How to make a boiler for heating a greenhouse with your own hands?

The supply of vegetables from distant southern countries in winter provided the shelves with tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, eggplants and other exotic agricultural products. The first euphoria from such abundance did not last long: buyers quickly realized that for the beautiful appearance of vegetables they had to pay a high price - their health.

Agricultural chemistry and genetic modifications make it possible to produce products that can withstand long-term transportation and long-term storage, reaching the shelves in perfect condition. More and more buyers are consciously abandoning overseas products in favor of greenhouse vegetables and fruits.

Boiler for heating a greenhouse

The greenhouse industry in our country is actively reviving , powerful complexes and numerous private farms are appearing that supply quality products to our tables.

The specific climate of the country forces us
to take the heating of greenhouses and greenhouses seriously a soil and air heating system must be equipped to maintain optimal temperatures. For this, it is worth choosing an economical boiler with high efficiency, which will minimize the cost of growing agricultural products in the winter. Don’t forget about modern technologies, such as gsm modules , which will allow you to control the operation of heating equipment online using a smartphone .

About the efficiency of various electric heating systems

As for heating with electricity, direct heating systems are more economical: fan heaters, convectors, heating cables and heated film floors. The lower efficiency of a water system with an electric boiler is explained by losses in the delivery of coolant: overcoming the hydraulic resistance of the liquid, the operation of the circulation pump. Warm floors have the best performance due to optimal temperature distribution. How to ensure their safe operation in a greenhouse is a separate issue. But the difference between different types of electric heating is small, we are talking about only a few percent.

https://vasha-teplitsa.ru/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/banya18430.jpg — It’s quite possible to create a warm floor using a heating cable in a greenhouse. It can be protected from possible damage by a strong mesh laid on top.

What kind of boiler is needed for a greenhouse?

The classic water heating system is perfect for a greenhouse. It allows you to simultaneously heat the soil and air. To do this, pipes are laid in the ground, and heating radiators are installed outside. The specificity of the operation of this system is the large difference in coolant temperature at the inlet and outlet. After circulation in the system, the water can cool down to 45-50 degrees! Not all heating equipment can cope with such a difference; the most correct solution would be to install a condensing gas boiler. This technique has the following advantages :

• Low fuel cost;
• High equipment efficiency;
• Use of steam energy;
• Compact dimensions;
• Simple controls.

A condition for efficient operation of condensing gas boilers is a low return temperature. Steam condensation occurs at 50ºС and according to this indicator, the greenhouse water heating system fully complies with the requirements of equipment manufacturers. Under such conditions, efficiency reaches 107-109% , which ensures economical heating of farm greenhouses.

High technologies do not always contribute to high quality greenhouse heating. Long-burning solid fuel boilers and pyrolysis models are popular among fans of autonomous heating due to the availability of fuel and its environmental friendliness. It is not recommended to use this technique for heating a greenhouse, since the low temperature of the coolant in the return will cause condensation to form on the internal walls of the boiler and the heat exchanger. When mixed with combustion products, aggressive solutions are formed that destroy the walls of expensive equipment.

In the absence of gas heating, the best choice would be a classic solid fuel boiler . He will cope with the task perfectly, but will require increased attention.

If you have already purchased a pyrolysis boiler or a solid fuel long-burning model, then you will need to consider a system for heating the return to a temperature above 50ºС .

Basic material execution:

• condenser body – carbon steel of ordinary quality;
• heat exchanger (except for fins of heat-transfer elements) – corrosion-resistant steel; • fins of heat-transfer elements – aluminum. Condensers can be manufactured with a housing made of corrosion-resistant steel. Paintwork:

• outer surface of the housing and heat exchanger – heat-resistant enamel, silver-gray; • the inner surface of the case is chemical-resistant paint or its equivalent.

Draw your attention to:

• smoke exhauster, thermal insulation, instrumentation and control systems must be selected individually during design; • condensers may not have a bypass channel (if necessary, a bypass channel can be introduced into the design); • when installing the condenser, the “legs” are height adjustable; • at the customer's request, it is possible to change the material design of the condenser.

Where to install the heating boiler?

For large greenhouses, you can build a separate boiler room ; in medium-sized greenhouses, it is better to install heating equipment directly at the entrance to the room . Is it necessary to fence the boiler? This is not necessary, especially in the case of using gas heating equipment. If preference is given to a solid fuel boiler, then you should make sure that there is a supply of dry fuel next to the boiler. If the air humidity in the greenhouse is high, it is worth making a separate room for storing fuel.

How to choose a boiler for greenhouses: advice from experienced farmers

A boiler for greenhouses is the equipment that will allow you to get a good harvest even in severe frosts. Everyone knows how much vegetables cost in winter, so bringing your own vegetables during this period is a very profitable solution. But every vegetable grower who decides to start heating a greenhouse may face the difficulty of choosing a boiler, because there are several varieties on the market. Which one should you choose for this or that site? Or maybe it would be easier and cheaper to make it yourself from scrap materials?

Boiler options for greenhouses

At the moment, the following boilers for greenhouses are widely used:

• wood;
• combined (wood-coal);
• pellet;
• gas;
• electric.

Conventionally, they are classified into two more subspecies. Solid fuel boilers are the first three types above. Long-burning boilers are included in a separate category, since the principle of their operation is not based on the combustion of materials, but on their smoldering, for which a system of controlled oxygen (air) supply is used. They are the most effective and economical, but are quite expensive.

The simplest heating boilers for greenhouses are gas and electric. However, it is impossible to call them economical and profitable in the current situation. Gas and electricity are already too expensive for heating, and further price increases are expected in the future. Therefore, such boilers are used only for emergencies, when other heating options are simply unavailable for some reason.

You can cook a wood-burning boiler yourself, but it will turn out to be a banal potbelly stove. Its advantages are low cost and efficiency, but its disadvantages are the inability to regulate the temperature, the need to constantly add fuel (wood or coal), as well as uneven heating of the greenhouse area. Their use will be justified only if we are talking about a polycarbonate or glass greenhouse with steam heating (or where the pipes are laid in the ground at a depth of about 50 centimeters). And such a boiler for heating a greenhouse is suitable only for small areas. If the greenhouse occupies more than 50 square meters, then several “bourgeois” will be required. Keeping track of them is extremely difficult and troublesome.

But there is also a very big advantage for wood-burning boilers and long-burning boilers for solid fuel greenhouses. The product of their waste is ash and ash, which are extremely useful “ingredients” for growing any vegetable and fruit crops. And in the case of beets, for example, ashes allow you to get rid of any insect pests and thereby save a considerable amount on the purchase of agrochemicals (pesticides and mineral fertilizers). For a vegetable grower, this is not the least advantage.

Which boiler to choose for a greenhouse

When choosing a boiler for heating greenhouses, you need to take into account both the area of ​​the heated room and your financial capabilities. Ideal - long burning, but they cost an average of 100 thousand rubles. But their consumption is 2 styling for 24 hours. In large greenhouses, they completely pay for themselves in just 1-2 seasons (if the firewood or coal is purchased). In small ones, with an area of ​​about 15-20 square meters, the payback will stretch over almost 10 seasons.

For the latter option, simple solid fuel heating boilers or those that run on gas would be ideal. The efficiency of the system will be significantly higher if it is supplemented with a pump for pumping water through pipes. This, by the way, will ensure uniform heating of the heated room.

An electric boiler, as practice shows, is a pointless waste of money. They are inefficient, use too much electricity, and only increase the temperature at the top of the greenhouse. The volume near the ground remains cold, which leads to freezing of plants.

Combined long-burning boilers are classified as industrial boilers.

They should be purchased only if the greenhouse is over 100 square meters and crops that react extremely sharply to changes in microclimate are grown in it.

These are, for example, bell peppers, strawberries, strawberries, raspberries, eggplants, carrots, potatoes. They cost accordingly - from 200 thousand rubles. But the savings are huge! And boilers of this type also operate on liquid fuel (meaning recycled oil, fuel oil, oil industry waste).

A few words need to be said about the pyrolysis boiler, which is conventionally a derivative of long-burning solid fuel. Its operating principle is based on burning wood gas. It has very high heat transfer, since a flame is supplied through the nozzle as if from an autogen, thereby quickly heating the water tank. The heat can be dissipated into a steam heating system or by a fan through a radiator. Such a boiler is both productive and economical, but it occupies quite a large space (including in height). Not suitable for small greenhouses, as they can burn plants. The landing distance from the boiler is at least 50 centimeters.

Buleryan

This is a convection oven that maintains a long combustion cycle. Such a device is used extremely rarely for heating a greenhouse. Buleryan combines several functions. It acts as a gas generator, furnace, and heater. The unit has a fairly simple design, which makes it possible to build it yourself.

The oven is presented in the form of a metal container, which has a barrel shape. The firebox has two tiers. Convection pipes are directed towards its center. The principle of operation is that in the first chamber the firewood smolders, resulting in the release of gas. In the second part of the furnace, gases are burned. The design is equipped with a chimney damper, a draft regulator and a door through which fuel is loaded.

Emergency heating boilers

An experienced vegetable grower always has different types of heating boilers at his disposal, since one of them may turn off due to an interruption in gas supply, electricity, or simply break down. So, for emergency situations, electric ones are ideal, where the heating element is heated, and the heat is dissipated by a cooler. But they should be supplemented with an autonomous generator.

The most ordinary wood-burning stove is also an excellent solution for emergency heating of the greenhouse volume. But its construction should be done in advance. Smoke removal can be done in several ways. But we must not forget that vaporous gas is not harmful to plants and reduces thermal conductivity. Thanks to this, the cooling rate of the greenhouse will be significantly reduced.

Every vegetable grower could use a mobile pellet boiler. It is quite easy to transport, but it is useful for burning any solid fuel, including corn cobs. At the same time, heating occurs quickly and evenly. The only drawback is the need to have a chimney, and in strong winds it will blow in from the outside. That is, a large amount of smoke will enter the greenhouse. Plus, pellet boilers are demanding to maintain. They quickly accumulate moisture, which can only be removed mechanically. In any case, this is an excellent option for emergency heating, in which fuel can even be combined (for example, kindling with wood, maintaining temperature with coal or peat).

About induction

An induction boiler has absolutely no advantages over conventional ones equipped with heating elements. All the talk about this is the fantasy of marketers and sellers with the goal of selling their product to gullible customers. The percentage of electricity converted into thermal form is almost the same for all types of heating devices. Do not equate boilers with kitchen stoves - indeed, an induction surface is more economical than steel “pancakes”, there are no losses in heat transfer through the surface of the stove to the dishes, the heating spot exactly matches the size of the pan, the tightness of the seal does not matter. In heating boilers, the coolant is immediately heated; there are no intermediate elements. There are no advantages, the efficiency of the boilers is the same. The rest of the “arguments” regarding reliability and safety are also made up. Disadvantages: increased winding wear due to interturn short circuits, increased insulation aging, vibration when heating, labor-intensive repairs.

Induction heating systems are by no means new; they have been used in industry for more than 70 years, but only a few domestic Kulibins offer their use for heating buildings

Electric boiler on heating elements, fully equipped, adequately controlled

Boiler for heating a greenhouse: wood, electricity and gas

Now we will look at the options for boilers for heating a greenhouse and see which one to choose. This can be a wood-burning, gas or electric boiler.

Currently, a healthy lifestyle is being massively popularized. A person’s physical condition depends, first of all, on what foods he consumes. Therefore, today more and more people are trying to eat healthy.

As you know, vegetables and fruits that lie on store shelves are stuffed with nitrates and other poisons, so many decide to grow their own food and resort to using greenhouses. In order for plants to grow well, it is necessary to maintain a comfortable temperature in the greenhouse, especially in winter when the air temperature is low.

Moreover, for the normal growth of your vegetation, it is important to heat not only the air, but also the ground. If this is not done, the grown products will simply die. To prevent this from happening, it is worth acquiring a boiler for heating greenhouses. This is the equipment that will act as a source for maintaining the desired temperature in your “winter garden.”

The main factors that influence the choice of heating method for greenhouses are cost and temperature stability. Therefore, it is important to choose a good heating unit.

Boilers for greenhouses are:

• solid fuel;
• gas;
• electric.

Solid fuel boilers

Today, wood heating units are the most common and affordable. This is due to their high productivity and efficiency, because the fuel for them is ordinary firewood, waste from furniture and woodworking industries, wood trimmings, branches cut from trees and even dry garbage.

You can choose among the following types of solid fuel boilers:

• wood (conventional or pyrolysis);
• coal and wood;
• pellet (work on compressed pellets of wood, seeds, straw, and various waste).

Solid fuel boilers for greenhouses have many advantages:

• environmental friendliness;
• cheapness;
• availability;
• safety;
• aesthetics;
• non-explosive.

The efficiency of such boilers is in the range of 75–90%.

Using solid fuel boilers as a method of heating the greenhouse, you can be content with fresh vegetables and fruits all year round.

However, such devices also have some disadvantages:

1. To store such devices, you need a “solid” size area.
2. It is necessary to prepare fuel in advance.
3. They require regular maintenance (cleaning the boiler firebox from ash, adding fuel).

How to make a boiler for a greenhouse with your own hands

If you want to save money and do not want to buy a ready-made unit, you can make a solid fuel boiler for heating a greenhouse with your own hands.

To do this you need to perform a number of actions:

1. Get a barrel with a volume of 3 cubic meters.
2. Using a drill, drill three holes in it, which will serve for the outlet of the chimney, drain and expansion tank.
3. At the next stage, a 5 m high chimney is attached to the barrel. This device will be responsible for removing carbon dioxide from the greenhouse.
4. An expansion tank must be attached to the top of the barrel; you can weld it yourself.
5. Then you need to lay a heating system throughout the greenhouse; the best and cheapest way is plastic pipes.
6. Using a special soldering iron, you need to weld the pipes together.

Plastic does not rust or corrode and is able to remain operational despite temperature changes and high humidity.

Gas devices

Gas boilers for greenhouses are a good option. They ensure that the greenhouse operates smoothly and is heated at a level suitable for the vegetation. The automation of the boiler ensures its autonomous operation, while human participation in this case is limited.

Using gas heating, you can heat the greenhouse in one of the following ways: air, water, infrared.

Infrared gas heater for greenhouse

Most often, infrared gas heaters are installed on the roof. This is due to the fact that gas infrared heating of a greenhouse in winter has one important advantage: the soil is heated first, and only after it the air.

The disadvantage of such heating is the need to install ventilation to remove combustion products.

The second option is to heat the greenhouse with a gas boiler combined with a water system.

Gas boiler for greenhouse

To put this heating method into effect, it is necessary to install smooth pipes with a diameter of no more than 40 mm over the entire area. They need to be laid along each bed 20-30 cm above ground level. The following types of wiring are allowed:

1. The supply line is along one wall, the return line is near the other. They are connected to each other by transverse pipes running between the beds.
2. The supply and return lines are laid along one wall. Each heating pipe runs along one bed and returns past another.
3. The pipe is laid in a snake pattern over the entire area of ​​the greenhouse, forming a single heating circuit.

Shut-off valves must be installed on each branch so that it is possible to turn off the circuit in the event that there is no vegetation in the greenhouse.

In a greenhouse heating system using a gas boiler, the main advantages can be noted:

• autonomous operation of the device;
• ease and speed of boiler maintenance;
• high efficiency.

1. It is difficult to supply gas to the greenhouse: you need to call a special service.
2. High cost of gas tariffs, especially in the summer.

Optimal choice

The best option for heating greenhouses is to install a potbelly stove, which is considered the most economical and easy to operate. The heater consists of a barrel with a door for the firebox, a chimney, a pipe for the heat to escape outside, and a jumper in the upper part.

Heating occurs due to the movement of smoke:

• Hot smoke moves through the pipe; the pipe is installed either on the sides of the greenhouse or in the center.
• The surface of the oven radiates heat.
• Warm air forms above the jumper and flows out through the pipe.

Waste lumber, coal or firewood can be used as fuel. The quality of combustion depends on the type of fuel and the penetration of air into the combustion chamber of the furnace. This heating method is suitable for those who can often control the combustion process. This is the only drawback of the stove.

For long-burning stoves, this disadvantage is an advantage: fuel can be added to them much less frequently. They also consume less fuel and reduce heating of the furnace walls without reducing heat output. They are very similar in characteristics to infrared heaters.

A long-burning furnace has two chambers, one of which completely burns the residual fuel, and the other burns only the main part. The access of oxygen to the chamber is limited, as a result of which the fuel does not burn immediately, but smolders for a long time, releasing a large amount of heat.

Various household waste can be used as fuel for long-burning stoves, but without harm to plants. Constant temperature in the greenhouse provides the necessary conditions for crop growth.

Electric boilers

Electric boilers are easy to use and accessible wherever power lines are installed. But if you want to purchase an electric boiler to heat the greenhouse, then you should understand that such equipment is quite expensive, and its use is not always appropriate or justified. In addition, now there are often blackouts, and during such a period your vegetation may simply die.

However, such heating, calculated per unit of heat, is the most expensive. In addition, to connect an electric boiler, a separate line is required, and often not 220 V, but 380 V, and wiring such a line is a complex, time-consuming and expensive process, and besides, this option is not possible everywhere due to the lack of technical capabilities.

The advantages and disadvantages of an electric boiler for greenhouses are as follows.

A greenhouse is a great opportunity to please yourself and your loved ones with fresh and natural vegetables and herbs not only in the summer, but also in the winter. In order to successfully grow vegetable crops and ultimately harvest a good harvest, you need to ensure a good temperature in the greenhouse. Helpers in this matter are boilers for heating greenhouses. Each heating method has pros and cons, so in each individual case one or another option may be the most optimal.

Based on your capabilities, you can choose the appropriate option and ensure the fruitful growth of your plants.

Boilers for heating greenhouses

Today, many people prefer to eat vegetables and fruits grown in their own garden plot. Everyone wants to see fresh food on their table all year round. For some, it is proper nutrition, and for others, it is a way to earn money.

To achieve the possibility of growing various crops at any time of the year, regardless of weather conditions, it is necessary to properly equip the heating system in the greenhouse.

You can entrust the installation of the greenhouse heating system to professionals, but if you have the desire and some knowledge, it is better to do it yourself.

Types of heating

You can heat a greenhouse in various ways and each of them has its pros and cons.

To learn about the applications and types of induction heating boilers, click here.

You can read about the design, principle of operation and leading manufacturers of double-circuit electric boilers at the link -

Also read about the types and features of operation of solid fuel and liquid fuel boilers.

Air heating

The simplest and cheapest type of air heating has the following structure: a three-meter steel pipe is brought into the greenhouse at one end, while a fire is lit under the other. As soon as the pipe begins to heat up, hot air enters the greenhouse, thereby heating it.

This type of air heating is not particularly convenient due to the need to constantly keep the fire burning, so it is used only in emergency cases. If instead of a fire there is a modern heating boiler, then the process of heating the greenhouse will become much easier.

With the help of a boiler, the greenhouse heats up quickly and efficiently, but there is also a disadvantage - drying out the air in the heated room.

The air in the boiler washes the firebox and heats up, after which it is distributed throughout the greenhouse using air ducts. The lack of humidity can be compensated for by placing buckets of water inside the greenhouse or using modern air humidifiers.

The combustion products of a heating boiler have a high temperature, which can be used to heat the soil (through pipes).

Water heating

Heating greenhouses using liquid coolant is the most common. The main elements of such a heating system are: a boiler, heating circuits (radiators, coils), a circulation pump, pipelines, fittings and protective elements.

To uniformly heat the greenhouse, it is necessary to install several heating circuits at different height levels and an underground “warm floor” coil. Regulating the air temperature in the greenhouse can be entrusted to automatic sensor-relays. The temperature will be regulated by decreasing or increasing the intensity of coolant movement.

If you install your own circulation pump and temperature relay for each heating circuit, you can set an individual operating mode for each circuit.

If we compare water and air heating systems, then:

• An air heating system warms up a room faster than water heating.
• Air heating has a simple design and does not require a lot of additional equipment, unlike water heating.
• Water heating has a labor-intensive installation process and requires the installation of additional equipment, but is more efficient than air heating.

Boiler selection

The choice of boiler for heating a greenhouse directly depends on the preferred type of fuel, the size of the greenhouse and the outside air.

Depending on the type of fuel, the units are:

• Solid fuels burn coal, peat, and firewood. They come in regular, long-burning and gas-generating types.
• Liquid fuel boilers burn diesel fuel or kerosene.
• Combination boilers can operate on different types of fuel.
• Gas boilers operate on natural gas or a propane-butane mixture.
• Electric boilers do not burn fuel. The coolant is heated using heating elements.

The power of the unit is selected in accordance with the calculation of heat losses of the greenhouse and its dimensions.

Wood-fired air-heating boilers

Air heating units that burn wood can quickly heat the air in a greenhouse, while installing the boiler is not a labor-intensive process.

The operating principle of an air-heating boiler is based on creating natural air circulation in the greenhouse: the air heated in the boiler is sent into the greenhouse, thereby displacing cold air back into the boiler and this cycle is constantly repeated.

Air-heating pyrolysis (gas generator) boilers are a regular solid fuel boiler, but with an additional firebox. It is needed to burn flammable gas, which is released when burning wood with oxygen deficiency.

The furnaces of the pyrolysis boiler are located one above the other. Firewood is loaded into the lower one and ignition is carried out. During the combustion process, pyrolysis gas is released, which accumulates in the upper firebox and ignites there, releasing heat.

Advantages of pyrolysis boilers:

• High coefficient of efficiency (efficiency).
• Relatively cheap compared to analogues.
• Easy to install.
• Quick heating of the room.
• Long service life (from 20 years).

Disadvantages of pyrolysis boilers:

• The need for fuel procurement and storage.
• The need to constantly remove ash and clean the chimney.
• When the boiler is operating, a burning smell may be released.

Read about household floor-standing double-circuit gas heating boilers in the article.
You can read about automatic long-burning boilers using wood materials in the following link:

Infrared heating

In addition to its direct purpose, infrared heating of a greenhouse also favorably promotes plant growth and does not harm human health.

The air is heated using a special infrared thermal film, which is completely safe, easy to install and connect. The heating of the film is controlled by an automatic system and reaches 20-500C.

Principle of operation

The infrared film has instructions for its installation. This process does not require special skills; you just need to deepen it into the ground to the specified depth. Next, you need to connect to the electrical network. You need to set the desired temperature and the greenhouse will begin heating automatically.

When installing several temperature controllers, it becomes possible to configure an individual mode for each bed.

The efficiency of infrared film is 95%. In this case, all the heat is used gradually and for its intended purpose - the soil is heated, and then the air is heated.

Electricity consumption

The average electricity consumption is 60 Wh per 1 m2 of infrared film. The maximum electricity consumption is 240 W/h per 1 m2. Such consumption occurs only when the film is heated from a cold state. Further heating operation is more economical - the lower the maintained temperature, the lower the energy consumption.

Heating a greenhouse can be arranged in various ways; the choice of equipment is very wide, so choosing the right one will not be difficult.

Features of using the oven

Long-burning stoves are an improved version of the Russian stove, economically consuming a wide variety of solid fuels (firewood, old furniture, sawdust, pine cones, various garbage, coal). They were actively used during the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War, when even ordinary firewood was in short supply and boiler houses were idle.

In them, the fuel burns from top to bottom, and as it burns out, the fire sinks lower and lower. This increases the burning time and releases more heat. The fuel in such furnaces slowly smolders at high temperatures and burns out to the end (pyrolysis). This process is regulated by the supply of air through a vent or blower.

Did you know? Americans attribute the invention of the potbelly stove to the famous American politician Benjamin Franklin. In the USA, such stoves are called “fat bellies”.

At the beginning of work, the stove is heated well. Otherwise, the combustion process may stop. The chimney in these structures must be straight and have no bends, since it will need to be periodically cleaned of soot, and it must be accessible for such work.

Such devices should be used when constant control is possible, because firewood needs to be periodically added to them. It is good to make a foundation for them and cover them with brickwork.

The stove should not be placed close to flammable or unprepared materials, since metal parts become very hot and can cause ignition. The firewood used should not be damp.

We make boilers for greenhouses

In recent years, an increasing number of people are thinking about a healthy diet without nitrates and other poisons present in purchased vegetables, fruits, herbs. And many decide to grow their own food using greenhouses. For some, this becomes a profitable business that brings pleasure and tangible income.

Boilers for greenhouses

But it’s not enough to install a greenhouse; you also need to heat it on cool days to get early vegetables. The heating issue can be solved in different ways. How to heat a greenhouse efficiently and inexpensively? What fuel should I use to heat it? Is it possible to do this yourself? Answers to these pressing questions can be found in this article.

Features of heating greenhouse premises

The main factor in choosing a heating method for greenhouses is the price of maintaining the temperature. After all, most greenhouses have enormous heat loss. Ideally, for good plant growing, the greenhouse should be built from metal profiles and plastic, with hermetically sealed double-glazed windows.

But most vegetable growers and farmers cannot afford this method of construction, so most domestic greenhouses are covered with polyethylene or polycarbonate. These materials are transparent to sunlight, but also release a large percentage of heat into the surrounding space, so heating the room must be well thought out and powerful.

Boilers for greenhouses

After building the greenhouse, it is necessary to begin creating a heating system, the central element of which will be the boiler. The most commonly used:

1. Electric ones are simple, easy to use and available wherever power lines are installed. But using such a boiler to heat a greenhouse will cost a pretty penny, and now rolling or emergency blackouts are common, and then young plants can die from the cold.
2. Gas - a stable supply of natural gas ensures good heating of the room, but the price of this energy resource is also quite high. Although many farmers use gas boilers to heat greenhouses because they are easy and quick to maintain, you only need to pipe gas into the greenhouse once and connect the boiler - and the problems are solved. Regulating and maintaining the desired temperature is easy and simple, and the efficiency of gas heating has been proven for years. Often, greenhouses are heated with gas by those whose premises are located next to a gasified house.

Gas boilers are available; a regular home floor-mounted version of suitable power is suitable for a greenhouse. Combustion products do not need to be removed outside the greenhouse, because all carbon dioxide is processed by plants during photosynthesis. And automation allows a person not to think about maintaining the temperature in the room.

But there are also disadvantages:

• Supplying gas to a greenhouse is quite complicated and requires the participation of special services, which will result in significant financial costs.
• During peak hours, the gas pressure may decrease, which is why the boiler sometimes goes out, and this is dangerous for the normal development of plants.
• In the winter months, gas tariffs increase with excess consumption, and to save money it is necessary to reduce the temperature in the greenhouse, which can negatively affect the growth of vegetables and fruits.

1. Solid fuel boilers, or pyrolysis boilers as they are also called, are used very widely, including in heating greenhouses. This is explained by their high productivity and efficiency, because for heating you can use firewood, wooden trimmings, waste from furniture factories, branches cut from the garden plot and even dry garbage. These types of fuel are cheap and available, which makes such boilers attractive to greenhouse owners, since savings on heating allow plants to be grown much cheaper. After all, when heating with electric boilers, you can get golden vegetables and herbs; the cost of growing them significantly exceeds the price of selling them. And solid fuel boilers are not only economical, but also easy to use. Most modern models are fully automated and require fuel only twice a day.

Heating of greenhouses with solid fuel boilers

Heating greenhouses with solid fuel boilers makes it possible to grow plants all year round, creating your own profitable and stable business.

Solid fuel boilers are divided into:

• wood-burning (regular or pyrolysis);
• coal-wood;
• pellet (work on compressed pellets of wood, seeds, straw, and various waste).

Advantages of solid fuel boilers:

• environmentally friendly;
• cheap;
• aesthetic;
• available;
• safe;
• after their work, ash remains, which is an excellent fertilizer and means of pest control.

• large areas are required for fuel storage;
• requires preliminary fuel procurement;
• regular maintenance (filling fuel, cleaning ash).

About alternatives

There are, of course, alternatives:

Use other, less expensive types of fuel. If you have a resource base, solid fuels will be the cheapest: firewood, coal. Pellets make sense only if the plant for their production is located nearby. They are inexpensive, unlike other types of solid fuel, they allow you to fully automate the combustion process, but due to their low volumetric weight, delivery costs a pretty penny. The winning option is to find a source of supply of used technical oils. Natural gas is convenient and relatively inexpensive, but it looks like your yard is not gasified. Liquefied gas is unprofitable, especially taking into account the installation of a gas tank. Heating with petroleum heating oil (oil) is on the verge of profitability. Diesel fuel will definitely not pay for itself; you will end up at a serious disadvantage.

A wood stove is a troublesome, but the cheapest and most effective way to heat a greenhouse. For a more even distribution of heat, there is a fan nearby

Use renewable heat sources. A heat pump is unlikely to justify itself; operation is extremely cheap, but the equipment itself is very expensive. In many European countries, the state subsidizes such installations; we do not have such a practice.

Heat pump - environmentally friendly, economical to operate, but very expensive to install

It makes sense to pay attention to the heating system of Ivanov’s vegetarian garden, which you can read about in the series of popular science books “Smart Garden” by Kurdyumov or on his website: https://kurdyumov.ru/knigi/teplica/teplica08.php. This cannot be said to be very effective, but still some kind of savings

Setting up a small greenhouse using all the elements of Ivanov’s solar vegetarian plant hardly makes sense. Solar panels and automatic gate control are unlikely to pay for themselves. But the location of the greenhouse on the southern slope, the blank insulated northern wall and the ground heat exchanger are sound ideas. And the gates can be turned manually. Thanks to the constant movement of air, the flow of which is created by fans, heat is accumulated in the ground during the day, and energy is released back at night. This solution will not increase the average daily temperature in the greenhouse, but will help level out the difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures. You can also use containers filled with stones or water as a heat exchanger

Ivanov's vegetarian device

If the greenhouse has not yet been built, it is worth using rational construction solutions that reduce heat loss and allow for more efficient use of solar radiation: correctly orient the greenhouse towards the sunny side; attach it to the south side of the house; make the northern side blank, insulate it well and line the inside with reflective material, foil; partially buried in the ground; provide for the possibility of installing an additional layer of greenhouse film during the cold period, etc.

A set of simple measures used during construction will reduce greenhouse heating costs by 1.5-2 times

Partial (0.5-1.5 m) deepening of the greenhouse into the ground is justified. Sunlight penetrates in sufficient quantities through the roof, the walls should be well insulated and lined with foil

The photo clearly shows additional rolls of film rolled up to the ridge of the greenhouse, which are unrolled in cold weather.

Use traditional methods of heating greenhouses, for example, a mixture of manure and straw laid in the fall lasts all winter, releasing a lot of heat.