Help To Reduce Heat Loss - Tips I Found Useful

[MCB]

After having had issues with correct heating temps I found this great little post about heat loss on a UK forum. For the beginner (and myself) I found some of the tips very useful indeed and thought I’d share it on here:


Q:I have a 6 X2x 2 ft vivarium and powering it is a 200watt komodo ceramic setup on a pulse stat, it Heats the vivarium to about 32 on hot end and 25 on the cold end. The stat is set to 32 so in my eyes this is working...... but, would I be better off sticking another 200watt ceramic setup in there, so it has X2 heating ceramics to stop the x1 ceramic working hard. Would putting X2 in there save on electric than the 1. Hope it makes sense?

There was a post about his viv set up before this answer

A: Having two vents up high means rapid heat loss because heat rises

I close everything off when testing heating
Then I open it up bit by bit until I get the right temp with minimal wattage

I will guess that most of your heat is escaping through the gap in the doors

Try blocking 1/2 of each vent and see what your temps are
Then block each vent totally and measure again

Next stick a wad of paper into the door gap and measure again

You will get a huge shock at how high your temp will go

Now put in about a 50watt lamp with everything still sealed

Your temp should still get pretty high

Take the paper out of the door gap and watch how quickly it drops

After that it is easy
Leave your vents 1/2 blocked
That lets you open or close them depending on summer and winter ambient temps
Silicon a piece of electric cable insulation etc etc onto the edge of one door
That will stop most of the heat that is escaping through there but still let the glass slide easily

It takes a bit of experimenting but you will get a nice surprise with your next power bill

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Feel free to add your tips but another tip I was given to retain humidity & heat in a wooden viv was to make sure all gaps are sealed with an appropriate sealant. I have a couple of mass produced flat packed vivs and the gaps were ridiculous!

[IW17]

Yeah ventilation is a double edged sword. It's easy to have too much. I made this mistake myself when I first started making my own enclosures. It's easy to add them, but more difficult to close them up. One of the best reasons to have your enclosure up and running before buying an animal. Glad to hear you got yours fixed up though.