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Hi, Harvey and all---
Harvey wrote: "Has anyone tried radiant floor heating in a
greenhouse?"
I've always had geothermal water-to-air heat in my
home, but last winter I changed the heat in my 15' x 20' attached greenhouse
from propane forced-air to geothermal radiant heat in the floor and around
the perimeter. It was expensive but I'm very happy with the
change---the propane forced-air heat dried out my plants and invariably
blasted some buds. Now the gentle heat rises from the floor and my orchids
are delighted. With the price of propane, the geothermal system will
pay for itself in about seven years. I use off-peak electricity which
is only 1.8 cents per KWH. Two-thirds of the piping is in the
concrete-block floor and there are two runs of finned piping around the
perimeter, 4 inches and 10 inches off the floor. We had problems
dissipating all of the heat with the 350 feet of tubing, so now there is a
second stage unit which uses a fan to dissipate the rest of the heat via a
flexible heat tube under the benches. I have several oscillating fans
going 24/7, and a big Jay-Bird fogger to help with the humidity.
I'm in northern Indiana, so we have a long cold
winter---I covered my original glass and aluminum greenhouse with a
twinwall flexible translucent material from FarmTek, leaving about two
inches of air space between the glass and the new covering. The greenhouse
has an east-west orientation, the north side sheltered by the hillside and the
west side sheltered by the house and attached to the walk-out basement. I
grow vandas, dendrobiums, catts and oncididiums in the greenhouse, leaving
the paphs and phrags in the basement under HID and fluorescent lights, also on
off-peak electricity. The plants don't seem to care what time it is.
Happy New Year---Sandy, in northern Indiana, USA
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