How Do Automatic Greenhouse Vents Work?

Ensuring your greenhouse has adequate ventilation is key to keeping your plants healthy during warmer months. Many plants are unlikely to survive unharmed if exposed to long periods of extreme heat and a dry atmosphere within a greenhouse.

Plants maintain leaf temperature through the movement of water through the plant and the transpiration of the water through the leaf surface. Air movement over the leaf also has a cooling effect on the plant and helps reduce the risk of the plant drying out.

A great way to ensure your greenhouse stays at the right temperature year round is through the use of automatic greenhouse vents.

What Are Automatic Greenhouse Vents?

It is possible to attach a metal piston to your greenhouse vents, allowing them to open and close automatically. They function in the warmer months when temperatures are high inside and outside your greenhouse. There will be times during these months when the temperature is not high enough for the vents to open, ensuring your plants are not exposed to the cold.

How Do They Work?

The pistons contain a mineral wax that expands when heated. As the temperature rises and the wax expands, the piston opens the greenhouse vent. As the temperature cools and the wax contracts, the piston will close the greenhouse vent. The automatic greenhouse vent doesn’t require electricity to work and is made from durable materials.

What Types of Vents Are Available?

There are a number of different pistons available depending on which part of your greenhouse you wish to vent. For example, the MK7 Autovent is fitted as standard into the roof vents of greenhouses, although it can also be installed on to side vents.

What Are the Benefits of Automatic Greenhouse Vents?

By fitting automatic vent openers in your greenhouse, you’ll save yourself time and effort. As the weather and temperature changes, you won’t have the worry of having to go into your greenhouse to open vents manually. Automatic vents are great if you own an allotment and you are unable to visit your greenhouse every day; similarly, when at work you won’t have to worry about venting your greenhouse if the temperature suddenly changes.

A greenhouse with good ventilation will keep plants healthy and more resistant to pest attacks. Automatic vent openers can significantly increase your ability to manage pest infestations in your greenhouse.

An automatic vent opener will allow pollinating insects into your greenhouse, speeding up the pollination process. The pistons will also allow a good air flow and help regulate the oxygen-carbon levels within your greenhouse that are most conducive to plant growth.

Automatic greenhouse vents are easy to install and will last for years, taking the stress and worry out of growing plants.