A "Line Voltage" Thermostat.
I’ve finally settled on a heating system for the greenhouse. Basically, there is a Line Voltage thermostat that monitors the tempurature inside. When the temp drops below the desired tempurature, the thermostat passes on 120V to the recepticle below. This is where I’ve plugged in a electric heater, and a small fan. So far, It’s kept two tomatoes alive during a few frost/freeze nights.
I’ve started to gain confidance in this setup’s ability to keep my plants alive, and so I keep bringing more and more plants out of the house.
Electric Heater and Fan
It’s sort of funny, but without the fan, the greenhouse won’t stay warm, it’s almost as if the heater only heats the space around itself. Once I added the fan, the tempurature began to rise above 34 F consistently. I’m not quite out of the woods yet. There could still be a very cold night, that could pierce through the clear plastic and wreak havoc on anything living, so I dare not place all of my “eggs” in one basket. For now, I’m playing it safe.
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