As soon as you are ready to decide to heat the greenhouse you are going to use for your seed germination and plant propagation make sure that the temperature controls on your heaters are working properly as this will pay you dividends in the reduction of your heating costs.

Whether you have a cold frame, greenhouse or polytunnel you’ll need to provide some form of protection for your plants during the winter months. Insulation like polythene or bubble insulation will allow you to easily and cheaply provide protection to your plants from light frosts; you will still need a Heater to achieve higher temperatures to protect your more tender plants.

Types of Greenhouse Heaters

Make sure you only buy a good quality gas heater from a known source that is designed for efficient and safe operation in the moist greenhouse environment, or you could have dead plants from the fumes if the heater is not properly maintained or has not been installed correctly. Your plants will benefit from the extra heat but will also grow better with the additional CO2 which is generated from the all gas heaters.

Heaters that are suitable for heating greenhouses:

Propane Gas Heaters are very easy to install and run from the bottled gas. You should always read the instructions extra carefully.

Natural Gas Heaters, these run from your mains supply, providing a continuous and very reliable supply of heat. All natural gas heaters and appliances should be installed by a corgi registered fitter.

Electric glasshouse fan heaters are probably the easiest and most efficient way to provide heat for your glasshouse they will raise the temperature easily and efficiently, are designed for safe operation in the damp glasshouse environment. Most come ready to use, all you have to do is to plug the heater into your electric mains supply. The heat is very evenly distributed around the glasshouse by the fans. Another great advantage is they reduce the damping off disease as the air is constantly moving around in the glasshouse.

Paraffin Heaters are no longer as popular as they used to be, due to the carbon monoxide fumes they give off, these can be detrimental to plants unless there is enough ventilation while to heater is in operation. You should only use Blue Flame paraffin in a glasshouse and the heater must be well maintained, even then they will only give a variable output.

You should defiantly not use heaters designed for use in a domestic environment in a greenhouse, as these will not only have the extra insulation needed for models designed for use in a humid environment.

When using electricity in your seed germination glasshouse always have a qualified electrician fit it for you, it should have its own fuse board and trip control. When you bring the cable from the dwelling make sure it will carry enough electric current to provide sufficient power for all the appliances you intend to use e.g. electric propagators heaters, lights etc.