When considering your location, we like to know if you experience four seasons, stormy weather, hail, high winds or extreme heat.
We like to know what the lowest nighttime temperature is to ensure that our heating recommendation in combination with the glazing will never cause a cold shock to your plants. It’s always a good idea to give yourself a buffer with the heating BTU’s especially given that the greenhouse comes with a lifetime warranty and most of our greenhouses are in use for decades before they are passed along to family members.
If you are in a winter climate and wish to grow in four seasons, we will offer guidance on how to best achieve your goals. There are many ways to passively heat a greenhouse enough to winter over plants provided you have good solar gain during the day or are willing to add supplemental heating.
Greenhouses are designed to capture the heat and you want to make sure your plants do not get scorched. A single glass greenhouse without natural shade nearby will require some sort of shading whether that is shade cloth, whitewash or drapery.
If you would like to use the greenhouse for living space, consideration must be given to additional ventilation and how best to achieve that. An exhaust fan system is the fastest way to exchange hot air but not often the quietest. An evaporative cooler, additional side vents or louvres or motorized ridge vents might be a good option too.
Deciding whether you would like a cool, warm or hot greenhouse will help us to make recommendations with glazing, heating and cooling, too. Hothouse veggies like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers require minimum heat to flower and produce. Tropical plants like orchids, foxgloves and bromeliads are tender plants that need heat to thrive. Check out these scenarios for tips that might help you decide!
Our customer Jennifer lives in mild climate and wants to winter over. Jen chose a greenhouse with single glass sidewalls and a twinwall polycarbonate roof. She maintains a night temperature of 40 – 45 Fahrenheit (5 – 7 Celsius) to protect her fuchsias, begonias and the polycarbonate roof adds extra protection for her tomatoes and peppers in the summer. The best of both worlds!
Tom lives in a colder climate that sees a significant amount of snow but he wanted to grow citrus trees, orchids and foxgloves. A Cape Cod fivewall polycarbonate was the perfect fit and with very little additional heat, Tom could maintain the night temperature of 55 Fahrenheit (13 Celsius). The fivewall polycarbonate glazing allowed for the best combination of light transmission and heat retention. The steep pitch of the roof causes the snow to simply slide off!
Henry wanted to create more living and growing space. He liked the idea of the home attached Pacific double glass and then was sold on its energy efficiency and was amazed at how easy is was to maintain a night temperature of 65 Fahrenheit (18 Celsius). He now has a three season sitting and growing room for his tropical and rare houseplants.
Single glass makes for a nice show piece in your yard. Our single 3mm glass is tempered safety glass that is lapped to minimize any possibility of breakage or injury. Glass appeals to gardeners who want full light transmission to control the amount of sun in the greenhouse. The lapped glass has an overlap of 1/4″ for ease of shipping and installation. We offer an upgraded option of 6mm one piece glass without the laps for those who want a clean appearance without the worry of sealing between laps.
Single Glass 3MM, Insulating R-Value .96 Approximately 95% light transmission.
Important Note: Unless you have natural shade in your yard, a full single tempered glass greenhouse will require some type of shading. Greenhouses are designed to capture heat and you do not want to scorch your plants.
Insulated double glass maintains superb heat insulation for all types of growing. Our double glass is tempered safety glass to minimize any possibility of breakage or injury.
Double Glass 16MM, Insulating R Value 2.1 Approximately 90% light transmission
Optional high performance Low E glass (R Value) Heat Gain = 3.45. Approximately 70% light transmission
Important Note: Double glass will provide a conservatory look and feel and as such, is higher cost than our other glazing. The double paned windows in your home will give you some insight to the very custom greenhouse that is manufactured with full double glass bays.
Our 6mm twinwall polycarbonate is the most economical. It is a practical choice for a working greenhouse as it offers 50% more insulation than single pane glass and diffuses harmful sunlight in the summer. It is essentially unbreakable, making it very safe in a family environment. The insulation will prevent the temperature in the greenhouse from changing drastically and results in the best possible growing environment.
Twin Wall 6MM, Insulating R-Value 1.62. Approximately 82% light transmission.
Important Note: You can not see through polycarbonate. You can see shapes and shadows but it is not transparent.
Our 16mm fivewall polycarbonate is the most energy efficient glazing available on the market today. It offers 50% more insulation than double glass and 80% more insulation than twinwall polycarbonate. Fivewall is ideal for colder climates and gardeners who grow specialty plants, or for those who wish to reduce long term heating costs.
Fivewall 16MM, Insulating R Value 3.0. Approximately 62% light transmission.
Important Note:Â Fivewall is the most insulating glazing product on the market today but with a 62% light transmission you will have a harvest delay of 2 to 3 weeks due to diffused sun exposure.
6MM Full Sheet Glass:Â One solid sheet of tempered safety glass in every greenhouse bay which is double the thickness for even more strength and a beautiful seamless look.
6MM Laminated Glass: One solid sheet of laminated safety glass in every greenhouse bay. Similar to car windshields, this safety glass will not shatter and will remain intact even when broken. This glass type may be required for greenhouse roof’s where building codes require, common for applications over swimming pools, schools, and solariums. Available in single 6MM or Double Glass which is typically composed of an exterior tempered glass piece, an air gap with two layers of float/annealed 3mm glass and a laminated interlayer which blocks UV.
High Performance LOW-E:Â Maximizes the Insulating R-Value and reduces Relative Heat Gain to allow for a more comfortable space. The Low-E (low emissivity) coating on the inside of the glass reflects most UV and infrared while keeping a clear view through the glass. The Low-E coating also reflects infrared back towards the interior retaining more heat.
