The Year-Round Solar Greenhouse by Lindsey Schiller

Author:Lindsey Schiller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Society Publishers
Published: 2017-03-09T05:00:00+00:00

FIGURE 10.2. Underground Attached Greenhouse.

Controlling Air Exchange

Exchanging air between the greenhouse and the home behooves both structures, but must be controlled. Otherwise, the greenhouse can easily overheat and over-humidify the home. It can also overcool the home at night — a large uninsulated glazing area will lose a huge amount of heat during winter nights, potentially increasing heating bills.

Separating the two environments is logical because plants and people have different ideal temperature ranges. Plants have a greater tolerance for cooler temperatures (most down to 40°F [4°C]), whereas people like to keep their homes above 65°F (18°C). Since the two have different requirements, trying to heat and cool them as one results in wasteful overheating of the greenhouse. It is better to equip the greenhouse with sufficient thermal storage and insulation, separate the two environments and keep the heat in the home at night. The home can provide a source of backup heat on very cold nights, but we don’t recommend relying on it extensively.

The methods for controlling air flow between the home and greenhouse mirror the options for ventilation discussed in Chapter 7: windows and doors, passive vents, and fans. Refer to Fig. 7.1 for a summary of these. Below, we’ll discuss how each applies to an attached greenhouse.

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