Greenhouse Cooling
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Jill
Posted on: May 28, 2002

I am considering purchasing a collapseable greenhouse that measures 9 feet x 6 feet ( 2.7 meters by 1.8 meters). I live in eastern KY, USA and was wondering if this greenhouse would need to be cooled in the summer? It has 2 vents and will be placed in partial shade. I will not be growing seeds in this greenhouse. Only mature plants. If it does need to be cooled would a fan be sufficent?

The smaller the greenhouse the more prone to temperature fluctuations it becomes. Yours is small enough to become a real problem on a hot day, but it should also be quite easy to cool it on a sunny day by simply opening the vents and the door. Since you don’t say how big the vents are I can’t gage if just opening them would be enough. You will get the best cooling if you have openings at the top and at the bottom on both ends of the greenhouse. Try to locate the vents so they face into the prevailing winds, so that the air will move through the greenhouse when the vents are open. If the outside temperature is so hot that just allowing free air exchange is not enough, a fan to create air movement should be enough for such a small space, as long as you keep the floors and the soil wet to create evaporative cooling.

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