Hobby Greenhouse Heating & Cooling Zone 5

Greetings!
I'm asking for some help and/or advise from my DG friends.
Been working all summer to convert one of our sheds into a greenhouse as I need somewhere to winter my plant addiction. LOL! It's approx 20x18 & we put single layer corrogated greenhouse panels on the roof and sidewalls. White rock floor. Now we're looking at heating (propane) and cooling.
Without having to spend thousands of dollars ~~ what have all of you with year-'round greenhouses found to work best? I've been looking at Blue Flame LP heaters which are relatively cheap but not sure it'll work.
I'm willing to invest to keep my plants alive through the winter (Illinois winters can be brutal) but don't want to spend an arm and a leg. I've looked at countless 'greenhouse supplies" websites but, quite frankly, I trust all of you more than I trust their advertisements! ha ha
So if you have some advice, I'd love to hear it. Thanks!
Betsy

BetsyJ, what are the walls of your do-over gh, I mean the supports, are they 2x6s or 2x4. I have found from past gh and this one that an inside the gh liner?? of at least 6mil clear plastic?? fastened to your 2x6 tightly, creats a dead air space that works well as additional insulation The inside of my 10 x 14 gh , that is the ceiling and the 2 outside wall, mine is a leanto gh, are all lined with the 6 mil, which now is 10 years old and will have to be replaced next fall.

I heat mine with a 2 stage 1650 or I think 3400 watt electric heater and have never had a problem. I am willing to pay for that as very convenient, and love to be out there in the winter and spring. I have the fairly high, actually above the entry door, exhaust fan and in the opposite corner near floor and louvers that open automatically when the fan is on. I do cover those in the winter to prevent heat loss.

Also my ceiling joists are 2 x6s and have 20 hooks from them to hang plant baskets. If I can be or any help just ask.

DonnaS

Betsy ...Donnas setup sounds a lot like my. I have a 10 x 20 foot building with a 10x20 glassed in porch. I have the clear corrugated roof on the porch. In the winter I have an extra set of storm windows that I use on the roof to give the air pocket also have 2 sets of windows on the porch. (windows and storm windows). I heat with 2 electric oil heaters from HD. I also have back up kerosene heaters in case of power failure. The Oil heaters give enough heat in Tennessee winters I have never lost a plant due to the cold. I keep the heaters set to not let the temp drop below 50 degrees.

I also have a remote thermometer inside the house that saves worry and trips to the greenhouse to check temp during ice cold weather. I think I also got this at HD.

Last winter we pd 300.00 a month gas bills in the winter, natural gas.
That was my home,. greenhouse, and our sons mini-apt out back.
We have the see thru plastic from Wal_Mart as an inside liner.
We also buy the 20 x 25 ft plastic, see thru, and wrap the outside of the greenhouse
like a big present.. My dh ties it down with clothesline
and secures it. Heat with an old gas flame heater. This yr we are
replacing that with another old gas heater, but this one will have
a thermostat to help save money. Gets over 110 degress even on
the coldest mornings if I'm not down there by 8 am to turn it off. I run
a small oscillating fan pointed toward the ceiling to circulate the warm air and blow it down from the ceiling.
They are saying gas heating costs will increase by 70 % this winter. May buy a wood pellet stove for the house to save money.
If your g house is only about 1/2 to 2/3 full of plants or less, it is
wasting a lot of your heating $'s.

Jackie

Rutholive, picabo, and patootie:
Please forgive my lack of replies....I'm still kind of new to DG and I "lost" this posting (DUH!). I have not been ignoring you and thank you all for your information.
I am also waiting for my sis and bro-in-law to return from vacation so they can tell me the specifics of the construction of the 'make-over' greenhouse.....it's out on their farm and I don't have a clue what the "nuts and bolts" are......I just know I helped put it all together. I'm "grunt work"! ha ha
So please hold tight....they are due home tomorrow...and I will find out more. I am VERY interested in what you all have to say.
THANKS......I'm just a DITZ sometimes!
Betsy

Okay ~ I am back and have details and info this time! =)
As I said, we converted an old shed on my sis's farm. Here's the outside...

Here's the inside... the outside walls and ceiling are made of that corragated greenhouse panels. Regular ol' 2x4s and all that lumbery-kind-of-stuff. (I'm not a builder)

We've come a looooong way (I'll have to get before and after pictures) but we still have some work to do before it's "Winterized". It's still kind of "leaky".
This is the west side (and that's me in there!)

We have a propane heater w/ tank coming......I believe it was used to heat a 2 or 3 car garage. It has an automatic thermastat and will be mounted up on one of the rafters about half-way into the greenhouse. I haven't seen the heater yet but my brother-in-law says it's not the kind that blows warm air out in one direction but it is radiant. We may need to run the fan on low to help circulate the warm air.
I've been told that bubble wrap on the windows of the greenhouse (we have 4 - 2 north, 2 south for ventilation) will help insulate during the cold winter months.
Rutholive: I like the sound of a "dead air space" but as you can see from the pictures, we've already got benches up along most of the walls....but maybe we can work around those.
I'm curious about the humidity (or lack thereof when having to frequently run the heater)~~~ is that ever an issue?
ANY other tips/suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated. This is our MAIDEN VENTURE with a greenhouse and I'm a bit nervous about what lies ahead this winter.
Thanks..
Betsy

Get a good fan and hope it works , radiant heat only warms what it shines on , just like brooder lamps work.

Watch it because your outer walls will most likely have a layer of frost on them when it really gets cold here.

There will not be probs with lack of humidity, just the opposite usually. The warmer the air , the more humidity it can carry.

That's why winter air can be so dry, not caused by the type of home heating systems as some folks believe.

I have a 8 stall , 10'x 16' each , insulated , heated show horse barn.

Let me tell you about humidity and heat relativity, what a big expensive pain in the butt , lol

This message was edited Oct 1, 2005 10:24 AM

BetsyJ, I have been out of town on mini vacation, just got back late last evening. There was a severe wind storm, for here that is, while I was gone but no rain. I have not been outside to look around yet. A neighbor came and watered my plants in the gh. I have a mist system but have learned yet or maybe it's not possible, to keep it low enough. so there isn't water everywhere, so can't leave it running more than during the daytime. Don't use it much unless quite warm.

Actually I left the gh door open as it is still quite warm here daytime in 70s and no frost yet in morning. So must go check on things outside.

Goodluck with your new makeover gh. DonnaS

Betsy looks like you're doing a fantastic job on getting a greenhouse. It looks to perfect inside. When you get all the bugs out of wintering your greehouse, you'll be able to help me with mine in about 5 years....lol. Keep posting more pictures.
:) Donna

Still work going on......my brother-in-law spent the weekend fixing the "leaky windows", put up the LP heater, plugged up holes and gaps with "Great Stuff", etc..etc. It's gettin' there! We now have a couple dozen plants hanging from the ceiling too. (I'll have to get pics)
I know my sis said the other night when it dropped to around 48 outside...and it was only 52 in the greenhouse! Yikes! That's when my bro-in-law decided it was time to tackle the leaks. We are expecting some cooler temps again later this week....lows in the upper 30's...so anxious to see how the temps hold out then.
Scooterbug...FROST? Yikes!! Guess we'll make sure no plants are touching the outer walls then, huh?
DonnaS~~ hope your greenhouse didn't get any wind damage!

You could line the inside with plastic, the wall framing will give a good air space.

Be carefull with your alocasia (african mask?), if it gets around 40 degrees it will start to die .
Those leaves take so long to grow.