Now that you have built your greenhouse in accordance to all your prerequisites it is time to make it flourish.  One great thing about your greenhouse is that you have complete control over the climate conditions within.

Greenhouses are aimed at rapid growth and development. Temperature is one factor that is critical to greenhouses for the desired optimum growth. It is therefore all the more important to retain the temperature as per the crops’ requirements.

All greenhouses tend to allow as much light as possible and this source of light can substantially change the internal temperature of the greenhouse. There are certain strategies that can significantly diminish the effect of external weather conditions on the internal vegetation and these are addressed as follows:

Ventilation:

Greenhouses benefit from two types of ventilation in general: automatic and natural ventilation.  Automatic ventilation implies electrically operated exhaust fans and louvered openings. When located strategically, they can potentially supply cooling. However, with natural ventilation, all you need are a few appropriately placed inlets and outlets. Electricity can be used to control these outlets. But if you decide against using electricity, it will take up much more labor as frequent changes are desired.

Natural ventilation can also be supplemented with fog systems that promise augmented cooling. But natural ventilation is futile against higher outdoor temperatures. Whatever means of ventilation are used, it is vital to ensure uniform air distribution so that all plants and crops encounter similar environmental conditions.

Humidity:

It is imperative to control humidity within a greenhouse to safeguard vegetation against diseases. Increased humidity enhances chances of condensation on plant surfaces, as well as greenhouse formation. Humidity can be a big challenge in warm and humid seasons. Vapor pressure deficit (VPD for short) is a calculation of moisture in the air against the moisture at which the condensation will start. The value should always stay between 0 and 1 psi.

Cooling:

When ventilation is not sufficient enough to furnish appropriate cooling, different strategies have to be adopted. Two commonly adopted strategies are pad-and-fan and fog system.

Pad-and-fan system works in collaboration with automatic ventilation. In this system, evaporative pads are set up at the openings that cool the incoming air. This cooled air then moves towards the exhaust fans, picking up heat from the
greenhouse.

Fog systems make use of nozzles that provide a more reliable and effective method of distributing air uniformly. It is recommended to install one nozzle per 50-100 square feet of the greenhouse. This system, however, demands pure water to prevent blockage of the small nozzle outlets. They are an efficient yet expensive cooling alternative.

Shading:

The most practical approach to pertinent shading is movable shade curtains. This will potentially lessen the energy burden on the vegetation during the day and will readily lock up ample heat during the night. This internal shading system is controlled automatically by a sensor which makes the movable curtains an even better accession.