol!
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Post by Syble on Sept 12, 2007 19:44:30 GMT -5
I know next to nothing about heating it, other then that to heat a smaller section of the heavily insulated barn it cost about $300 during the winter... Heres my green house 8 x 16, just got to put it up, white frame: www.canadagreenhouses.com/rion-gh48.phpSib
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