Well keep in mind that this is my first year. Also keep in mind that I run top bar hives and Warre hives. I built my Warre hive with 2x10 lumber. So that is already double the width of most hives. Warre hives also come with insulation via their quilt. So for that I just put up a little wind break. For my top bar hives, which I used 1x wood I put solid foam insulation on the sides and R-13 under the roof. My top bar hives are already setup in an area that has a natural wind break so I did not do anything for that.