Question,

What is the purpose of the bubble wrap, and do you have it on all the walls?

Posted by pcdur z6 oh (My Page) on Sat, Jan 6, 07 at 21:52

Question,
What is the purpose of the bubble wrap, and do you have it on all the walls?

What appears to be bubble wrap is not.
Some have used bubble wrap thinking that it was the same thing but this stuff comes from Charley's and it is a quarter inch thick and 1" in diameter. Allows light transfer and insulates better than plain bubble wrap and YES I have it on all the walls and the ceiling.
Only place that I don't have it is where I have 1.5" thick expanded polystyrene which is on the North wall and half way up the side walls. I also have a Magni-Clear thermal blanket on the roof.
My GH requires very little heat to keep it warm.
Below is a link to the insulation if you want to check the prices.

Here is a link that might be useful: Insulation

Gardenerwantabe,

Do I understand right that you have polystyrene on both side walls half way up?

Does that cause a problem in the summer?

Would you when you got time to post a picture for me?

Thank you,
Charles

If you look close in this picture you will see the foil backing just below the grow lights and above the shelfing. By the time the sun is high enought to shine over the surrounding trees and houses it is well above the insulation.

{{gwi:286827}}

gardenerwantabe,

Nice pictures and beautiful greenhouse.

I'm interested in your control panel. It looks like a temperature gauge on the far left, but what about the rest?

Also, if you don't mind, what zone are you in?

M

I live in northern Indiana Z5
It is hard to see in the picture but on the right side of the box with the toggle switches is a dual contact thermostat and it controls two electric heaters.
Next to the left is a thermostat that is set two degrees cooler and it is connected to the heat lamps.
Next one is for the ceiling fan. Next one to the left is the Exhaust fan. The small thing in the left end reads temp and humidity.
The toggle switches control on off of the grow lights and heat mats and things in the little GH in the corner.
The grow lights are on a timer but it is wired through a switch so that it can not turn on the lights if I don't want them on because the switch must be on for them to work. That way I don't need to reset the timer if I turn them off for any reason. One switch starts a pump and I have a small hose with a wand and a push button on the end and my wife just pushes the button to start the flow and it pumps water from rain barrels for watering the plants.
Everything can be set for total automation if we are going to be gone for the day.

gardenerwantabe: The windows are interesting. Do they reduce the heat much? How did you install them? ie., did you remove the panels and cut the holes, or did you cut the holes while the panels were in place, what did you use to cut the panels? Where did you get the windows?

Thanks for any info you can give me, and also thank you for the contributions which you make to this valuable forum. (Unfortunately, I found the forum after I'd gone through the trials and tribulations of building the HFGH, plus having to chase down ten panels which went AWOL during the recently high winds we got here in VA.)

halinva

halinva Recently someone suggested that we use a permanent marker and write our address on the panels then when some good Samaritan finds them they can Fad-X them back to you.

I bought the windows at a salvage place they were new from a place that makes campers. They have screens and are pretty decent windows. I paid twenty bucks for them.
I removed the panels and laid the window on the panel measure with a tape till it is centered then use a marker to scribe a line and the cut on the line with a utility knife
{{gwi:286828}}

Thanks. About what I thought. I think I'll give it a shot when the weather permits. At least the weight of the windows will prevent the panels from travelling too far. LOL.

Hal

Gardenerwantabe,

I forgot to ask you if you left the polystyrene on the bottom all year long?

Thanks

Yes I leave it on all year. I used 1/4"x21/2" bolts and ground them into T bolts and used fender washers to hold them tight to the wall.
This will leave a gap between the wall stud's packed that with foam then laid the bubble insulation down over it.