Ice build up on greenhouse door

When the temperature falls below 0 degrees F, we can have a problem with ice build up on greenhouse door can be a real problem. The moisture from the warm moist air inside the greenhouse tends to condense on the thin aluminum skin of the door and door frame.

This makes it hard to open the door and even harder to get the door to close. For now we point the heater toward the door for an hour or so while we go about our business. This keeps the door clean and in good shape.

Last year we attached a layer of insulation on the bottom of the door and that worked for a while but the real trouble is the type of door we use. It’s an aluminum combination storm door that is meant to be used in addition to a regular wooden or steel door.

The best solution to this problem would be to use a heavy insulated door during the winter months. The walls hardly ever get frost because both ends are insulated on the inside with 2 inch foam insulation.
The only other place we get frost is on the steel louvers and this can be a problem, especially when the sun is very bright in February.

During the night the cold air outside causes the ice to form on the inside of the louvers and they freeze shut. Then when the temperature goes up in the day the motors are stressed trying to open the frozen louvers. The best we can do is to keep the fan set at a high temperature and keep the louvers coated with WD40 to help keep the water and ice from attaching to the metal.