The Year-Round Solar Greenhouse

Build your own passive solar greenhouse for year-round food production in any climate

The Year-round Solar Greenhouse is the one-stop guide to designing and building greenhouses that harness and store energy from the sun to create naturally heated, lush growing environments even in the depths of winter, covering principles of solar greenhouse design and siting, glazing material properties and selection, controlling heat loss, ventilation, and construction methods. Additionally, an in-depth section covers sustainable ways of heating the greenhouse without fossil fuels, including using thermal mass and storing heat underground with a ground to air heat exchanger.

Variations include attached solar greenhouses, earth sheltered greenhouses, plus integrating hydroponics and aquaponics. More than a dozen case studies from across North America provide inspiration and demonstrate specific challenges and solutions for growing year-round in any climate.

Fresh, local nutrient-dense fruits vegetables are hard to find in winter in cold climates. Growing warm-weather crops like tomatoes, bananas, avocados, and other perennials is nearly impossible using conventional structures. The solution for millions of backyard and small-scale commercial growers is self-heating solar greenhouses.

Grow your own food, anytime, anywhere using the power of the sun!

Autorentext

Lindsey Schiller studied conventional greenhouse design and management at the University of Arizona's Controlled Environmental Agriculture Center before delving deeply into solar greenhouse design. With co-author Marc Plinke, she founded Ceres Greenhouse Solutions to research, design and build energy-efficient year-round greenhouses. Lindsey lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Inhalt

Introduction

Section I: The Big Picture

1. What Is a Solar Greenhouse?
2. Growing Indoors: History and Future Trends

3. Planning for the Greenhouse

   Section II: Designing and Building a Solar Greenhouse

4. Siting and Orientation
5. Controlling Light and Heat Gain: Glazing
6. Controlling Heat Loss: Insulation
7. Ventilation
8. Greenhouse Geometries
9. Greenhouse Construction Basics
10. Attached Greenhouses

11. Earth-sheltered Greenhouses

    Section III: Heating and Cooling Methods

12. Passive Thermal Mass
13. Using the Earth for Heat Storage
14. Solar Hot Water
15. Rocket Mass Stoves and Compost Heaters

16. Powering the Greenhouse

    Section IV: Growing in the Greenhouse

17. Creating the Greenhouse Environment

18. Aquaponics and Hydroponics

    Appendix 1: Temperature Ranges of Common Greenhouse Crops
    Appendix 2: Optimizing Glazing Angles
    Appendix 3: Supplemental Lighting

    Index
    About the Authors
    A Note About the Publisher