Greenhouse heating cost?

[orion141]

Originally Posted by Ray

Greenhouse heating up north is the single, biggest expense. I kept my 14’ x 18’ Turner greenhouse at a minimum of 55F in southeastern PA, and I was on a $400/month annual budget to heat it with propane. It had been considerably lower when I used a separated combustion heater, but when that failed, knowing I was going to move, I bought a less efficient model.

I had retrofitted the structure with 8mm twin wall polycarbonate, and I wrapped all vents with sheet foam over the winter.

I’m afraid you’re going to have to find a different supplier though, as - if I’m not mistaken - Turner no longer manufactures greenhouses. They are/were in Goldsboro NC, which was hit pretty badly by Hurricane Florence flooding a few years ago, and they never recovered. I have driven by their facility a few times since, and it is now Turner Tank Manufacturing.

I have a greenhouse heater sizing calculator at my website that’ll help you decide on the proper heater, then with your fuel rates, you’ll be able to hone in on that a bit better.

Thanks Ray. Looks like ~10k BTU heater would be needed for an 8x10' greenhouse in my area (assuming a low temp of 0 degrees F and minimum temp in greenhouse of 50 degrees F). If that were to run constantly I would need ~3 gallons of propane per day (~$2/gallon currently for me). I am assuming bubble wrap and heat sinks in the form of water could help this as well as the fact that I imagine the heater would not run 24 hours per day for months straight.

Interesting regarding Turner, I had looked at their website, which is still available, so it is sad they went out of business. Do you have any other recommendations regarding greenhouse manufacturers/suppliers?

I like the idea of a lean to greenhouse in theory, but my house has wood siding and I don't think this is ideal for ~80% constant humidity.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Shadeflower

Hmm this has given me an interesting idea.

I've always wanted a greenhouse but being aware of what Ray writes it has always put me off. Keeping chickens is cheaper which is in fact what I opted for instead lol.
But I have an old storage shed that I don't use much.
I already worked out previously it would cost around £300 to fully insulate it so I'm thinking instead of a greenhouse that needs to be heated lots I could convert my storage shed, add a couple of LED lights and I'd have my "greenhouse" without the huge heating bill.

This has given me something to think about as a great potential to increase my collection in the distant future

Great idea.

In my home in PA, my "local inventory" was in a walk-out basement. Like you, I seriously considered a swap, using the greenhouse for storage and doing the growing under lights in the basement. I'm sure it would have saved a bundle. I was about to "pull the trigger" on that when we decided to move south...

Originally Posted by orion141

Do you have any other recommendations regarding greenhouse manufacturers/suppliers?

I like the idea of a lean to greenhouse in theory, but my house has wood siding and I don't think this is ideal for ~80% constant humidity.

Sorry, home-built or Turner are the only brands I've ever had, however, I hear a great many kudos being given to Gothic Arch Greenhouses. One advantage they have over many designs is a one-piece, curved wall/roof. Fewer joints, less leakage.

I think you're right about a lean-to with wood, unless you put a barrier layer in-between.