Global Ecovillage Network/Solution Library/Passive solar greenhouse

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To produce food locally and sustainably in more extreme northern and southern latitudes. Applying passive solar design principals to a greenhouse can have dramatic effects on the range of crops that can be grown and the length of the growing season whilst minimising energy consumption.

Groundswell Community Network in British Columbia, Canada have constructed a passive solar greenhouse that greatly extends the growing season for a wide range of crops and reduces energy consumption to a minimum. The north side of the building is insulated and built with a high thermal mass to store heat and the glazed structure is placed on the south side. Surplus heat collected during the day is feed into a heat store beneath the floor. There are also photo-voltaic and solar thermal panels which are used to collect more of the suns energy.

The result is an impressive performance that can see internal temperatures at twenty degrees whilst externally it is minus one.

• Ecology
  • Green Building
  • Renewable Energy & Transport
  • Seeds, Food & Soil

• http://www.greenenergyfutures.ca/episode/73-passive-solar-greenhouses