Greenhouse in the midst of a botanical garden

Case Study

Traditional Greenhouse at Logan Botanic Garden

4 October 2022 | Daisy Faughnan

The Logan Botanic Greenhouse breaks new boundaries, it was the first public glasshouse in the UK to be entirely heated by green energy.

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Bespoke Traditional Greenhouse

Project Overview

Style

Freestanding

Dimensions

20.3m x 5.7m

Colour

White

As the first public glasshouse in the UK to be entirely heated by green energy, Logan Botanic Gardens have four partitioned zones within the glasshouse, allowing varying temperatures for the different planting themes in each zone. A reliable and trustworthy heat source was necessary to maintain the kind of plant collections that were already nurtured here.

David Mitchell was the curator of projects for the Royal Botanic Gardens in Scotland for 20 years, now retired from this post. He was a great believer in the Alitex brand and reputation for quality, believing that the Royal Botanic Gardens deserved the best; from the plants to the greenhouse.

He liked the look of the Alitex greenhouses and the fact that it fitted in with the local vernacular, the partnership with the English National Trust was also a positive.

In order to reduce environmental impact, the Logan glasshouse was heated with an air source heat pump, located at the rear of the glasshouse, which works in a reverse manner to a fridge; taking in cool air to produce heat. To offset the energy required to run the heat pumps (for every 4/5kWh of heat produced they require 1KWh of electricity to drive it), solar power was created from renewable green energy solar panels which were placed on a nearby south-facing roof. These panels generate in excess of 3,700kWh hours per year. To put this in context the average electricity consumption of a UK home is 4,600kWh hours per year.

The design of the heating system was masterminded by Simon Stearne of Harrier Garden Developments, who works closely with Alitex in providing heating solutions for many Alitex greenhouses.

As David Mitchell related, the need at Logan was for a traditional looking greenhouse, with a super modern design approach. “History should be the ship and not the anchor,” he commented. Other greenhouses at Logan were heated by traditional fossil fuels but the aim for the future is to switch to greener forms of energy, such as biomass.

David’s advice for any prospective Alitex greenhouse owner is: “Always go for largest glasshouse you can afford.”

Your glasshouses are so inspirational – for me as a designer – and aspirational for clients. They are always at the top of my recommendation list!

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