Thursday 4 April 2013

Advice On Insulating Your Greenhouse


If you're looking to save a few pennies during winter when it comes to sustaining the temperature in your greenhouse, then make sure your insulation is up to the job or the costs of running your greenhouse heater could build up. Energy savings can add up with just a little insulation in the right places, not to mention helping to sustain the needed environment within your greenhouse for your plants and vegetables.

Working in tandem with a good greenhouse heater, good greenhouse insulation is a must if you want to protect your plants and vegetables and increase your yield.

Sometimes it's overlooked but good greenhouse insulation is a simple task and doesn't take much effort to ensure your greenhouse doesn't suffer from draughts which are one of the biggest causes when it comes to a loss of heat.


  1. Check your greenhouse structure for any holes and cracks and seal them up. Don't discount a break thinking it's not much. Even a small draught can see your greenhouse lose around 5% of its heat over time.
  2. Make sure your doors and vents fit well. Doors and vents that don't fit well can cause a surprisingly high heat loss. Replacing the seals occasionally is good idea but sometimes taping plastic sheeting across your vents and over your door can help reduce draughts.
  3. It many sound obvious, but replace any broken panes in a glass greenhouse, even cracked panes. Glasshouses with holes open to the elements don't do you many favours when it comes to insulating your greenhouse. Try to check often - especially in those places behind shelves and pots - for any broken or cracked panes.
  4. If you smash a windowpane in a greenhouse, you tend to notice at the time. But in a polythene greenhouse you might not realise you've caused damage and so it's maybe more important to check for rips or tears regularly if your greenhouse is of the plastic variety.
  5. Feel free to add a sheet of bubble wrap to your greenhouse to help protect against heat loss. You'll also get a little added protection to your glass. The wrap comes with a downside, sadly. Each layer will lessen the level of light within your greenhouse.
  6. Sensitive areas of your greenhouse can be protected by hanging a screen of polythene sheeting if your greenhouse is large enough to accommodate such action.
  7. During the night, thermal screens or blinds can offer some defense against colder temperatures. The roll-down blinds can also help limit heat-loss from any gaps within your greenhouse structure you may have missed. You need to be careful not to leave the blinds down or the thermal screens in place during day-time hours.


With a greenhouse that is insulated correctly, you can help to reduce the costs associated with maintaining a healthy temperature for your produce and give them the best environment possible to encourage growth and yield.

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