Space Heaters to Warm and Protect Your Greenhouse Plants

If you are a serious gardener or want to become a gardener, you may know the importance of a greenhouse.

It's an excellent space for keeping your plants and flowers safe from harm and harsh environments.

Plus, it also allows for year-round nurturing and growth, irrespective of what the climate may be like outside the greenhouse.

You can also keep plants warm in the winter using space heaters in your greenhouse. However, it is important you realize that no matter how efficiently insulated your greenhouse may be, you can never be too sure about your plants being perfectly warm in the harshest winter days and nights.

• If you want to keep plants warm in winter, it is increasingly important that you buy a couple of good space heaters to provide the necessary heat to keep your plants in a good condition.
• You may have to consider complementing your properly insulated greenhouse with a secondary heat source to keep the green life more comfortable.
• For this purpose, there are several types of space heaters specifically designed for greenhouses, for example, infrared heaters, gas heaters, etc.
• All space heaters are made for different greenhouse settings and are meant to provide constant heat whenever there is a growing need for it.

Depending upon your greenhouse's insulation and where you live, you can indeed keep your greenhouse warm during both day and night in the winter season.

For example, if you are located in the colder regions in the US, where the weather is cold most of the time, you may need an extra source of heating for your greenhouse. This also depends on how big or small your greenhouse actually is.

If it houses a large number of plants and is bigger than two garages, you may need two to three space heaters strategically placed to keep the delicate plants warm and healthy.

There are a variety of space heaters available in the market which you can set up to warm your greenhouse. These are used frequently by almost all greenhouse gardeners. Mentioned below are some of the best types of space heaters and other heaters you can consider getting for your greenhouse:

• Conventional Fuel-based Space Heaters
• Electric Space Heaters
• Portable Space Heaters
• Oil-filled Radiant Heaters
• Ceramic Space Heaters
• Infrared Space Heaters

Mentioned below are details pertaining to how you can use different space heaters to keep your greenhouse and all the plants in it safe and healthy when the harsh winter arrives:

If you want to keep plants warm in winter, you might consider buying a conventional fuel based space heater which uses a number of traditional sources of energy, like kerosene, natural gas, and wood.

These space heaters are named after their fuel sources.

The space heater uses for conventional fuel based heaters for greenhouses includes effectively heating a big or small greenhouse. Conventional space heaters are designed to heat a larger area and should not be used in small or enclosed spaces because they emit noxious carbon emissions which can be extremely harmful for your health and your plants' health.

This is why they are meant to be used outdoors and prove to be the perfect addition to a well-ventilated greenhouse.

Electric space heaters, on the other hand, are safe to use. Not to mention they are a clean source of heating for your greenhouse.

And because they are clean and safe, a majority of gardeners use electric space heaters. They are quite efficient and are designed to quickly heat a greenhouse.

Plus, they can be used to heat a small greenhouse.

And due to the fact they use function on electricity, you would be better of using them in an enclosed space because if you wish to use these heaters in a bigger greenhouse, you might have to buy 3 or 4 of them, resulting in higher electricity bills. And remember not to place electric space heaters near your furniture or appliances and never place them in bathrooms.

Now, there are two types of electric heaters you can consider getting, namely convective and radiant space heaters.

• Convective heaters function to warm the air in a room only if the door(s) and windows are closed.
• Radiant heaters, which include infrared heaters, directly heat objects and not the air in a room. The surrounding air gets heated only when the heated objects give off their heat to the surrounding atmosphere.

However, radiant space heaters are more effective in terms of saving energy compared to convective heaters. If you just want to feel warm without actually heating up the entire room you are in, it is better to go for a radiant heater and save money on electricity bills.

The uses for convective space heaters are many.

• You can place them in your greenhouse and even in your living room. They will function just as effectively.
• Convective space heaters are perfect for warming large greenhouses because convection transfers heat from the warm heater to the surrounding air, instead of just heating objects. So if you have one, consider getting these heaters instead of radiant heaters.
• Convetive heaters are more reliable and equally effective as radiant heaters, if not more.

Electric space heaters are built with a knob you can adjust to the temperature of your greenhouse. You can set your greenhouse's temperature to whatever is required at the time.

The greatest disadvantage electric space heaters have is they can cause fire. Although it is rare, it can happen.

Portable space heaters, as the name implies, can be taken anywhere.

• They can be carried easily and are lightweight.
• They can considerably come in handy if you tend to move a lot, going from one home to the next in a given period of time.
• But if you want to keep plants warm in the winter, portable space heaters are a better choice as it is built with wheels and can be moved around easily. You can place them all around your greenhouse and once you need them inside the house, you can just wheel them in.
• However, due to the fact they run on electricity it is advised you don't use them excessively as that may result in higher electricity cost.
• Use them in moderation, for example, use them when necessary and do not keep them running throughout the night when you are asleep.

Portable space heaters are deemed as being a fire hazard so you have to be extremely careful in using them all the time. Plus, figuring out where to store them when summer comes can also be a problem. Well, this is a problem all space heaters share but compared to their advantages, the problems are tiny.

Oil-filled radiant heaters may seem like regular radiators to you but their primary and permanent source of fuel is oil and electricity. However, oil heaters are known to use less electricity than regular coil-type space heaters. Plus, oil space heaters are cost-effective and are built with wheels on them which ensures optimal portability.

Ceramic space heaters function on electricity, producing heat in a tiny box.

Ceramic heaters too are portable and you can use them anywhere you want. Ceramic space heaters offer many advantages:

• Ceramic units do not get too hot to the touch, and because of this they are considered extremely safe.
• In turn, there is minimal to no fire risk.
• Moreover, ceramic space heaters are also cheap.
• However, ceramic heaters cannot be used to warm bigger areas so if you have a large greenhouse, a ceramic heater may not work for you. But they do work particularly well in small and enclosed spaces and are absolutely perfect for small greenhouses.
• And because these heaters don't generate high temperatures, they are energy-efficient and you won't have to pay a lot in utility bills.

The best part about these types of heaters is that they only directly heat up objects in a room. The ambient air then becomes warmer from the heated objects, in this case, plants. It is an efficient way of heating up the necessities.

The uses for space heaters are plenty and they are great for keeping greenhouses warm and fuzzy for all your plants. As per the descriptions of the aforementioned space heat types, you may have noticed that the heaters can be used in different settings. For example, gas powered space heaters provide better heating than electric heaters.

Try to get a space heater which suits your requirements. While selecting the space heater, take into account the size of your greenhouse, a low temperature reading, and your income.

If you think you can pay a sizable amount in electric bills each month, you should probably go for an electric space heater, but if you can't afford it you should go for a conventional fuel space heater which is both economical and provides good heating.

So, these are some types of space heaters you can purchase to warm your greenhouse and protect your plants.