Over wintering on mesh floor

[dano41]

Sill newbee but after much reading of all the  sites and modern bee approaches
could anyone maybe with a scientific bee background answer these few questions conclusively so I don't have to read through a hundred different answers which may possible work in other parts of the world but not appropriate  for here.I  live in north west Ireland a lot of rain here all year and windy most of the year with a lot of storms.30 degrees Celsius would be very warm for our climate it rarely freezes here and minus 7 would be really exceptional if we experience these low temps the temps would rise in afternoon.
Mesh floors have no drawbacks for me?
The most appropriate way to over winter both large hives and five frame nucs is with a mesh floor sitting on four inch skirt and the hive insulated on all sides and top
?

[Tucker1]

I can share with you an experience with a close friend that used a mesh bottom underneath a Styrofoam hive. Unfortunately, he lost his hive due to the cold. There was honey still in the comb when we opened the hive in early spring. Our winter was long, with lots of snow. The day time temperatures during coldest part of winter were about +3C, with a night time temperature of -5C. We also suffered from almost continuous winds most of the winter. Bee Keepers in our area place solid wood panels in place of (or on top of) the mesh bottoms during early fall. The change over is easy and can be done several ways.

I've sent so time in Larne (Antrim County) during  January and February. I suspect that the strong and continuous winds would draw any warn air out of the hive. Using a solid panel would help prevent this loss of heat. There shouldn't be any "down side" to this approach. However, you do need to provide some limited ventilation to the hive, to prevent/minimize condensation.

Good luck, wintering your girls.  You're very fortunate to live in such a beautiful location.

Regards,
Tucker1