If you use a greenhouse to grow flowers, vegetables, or other plants year round, you know how important it is to control the conditions inside the building. Greenhouse ventilation is an essential technique used by successful greenhouse growers. Here are some suggestions for the best ways to achieve proper greenhouse ventilation:
Why Ventilate?
During a cold northern Indiana winter, a greenhouse allows you to grow vegetables, flowers, and other plants that could otherwise survive only in the spring or summer. Even so, the greenhouse must be properly ventilation to create conditions that support growing plants.
Greenhouse ventilation helps regulate the temperature and amount of moisture in the air inside the greenhouse. The steady air circulation aids plant pollination and helps keep pests away from plants. The airflow also gives plants a steady supply of carbon dioxide, which is needed for the conversion of sunlight and water to food — the process of photosynthesis.
Ventilate Naturally
- Open windows: Windows in the sides of a greenhouse are a very common source of ventilation. Louvers and other forms of openings that can be controlled are sometimes used. When windows are opened, fresh air can get in and moist, warm air can get out. If more or less ventilation is needed, the windows can simply be adjusted or opened/closed completely.
- Install roof openings: Inside a greenhouse, warm air rises to the top of the building. When install openings, either along the roof ridge or elsewhere along the surface of the roof, this air can easily escape from inside the greenhouse at it continues to move upward. The removal of this air will also take away moisture.
Use Fans
Ventilating fans placed at the ends of a greenhouse provide a steady stream of ventilation air for a greenhouse. Make sure they are correctly sized to provide enough airflow for plant needs.
Hartman Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning is the premier choice for HVAC services in Fort Wayne and the nearby communities. Contact us today for more information on greenhouse ventilation and for help finding the equipment you need to keep your greenhouse fresh and well ventilated.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in New Haven, Indiana and surrounding Fort Wayne area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about greenhouses and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 260-376-2961.
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