Our hives against wood
Three field trials: in winter, in autumn and in the height of summer in Seville. In each one we placed an Actuaria hive next to a wooden hive of the same model and logged the temperature every 15 minutes.
- More heat insideOn average, +5.1 °C in winter and +4.1 °C in autumn compared with wood.
- Much milder nightsIn winter, a night-time average of 13.9 °C versus 6.2 °C in wood. It never fell below 9.3 °C.
- Stable brood35.9 °C on average in the brood area and never below 35 °C. In wood it fell to 32.4 °C.
- Cooler in the heatIn summer in Seville it never went above 38 °C, with the sun probe at 63.9 °C. The wooden hive reached 41.2 °C.
Up to 50% more thermally stable than wood
We compared how much the temperature rises and falls between day and night inside each hive. In every trial, the Actuaria hive swings much less.
| Trial | Actuaria | Wood | Actuaria varies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter, Layens | 13.7 °C | 22.1 °C | 38% less |
| Autumn, interior | 3.9 °C | 7.4 °C | 47% less |
| Autumn, brood area | 0.9 °C | 2.0 °C | 55% less |
| Summer, Seville (in the sun) | 4.3 °C | 11.0 °C | 61% less |
| Average of the trials | 50% less |
Average daily temperature swing inside each hive, over the full days of each trial. In addition, on the autumn nights the Actuaria hive lost 47% less heat than the wooden one.
Layens hives in frost
Trial 1 · Winter · 19 Dec 2018 – 2 Jan 2019
An Actuaria Layens hive and a wooden Layens hive over two winter weeks, with sub-zero lows on half the nights. 1,339 readings per sensor.
on average at night, from midnight to 8 am. 13.9 °C in Actuaria, 6.2 °C in wood and 3.8 °C outside.
at the coldest moment. 24 December, 7:30 am: −3.1 °C outside, 10.2 °C in Actuaria and 1.3 °C in wood.
of the time below 5 °C in Actuaria. The wooden hive spent 17% of the time below 5 °C.
average swing between day and night. 22.1 °C in wood and 27.8 °C outside.
For the best view of the charts, we recommend viewing this information on a computer or tablet.
At night the wooden hive gets close to the outside temperature; Actuaria stays between 9 and 15 °C. In the sunny hours it also softens the peaks: a maximum of 33.5 °C versus 35.6 °C in wood.
Key temperatures
Night-time average and lowest temperature recorded during the whole trial.
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Temperature study in the brood areas
Trial 2 · Autumn · 27 Sep – 12 Oct 2019 · Cantabria
An Actuaria hive and a wooden hive in the same apiary, with one sensor inside each hive and another in each brood area. 1,439 readings per sensor.
Brood area
Where the larvae develop. It needs steady warmth, close to 35 °C.
on average in the Actuaria brood. 34.2 °C in wood: 1.7 °C less. The Actuaria brood was warmer 98% of the time.
was the minimum in the Actuaria brood after the sensor settled. In wood it fell to 32.4 °C.
of the cold hours with the brood below 34 °C. With less than 8 °C outside, it happened 71% of the time in wood.
average daily variation in the brood. 2.0 °C in wood. Largest in a single day: 1.5 °C versus 2.7 °C.
For the best view of the charts, we recommend viewing this information on a computer or tablet.
Top: the brood; bottom: the outside temperature on its own scale. When it drops below 15 °C outside, the brood in wood falls towards 33 °C. The Actuaria brood barely moves.
When the cold arrived
Average brood temperature over the first three full days (28–30 Sep) and the last three (9–11 Oct). Outside, the average fell from 16.8 °C to 11.9 °C.
What it means
With warmer, steadier brood, the colony needs fewer bees producing heat and uses up fewer stores. As the weather cooled, the brood in wood lost 1.3 °C; in Actuaria, 0.3 °C.
Inside the hive
Sensor inside the hive, outside the brood nest.
on average inside the hive. 26.4 °C versus 22.4 °C in wood, with a 15.2 °C average outside.
at the coldest moment. 11 October, 7:38 am: 5.3 °C outside, 23.4 °C in Actuaria and 16.3 °C in wood.
lost on the coldest night, versus 6.8 °C in wood. Night of 10 to 11 October.
of the time warmer than the wooden hive. Day-to-night swing: 3.9 °C versus 7.4 °C.
For the best view of the charts, we recommend viewing this information on a computer or tablet.
Degrees lost overnight
From evening to dawn. Lower is better: the colony burns less honey keeping warm.
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Heat test in full sun
Trial 3 · Summer · 18 – 27 Jul 2020 · Seville
An Actuaria hive and a wooden hive in full sun in Seville, with an outside probe also in the sun. The aim: to check that, even though the outside is steel, the heat does not get inside. 894 readings per sensor.
was the maximum inside Actuaria during the whole trial. The wooden hive reached 41.2 °C and the sun probe 63.9 °C.
in the hottest hours, with the sun probe above 50 °C. 35.1 °C in Actuaria versus 38.3 °C in wood. Actuaria was cooler in every one of those readings.
of the time above 38 °C in Actuaria. The wooden hive spent 15% of the time above 38 °C.
average swing between day and night. 11.0 °C in wood and 42.4 °C at the sun probe.
For the best view of the charts, we recommend viewing this information on a computer or tablet.
Heat reaches Actuaria later and much more gently: its daily peak comes around 6:15 pm, about two hours after the wooden hive, and it never goes above 38 °C. It is also steadier at night: a 32.2 °C average from 3 to 8 am versus 29.1 °C in wood.
In the strongest sun
Average of the hours with the sun probe above 50 °C, and maximum temperature recorded.
Show daily data
How they were done
Each trial compared an Actuaria hive and a wooden hive of the same model, placed side by side in the same conditions, with temperature loggers taking a reading every 15 minutes. In the summer trial the outside probe was in the sun, so it reads higher than the air temperature. The charts show the hourly average. These are field trials with one hive of each type; results may vary with climate, location and the strength of each colony.
Thermal camera images
Light and yellow tones are warmer surfaces; purple ones are colder. On the wooden hives you can see the heat escaping through the walls, the lid and the joints.
Photos from the autumn trial
Probes and loggers inside the hives, at the start (27 Sep) and end (12 Oct) of the trial.