What can I learn from my sensors?
Life has been so busy I barely glance at my graphs. What are the highs and lows for the day? What are the trends? I can answer the easy questions. But there is a depth I feel like I am missing, a huge amount information that could help use our greenhouse better.
I track the soil temperature in two different sized pots, water temperature in the 55 gallon drums, inside and outside air temperature and humidity. (Humidity is not on the graph). To see the current graph visit http://greenhouse.developingwings.com/
For years I have been very proud of the fact we do not need to add heat to our greenhouse. But what if I did add heat? Would that ease the temperature swings through a day? Would my plants be healthier, produce more?
Now that we have the hoop greenhouse maybe I could move some cold hardly plants to that space. Maybe I could I grow different vegetables in the pit greenhouse?
Nov 22, 2021 I bought a oil filled heater for the greenhouse.
Why an oil filled heater?
Energy Efficient – Oil filled heaters are amazing at heat retention. Once they’re at the desired temperature, they save energy only using low power to maintain the warmth.
Lasting Heat – Thanks to the high heat retention, an oil heater will stay hot for hours after it’s switched off. Great for energy savings, and at night
Next Steps
The first step is to test the heater in my office. To make sure the cord does not get hot. To learn how to run the system. Like any experiment I need to figure out my expectations and how i will quantify them.. Then I will move it to the greenhouse. It will be an interesting winter.