Is there anyone out there who has added an AC to their greenhouse to extend cool weather crops in summer?
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Due to lack of insulation I doubt it would be possible to be of any benefit. The thing about heating a greenhouse is it’s only heating for a couple hours usually. As opposed to cooling for 8-12 hours, the cost would be outrageous and for sure not worth it.
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AC would be way too expensive, evaporative cooling is used to both maintain temps below 65 during winter for chilling hour accumulation and to keep summer temperatures from getting too high
In the deep south evaporative cooling isn’t very effective though, this is why the best climates for greenhouses are arid
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I put mine just north of a red maple. The winter leaves fall and I get full sun. Summer it dapple shades it from the peak sun of the day.
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If wishes were fishes…
I’m sure by far the most common use of a greenhouse is to keep an area from the cold of winter. Since I will have mine, I was thinking of how it could be beneficial in summer, besides a convenient place for starter plants.
Still, I’ll figure it out
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Your best bet might be a design where a large amount of the top can be removed for the summer to increase airflow, might be as good as you can get
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I plan to throw a giant bean bag in mine to hide from the family and read a good book. Ha. And breed fishes. Discus and axolotl tanks on the north wall while it’s hot. I did them outdoor on the slab for years in the summer.
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I have a frosted plastic greenhouse that has screen windows. In winter, I shut everything at night, in summer I leave all the windows and doors open. It stays warm, but it keeps the sun off the plants, and keeping it open helps the humidity from building up. I can’t push brocolli and stuff into the summer, but it helps push them into later spring. Basically a big shade cloth. And it lets me grow warm weather crops in winter when its too cold and summer when its too hot and humid.
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That’s one way to do it. But at a massive loss in light during summer. And no real control of either light or temperature. Heating and cooling are the most important aspects of a greenhouse. Doing either one wrong really limits greenhouse performance.
Even a removable shade cloth is a big improvement from a tree. But it all does depend on one’s goals. Maybe it’s a warm place to hang out when things are right.
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Evaporative cooling cools my greenhouse to about 5-20F cooler than outside depending on conditions. The effectiveness is highly dependent on dew point.
With natural ventilation the greenhouse will be 0 to 30F warmer than outside depending on design and weather. About 20% open area at the top is necessary to give effective cooling. Effective is no more than 15-20F warmer inside than outside.
In humid climates shade cloth is the usual fall back solution to hold down temperature.
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I assumed you’d chime in eventually!
No, a swamp cooler is a no go here…so much so that when my sister first moved to New Mexico, I didn’t know they existed.
It certainly wasn’t invented /discovered by a Cajun!
Trip glass LOW-E argon filled gas windows and a shade cloth would make air conditioning possible. Maybe.
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Swamp cooler alone is not enough if you summer is brutal. I have done swamp cooler plus mist. Yeah the plant love that combo. You just have to get the right timer so that it comes on and off and repeat.
There is absolutely no value in a swamp cooler here. They don’t exist.
The only time of year the air is dry enough for one to work is occasionally in the middle of winter!
The only option is to let mother nature do her job. Pray for good weather and crop. Sacrifice chicken as offering. Offer some beer too. You are all set for the new year.
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The company I worked for had its head office in Las Vegas. I made a comment about it was so humid in the upstairs part of the warehouse, and they told me to check on the swamp cooler if it was leaking. I thought it was one of those fake things that they try to pass on newbies to get them to look stupid, because why would I humidfy air? Turns out its a real thing.
I was amazed when I first saw one in Albuquerque. Just a little water pump and a fan really.
It’s almost how I felt when I was younger when I heard people had basements actually UNDER their houses!
(I’m from the bathtub called New Orleans).
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Greenhouses are typically structures that control all environmental conditions,but striving for eliminating the extremes of Mother Nature.
High tunnels and hoop houses are usually naturally ventilated and used as season extenders.
Operational cost difference are much higher for greenhouses than high tunnels and hoop houses.
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It’s definitely that. But it can grow plants too. Fruit or not I will soon find out. I should have explained it better. Or said in addition to the powered intake louvers connected to humidity sensor, and the large exhaust fan I have connected to the thermostat. I also have 2 non powered beeswax/spring lifters to lift up both side hatches I hinged in my booster wall. Incase we’re cooking.
I don’t think the shade tree is hurting. It is surprisingly helpful. I measured for 10 years before I put the greenhouse there. It’s not like it’s a dark shady hallow. The greenhouse is positioned at the top of a small south facing hill. No light blocking from dawn till dusk E to W. Except for the top dappling of my red maple an hour and a half at the peak sun of the day. The red maple is down slope/grade about 35 feet from the floor of the greenhouse. Around here red maples tend to stay 40-50ft trees and bush out. It won’t become a giant kind of future shade king tree. It was planted in 1980 and today is only 45 feet tall.
I am still measuring 950-1000 ppfd during the “shade dappling” of the the red maple. VS 1800ppfd once the shade has moved on. If it’s too much trouble I can fix it in one day. Then buy a shade cloth. lol
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