The Basics Of Solar Greenhouses

In this article we will look at the basics of solar greenhouses and how you can set up and operate your own.

They works by letting in solar radiation and trapping the energy from that radiation to increase and maintain the internal temperature above that of the temperature outside. Solar greenhouses differ from conventional greenhouses in four ways

1. They have glazing o help maximize the sun's heat during the winter.

2. They use heat storing materials to retain solar heat.

3. Large amounts of insulation are added where there is little or no direct sunlight.

4. They rely primarily on natural ventilation for summer cooling.

Understanding these basic principles of solar greenhouse design can help you design and build your own greenhouse.

All greenhouses collect solar energy. Solar greenhouses are designed not only to collect solar energy during sunny days but also to store heat for use at night or during periods when it is cloudy.

Although each greenhouse is a solar greenhouse to some extent there are some differences in the type of solar heating and lighting that you can use. The covering can be glass or heavy plastic, or fiberglass. This helps trap the heat from the sun inside the house each day.

You can use electricity to power a heater at night. If you use a heat pump it will pump the stored heat from the water into the greenhouse. This will help maintain the humidity that the plants need. You need some humidity as well as heat so the plants do not become dehydrated.

The trick in having lower electric costs in a greenhouse is learning how to store solar heat to keep the temperature the same during the night. A traditional greenhouse captures the solar heat during the day, but it loses significant amounts of this heat at night.

One way of maintaining the heat during the night is called passive solar heating. This consists of collecting water in barrels. The water retains the heat and allows it to escape during the night and heat the greenhouse. Another way, which involves more expense, is to have a concrete wall or rocks that can supply the needed heat.

Recent research has looked at using cheap chemical compounds called eutectics to maintain the solar heat in a greenhouse. These are salts that store the heat from the sun at a constant temperature for use during the nights and for cloudy days.

You do need to have a backup system for heating in greenhouse because you can't rely on receiving heat from the sun on a continuous basis.