When you are assembling your greenhouse, you will have a few choices about where you would like to place your vents. You will have the option of placing the vents in different locations on the roof and on the sidewalls. Here we are going to discuss the vents a little bit more in detail so you can make the best choice for where you are going to place your vents for great circulation in the greenhouse.
Venting is used to circulate the air in the greenhouse, to give your plants great air for their growing season and for cooling the greenhouse to keep moisture levels higher in the greenhouse. Each vent will bring air into the greenhouse, to cool off the benches and shelving, but without large ‘gusts’ of wind that could also harm your plants and flowers. If you place your vents on the sidewall, and the air is very forceful you could damage you plants that are in the direct path of the airflow.
During the winter months, you also need a little bit of air from the vents on hot and sunny days so you will need to keep plants out of this cold air path as well. You can also consider placing the vents below the level of the shelving and benches so that your airflow will not hurt any of your plants in the path of the air. Having roof vents is an important decision, and the best locations are found to be opposite of each other. For example, if you draw a rectangle on a piece of paper, the opposite corners would be a great placement for the vents. This way, the air gets swept in by the one vent, and then pushed out the other open vent in the summer months. Creating paths for the air to move is one way to describe good placement for the vents.
Many of the greenhouse kits offer you the choice of putting two on one side and two on the other side, or you could have all four spread out over the layout of the roof. Keeping at least one vent on the roof of the greenhouse where the wind seems to originate most will be an optimal setting.