Winter greenhouse needs specialized floors. Thanks to the warm coating, the owner of the summer cottage will be able to control and maintain the necessary temperature in the greenhouse. These important conditions have a significant impact on the growth, development and fruiting of various cultures.
There is nothing difficult to install a warm coating with your own hands, the technique is almost identical to the technology of laying such floors in residential premises. In the greenhouse, it is completely optional to finish the surface, and therefore everything can be done quite quickly.
Why do I need a warm floor
Thanks to the unique coating in the greenhouse, special favorable conditions will be created in which various green plants begin to grow and bear fruit twice as good. When installing a warm floor in a greenhouse with your own hands, it is worth remembering that as a result, the soil layer should not dry out. The main requirements for such systems:
- reliability;
- profitability;
- ease of use.
In addition to underfloor heating, the greenhouse must be additionally heated by air or radiator heating. Air heating is more suitable for spring and autumn, when there is no severe frost. Here, the heat accumulates in the room, and the clay layer may be an ideal store, it is laid under fertile soil:
- air advance through the pipe system;
- heat from the walls of the pipes passes into the clay layer, which at night will give off accumulated into the environment;
- for greater heat preservation, clay can be additionally placed under it with heat-insulating materials.
Greenhouse floor heating options
Before undertaking the organization of work and thinking how to make a warm floor in greenhouses, you need to understand how the heating of the soil occurs. There are several options:
- Water use. This system works on the principle of how warm water floors work, where hot water flows through a pipe system. In another way, this option can be called soil heating using plastic pipes. The method is quite economical when it comes to the use of resources, but often people encounter problems during installation work. Specialists advise using water heating for large greenhouse rooms.
- Film warm floors in the greenhouse are equipped similarly to the technologies used for residential buildings.
- The use of heat guns also has a place to be. These devices are ideal for large greenhouses, but much rests on the cost of equipment, in addition, the soil can only be heated superficially.
- The use of infrared lamps. They are mounted on greenhouse structures. The option is interesting in that in one greenhouse you can create several temperature zones.
Heated Floors
It belongs to the most popular because it is easy to get all the necessary materials in any specialized store.
Buying and installing such a system does not take much time and special efforts. It is recommended that you take into account the financial costs of components and payment of bills for electricity consumption. Therefore, it’s worth it to calculate everything properly and, if anything, choose another option.
What is bioheating
It is the most economical option for heating a greenhouse. The option is based on biological materials:
- animal waste;
- mowed weeds;
- sawdust;
- fallen foliage.
The decomposition of all of the above materials occurs with the release of heat.
It is interesting that when choosing bio-heating a person receives the necessary microclimate in the greenhouse in the cold season, but also valuable fertilizer for plants.
To get the maximum effect, it is recommended to use mixtures of several types of materials, for example, manure with sawdust, straw and fallen leaves. Before laying the components in the ground, you need to make steaming.
Heated as follows. The introduction of quicklime into the biofuel, boiling water. You can simply put the container under the sun's rays, after loosening all the components. The materials are ready for use at the time the steam appears.
A few words about the disadvantages of the method
The main negative side of such heating is a low temperature indicator (about +25 ° C). In addition, there is no way to regulate the temperature.
You can use biofuels in spring and autumn to reduce electricity costs.
What are interesting water floors
This option of underfloor heating in the greenhouse is considered the most reliable and effective, it is possible to choose an energy carrier. If the work is carried out independently, then certain rules must be observed so that everything functions without interruptions.
Work order
At the first stage, it is necessary to remove the fertile soil to a depth of half a meter. Then a layer of thermal insulation is laid, while you must remember to tamp the base. A film and a layer of sand of about 50 mm are superimposed on top of the insulation.
At the second stage, the pipe is laid, it will need to be covered with the same sand.
Greenhouse soil will warm up as follows:
- The mixing unit includes a pump and a three-way valve. If you run the coolant on a radiator, then you will need a lot of financial cost.
- Water will be supplied to the underfloor heating via a return line from radiators.
Thanks to this arrangement, a polycarbonate greenhouse with a warm floor is obtained.
As for the material for pipes, you can take different options: polymers or steel. When choosing a polymer option, you must be careful. A protective net is used to cover the pipes, and only fertile soil is poured over it. Outlets left outside must be connected to a collector located next to the greenhouse.
How is the installation of an electric heated floor
This option allows you to warm the greenhouse no worse than when using water. Installation is as follows:
- It is necessary to remove the fertile layer to a depth of 40-60 cm.
- The bottom is leveled so that there are no protruding elements, and then sand is poured, acting as a leveling bed.
- A polyethylene film serves as a waterproofing, overlap it or use adhesive tape to connect the sheets.
- On top you need to lay insulation, which does not have a reflective coating.
- Now you can start laying the heating elements. The material must be cut so that it matches the configuration of the greenhouse. Mounting plates are used to fix the cables. Conductors can be positioned arbitrarily, but at the same time, a distance of at least 10 cm must be left between the threads.
- It is necessary to connect all the segments in a single chain, isolate the couplings and withdraw from one side. It remains to power up the system and ring.
- Polyethylene must be placed on top of the infrared film .
- For heating elements, you need wet sand, which will serve as a covering layer.
- On top of the sand lay a mesh of metal with small cells.
- At the last stage, it remains only to return the soil layer to its place and lay tubes equipped with a temperature sensor in its middle.
What you need to know about the general rules
The main task of any person who installs warm floors in greenhouses is to ensure the smooth operation of the selected option. The first condition that must be met is the removal of fertile soil for a while. At the bottom of the trench laid waterproofing material. You can use polystyrene foam or polyethylene with foil elements.
Cable or mats are laid on top of the film, and then all this needs to be covered with hydraulic material and a film that will provide thermal insulation. Then comes the turn of heating cables with a mounting grid or tape.
The main tips are as follows:
- to protect the warm floor from damage of a mechanical type, a reinforcing mesh is laid;
- the thickness of the fertile soil should be at least 30 cm;
- after the warm floors are installed, you need to level the soil layer and you can start sowing seeds;
- To control the heating system, special sensors are used that monitor the temperature of air or soil.
The use of sensors greatly facilitates the task of the gardener to grow certain crops. To increase productivity, 2 devices are installed that will track the necessary parameters. Excessively warm soil leads to the fact that plants slow down their growth, reduce the number of fruits and may eventually die.
How is the temperature maintained?
The best option for maintaining temperature performance is the use of temperature controllers. The optimal indicator for most greenhouse crops is from +15 to +20 ° C. Some gardeners use greenhouses to grow plants and then transplant them, then you need to maintain a temperature of +30 ° C in the room.
If we talk about calculating power and heating in a greenhouse with an electric floor, then by installing thermostats, you can significantly reduce energy costs by up to 30%. All this is achieved due to the fact that the supply of electricity does not go all the time. When the temperature drops to the set value, it will become a signal to turn on the heating. As soon as the desired temperature is reached, the thermostat will shut off.
Warm hollow is a win-win option not only for large agricultural enterprises, but also for a small greenhouse in a country cottage. Such systems make it possible to maintain an optimal microclimate in the room, which has a beneficial effect on the quantity of the crop and its quality.
Most gardeners give only positive reviews about warm floors in greenhouses. They help to increase yield and promote comfortable plant growth.