Electric Greenhouse Heater

By: Bill Rowe
Sunday 12:04am

If you live in an area with icy cold winter months, you will necessarily need a heater to control your greenhouse temperatures and keep your plants flourishing. There are many types of heaters available for greenhouse use such as electric, gas and paraffin heaters. Among greenhouse gardeners, convenient, an easy to use electric greenhouse heater are most popular.

Things to Consider when using an Electric Greenhouse Heater

There are a couple of issues that must be addressed in order to make electric heat feasible in any greenhouse. First, there must be power to the greenhouse whether a permanent source (hard wired) or a temporary fix like a breaker-type heavy duty power cord (not recommended as a permanent power solution). Second, water and electricity are not a good mix. Use care placing and wiring your greenhouse heater for safety reasons. Electric heaters designed specifically for greenhouse use are often more costly but well worth it to eliminate potential water-electric conflict.

Choosing an electric greenhouse heater with a fan is very advantageous. It not only warms the air but circulates it to avoid stale air fungus problems and cold spots in the greenhouse. Some greenhouse gardeners opt for a complete heat/AC system that not only warms air during cold periods but cools it in the summer. You have to admit that such a system would eliminate a lot of the summer greenhouse worries such as when to open the vents and when to put up the shade cloth. A year round totally controlled environment would be the ultimate for any greenhouse gardener.

Why Use an Electric Greenhouse Heater

Among the many advantages of electric greenhouse heaters over gas or paraffin heaters are such features as excellent thermostatic control, no fume by-products and you don’t have to transport any fuels like paraffin or have a tank filled as required with gas. Thanks to efficient thermostatic control, electric heaters have very quick response time when the temperature undergoes a sudden change. All that is required with an electric heater is to plug it in, program the thermostat and relax.

Electric greenhouse heaters come in many sizes and shapes. The size (capacity) of heater you need is dependant on the size of your greenhouse; the larger the greenhouse the more heater capacity will be needed. You can install the heater as a permanent fixture in your greenhouse or use a heater that is portable.

Tip: Avoid blowing air directly on plants as is may be damaging. Bench your plants and blow the heat (or cool air) at floor level to avoid plant damage.

Recommendations: When choosing an electric greenhouse heater, go for a 2,000-3,000 watt heater with a thermostat. With a thermostat there is no reason to use lower powered models that would run continually; more that 3,000 watts increases the chances of damaging plants with water loss and overheating. For a few dollars more you can purchase a heater with variable fan speeds and an option for blowing non-heated air. For the extra dollars this is a very desirable, useful feature and one you should opt for.

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