Check with your local gas utility about buying your own gas and having it delivered to you. Although this won't help with the current winter's heating bill, buying fuel in the summer when it is more abundant and cheaper can help with next winter's fuel bill. Evaluate Your Heating Method Alternative heating methods such as radiant heating, which heats the object and not the air space itself, may be an option for some growers. Such systems are designed specifically for greenhouses and direct infrared heat directly onto plants, floors, benches, and walkways, which in turn become secondary heat-producing sources. Although not fully researched, reports by growers suggest radiant systems may save 30 to 50 percent on fuel bills.
Convection heaters are an option for hobby and small commercial greenhouses.
Although not as automated as more sophisticated systems, their relatively low price is attractive to some growers. These heaters use many types of fuel, including wood, coal, oil, or gas combusted in a firebox. The heater is usually at one end of the house and exhaust exits are at the opposite end. Heat passes through an exhaust pipe along the ground between ground beds or beneath benches. It is important that the exhaust not contact the crop, because incomplete combustion or impurities in fuels may injure greenhouse plants.