The design of a commercial size Chinese style passive solar greenhouse in Alberta

My greenhouse is 100m long, 10.5m wide and 6m tall. It has double poly film layers. It is insulated by blankets and clay back wall. I grow year round without heating

[@surreygeorge11]

25 deg inside during an Alberta winter without burning fuel or elec? I think that's amazing. I'll be watching you!

[@oby-1607]

You must really like Olds Alberta. You have engineered a fantastic machine of a greenhouse. We should all look to this for inspiration. There are ideas in this I would never have thought of. Thanks for sharing.

[@dongjianyi2492]

Thanks

[@davefroman4700]

This is a commercially available unit from china. He did not reinvent the wheel. They are way ahead of us.

[@davefroman4700]

@@dongjianyi2492 I can only imagine how much it cost you in shipping to get this thing into Canada.

[@losclaveles]

@@davefroman4700 got the details?

[@chrishayes5755]

@@davefroman4700 there are individuals in the US studying and successfully developing these types of technologies. they aren't fully commercializing them because they tend to be weird hippies. they're building their greenhouses underground with only part of the roof exposed. I can't remember the names of the people leading the development - you can look into rocket mass heaters and branch off from there.

[@jannya97]

This is sick! Love how "low-tech" this is - yet still one of the smartest greenhouse designs I've seen.

[@13c11a]

Your comment is sick.

[@swilhelm3180]

You sir are a perfect example of how immigration makes us stronger and better. You do something great like this, then tell everyone else how to do it too. Thank you for choosing Canada. This is so very impressive. Everything is chosen so carefully to function well. You have a very pragmatic, logical and functional way of thinking. Perfect to run a business. :)

[@dongjianyi2492]

Thank you so much!

[@Stu2366593]

Totally agree!

[@swilhelm3180]

@@dongjianyi2492 You could have taken your skills to run any business and you would probably have done well. But....you chose a business that actually benefits people. We all need to learn how to grow food better. Higher quality food helps people live a lot longer. So your work is lengthening the life of your customers. How many people can claim that? VERY few! So often young people choose a career based on 2 things: The financial potential and the respect of others. And a few consider if they even like their prospective profession. So few people consider a career that will really help others. When we do this in a way that is very unique, that is far from the norm, where few have gone before so failure is all the more likely, this takes special courage. You did exactly that. You did what few dare. Investing in something unproven is very, very hard. We all want a sure bet. Very few of your viewers realize how difficult it is for many immigrants to get loans to start a business so they have to use their own money. To do this they work so hard and long for many years. No wonder so few of these businesses fail. There's no way they'll let it fail after planning and saving for so long! Often easy money doesn't help people at all. It makes them soft and prone to giving up.

[@dongjianyi2492]

@@swilhelm3180 Thanks. I am working hard to grow the best taste tomatoes:)

[@swilhelm3180]

@@dongjianyi2492 Is it expensive to get your food tested for its vitamin/mineral content? If it was affordable you could try different techniques and see the nutritional results. It would be a powerful selling feature once you got significantly higher than average.

[@TwoRiversFarm707]

When my mother added another story to her house in California in the 1970's, I took a solar class at a local college and got the architect to design a 12" slab under the new part of the house, cut one corner off the house facing directly south (it was going up another floor too, so we still more than doubled the size of the house) added a huge double--pane sliding glass door along that new south wall and added insulated curtains. We tiled the slab floor with red Spanish tile so we would be adding to the heat storage, similar to your wall. We would open the curtains in winter and close them in summer (similar to how you are using your blankets). That room was BY FAR the most comfortable room in the entire house year round. We would grow orchids in that room very well! You have a MUCH harder burden way up there. HUGE CONGRATULATIONS on that incredible greenhouse!

[@aydinmb9980]

The 1 m thick clay wall absorbs heat during day and sustainly release heat at night . Excellent idea

[@honumoorea873]

Design existing for decades.

[@yasingach]

Hi Jianyi, that greenhouse is very impressive. Thank you very much for sharing the details of the construction with us. It is very hard to find up to date information about chinese style passive greenhouses. Thank you, thank you !

[@dongjianyi2492]

My pleasure!

[@jamesgoodwin7537]

Mr. Jianyi I've been a enthusiast of passive solar heating for decades. I could offer you some suggestions. You have introduced me to ideas I was unaware of - the snow vibrators. For one. I am a newer greenhouse grower, in start up mode in SW Ontario. Would you be willing to talk to me via email? To share ideas. I too thank you for the insight into the Chinese Passive Solar houses. They look impressive from Google Maps, and the little other info I've seen. I mainly grow tomatoes too. Thanks James

[@najedejan]

@@dongjianyi2492hi, I’ve been looking at your video over and over, and I think I’m ready to start my own passive greenhouse. Can you please share with me the contact details of the Chinese manufacturer of the construction? I found several of them on Alibaba, but would prefer to get in touch with the recommended supplier. Thanks in advance!

[@dongjianyi2492]

@@najedejan Hi. You can email me at [e-mail]

[@DavidSmith-fx2bu]

I don't say this often, I am impressed. Thank you for your hard work and sharing it. This will catch on, hopefully one day Canada can become self sufficient without having to depend on importation of goods. With this kind of technology, the sky is the limit. :) Thank you Sir.

[@oBseSsIoNPC]

My friend, this is just the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Lowtech and so efficient. Exactly what we need in this climate! Beats the crap out of the energy debate. Work smarter, not harder :)

[@Felem1000]

Man ,you should automate that closing-opening sequence! It's a DIY process and it can be built for dimes ! The whole concept is just AWESOME!

[@jaminroyale5219]

Yeah you are totally right. Micro controller that read inputs of temperature. Takes feed from google Weather. Make it smart!!

[@mikelewis1812]

Amazing!! Thanks for sharing this. This design will soon be seen all over Alberta, I am sure.

[@dongjianyi2492]

Thanks

[@HashInfo]

@@dongjianyi2492 you are too Kool!

[@raym1705]

Amazing design! Maybe we should build houses like this as well to save energy.

[@TyLockton]

it's called an earthship. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthship#:~:text=An%20Earthship%20is%20a%20type,pioneered%20by%20architect%20Michael%20Reynolds.

[@HashInfo]

Nice they want you reliant on them for energy

[@chadwickpainter8212]

I could watch the blanket go down all day.

[@judithriverarosso1760]

Wonderfully detailed presentation. I bet you that your consulting services will be in high demand.

[@TheMujiFuji]

I’ve been researching this design...your solar greenhouse is amazing! Great design with the dual roof layer to keep the blankets dry!! Subbed...thanks for the knowledge!!

[@CampinMum]

I’m a big fan, only two videos in! Good for you Sir, great to see unique methods to grow in Alberta💕👍

[@LithaMoonSong]

Thank you so much for sharing this, I've been telling anyone who will listen this should be done in every town and city in Canada.

[@groovygrannysbicycle]

This is a wonderful application of passive solar. Makes me really want to build my own 'small scale' version for my little garden here in Germany. Thank you for sharing your insights.

[@truelinecarpentry3459]

I live in central Sask and have been dreaming of doing exactly this for years. Very inspirational.

[@richstone2627]

I never knew something like this was around. Very cool. Thank you for sharing.

[@SashaXXY]

Awesome! Thank you for sharing the design details. I'm fairly set on moving far north and this kind of information is exactly what I need. Subbed!

[@AnnemieM]

Thank you Dong for sharing this and for doing this. Bless your endeavor. I hope this type of greenhouse is catching on in the world. This is awesome. ❤

[@bradtisch7803]

I am really impressed! Genius use of insulation, heat sinks, and the sunlight to keep the greenhouse warm during the winter. Working smarter sure beats working harder, although you work very hard. Happy New Year!

[@Janmification]

Thank you for sharing this information. Clever design, there should be more of it. Best wishes for your continued success.

[@hopepeace4956]

This is amazing, thank you so much for sharing. Wishing you and your family / farm all the very best success.

[@dongjianyi2492]

Thanks!

[@t.b.bishop9749]

Bravo Sir. This is quite inspirational. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[@ODriscolls]

This is so impressive!! I love how it releases heat from the clay. I am in Nova Scotia and while it is warmer here our growing season is pretty short. I wonder if I can incorporate a smaller scale of greenhouse like this to my homestead. Thank you for sharing this!

[@ondrejroberto2896]

Trombe Wall design

[@honumoorea873]

@@ondrejroberto2896 No need those trombe walls which are complex for nothing. Thermal mass, passive solar, insulation....all is here.

[@palco22]

You think Nova Scotia (Halifax 44° North) has a short growing season ! Winter arrives in Olds, Alberta (51° North) in October and spring arrives in June !

[@ODriscolls]

@@palco22 🤣🤣 I'm so spoiled. I'm watching people down in North Carolina start their seeds. I could probably grow for a while longer in the fall with a greenhouse. I retract my statement lol

[@palco22]

@@ODriscolls I lived in our Canadian west (I was much younger then !) and winter in Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba temperatures were admittedly on the cold side but with a good parka, -35°C was nothing ! The air is pretty much always dry so a good coat would stop the wind and the cold but I've been living in Québec since and with the humidity here -1°C seems a hell of lot colder. It goes threw your $500 winter parka, threw you skin, threw your soul and out the other side. It is cold out Alberta way but a wall stops the wind and the cold is nothing and like I said, here in Québec, the cold will find you anywhere !........Nova Scotia is one great place to visit though, in the summer of course !

[@robertling9872]

Thank you for sharing...wish you a productive year in the beautiful design.

[@dongjianyi2492]

Thank you so much

[@ericegriffith]

So awesome, we're in Colorado adn this design will work perfectly, thank you for sharing, we will be copying your design!

[@funny-video-YouTube-channel]

Chinese use those in Russia, so it will probably work in Colorado too.

[@paulmaxwell8851]

Dong, I'm very impressed! What a great greenhouse design. I'm designing a new greenhouse for my wife, and I'm going to incorporate many of your ideas. Brilliant!

[@StephenLatimerWoody]

How does this not have 100,000,000 likes??? Well done, Dong Jianyi. We need this in Canada. Very impressive.

[@egSmith-sp9gl]

Nice to see some creative inspiration in this province, Alberta really really needs it !

[@Nick-tw4rs]

I am looking at different greenhouse designs to place on the back south facing side of my house. Something like this seems very well suited to add onto a house to retain better thermal mass. I would modify the slope though of the exterior layer to a higher pitch for better snow shedding.

[@lylmurphify]

Thank you for sharing! Love your very practical design and system

[@williammcduff6531]

Great video and your set up is very impressive and well thought out. I wish you continued success.

[@CaulkOnMyWaffles]

Great video and thanks for sharing. Keep up the awesome work.

[@JP-ie2uv]

This is fantastic! Thanks for sharing the design.

[@melleblanc971]

Very inspiring and enlightening!! Great work for sure!

[@Greenr0]

Air R value is 3.6 per inch. One foot of air space between insulation sheets has a R value of 43.2, two feet 86.4. Yours look at least 5 feet or a R value of 216. It has pretty much no heat loss. Heat come in as part of the sun light, not going out unless you unroll the top layer. If people want a building that has no heat loss, all they need to do is to build two walls and roofs all of the way around, with a few feet of air space in between and insulate under the floor. Keep both layers opaque except windows, then the building interior will probably stay much cooler in summer as well thus no AC is needed. Thank you validating the power of air insulation. Great video.

[@isekaihomestead666]

Very nice presentation, thank you for sharing

[@13c11a]

Your achievement is wonderful. I have subscribed. Thank you!

[@joansmith3492]

super cool! thanks for sharing. Maybe some day you will further explain and give us a close up view of the blankets and how you make them work.

[@channagirijagadish1201]

I absoloutely love your explanation - straight to the point. It is very informative and appreciate it. It would be nice if you send the links to buy the passive green house kit for home use.

[@andrewfischer556]

Thank you for this helpful and informative video. I wish you much luck and $$$ with commercial farming. This is the way of the future. This is the way to be resilient to climate change, global warming , supply chain disruptions, and pandemic lockdowns.

[@7Trident3]

Thank you for the video, excellent english, and video work! I saw how this technology has bettered the life of northern Chinese people! Fresh vegetables year round, good for all north dwellers.

[@deniseward002]

This greenhouse rocks! Rather than "Jailhouse Rock". My gosh we could be living in clover if we used our noggins like this. Would appreciate more information such visuals or videos of other greenhouses in China. I love the way you explained and showed everything in a clear way. I love common sense! Your greenhouse is so big, you could even take refuge there should the stinkers (powers that shouldn't be) decide to pull the plug on the electric supply.

[@anthonypblackburn]

Nice job Sir! No doubt a ton of work.

[@mdinunzio7610]

This is so well thought out.

[@mikenimblett8805]

Thank You Mr. Jianyi. I am sure there are many of us who would love to see more details about your build. If you have any videos of you actually building your greenhouse we would love to see them. We are getting the general principal but we would love to see the little things you ran into, good and bad, while building. Xie Xie my friend.

[@dongjianyi2492]

Sure Mike. I will share more videos how I build the second greenhouse

[@honumoorea873]

Smart way of doing things...! My house kind built on the same design... earth behind the north wall and only glasses on the south side

[@JohnDavidDunlap]

This is the coolest greenhouse I've ever seen!

[@fritsgerms3565]

paving the way for the future. thank you.

[@3crowsfarm16]

This looks great! I am a market farmer in se bc, would love to build that here

[@garthwunsch]

Beautiful engineering. Subscribed! Thank you.

[@rondavison8475]

Thank You for sharing Dong, Auwsome!

[@derekjp6043]

I hope this goes viral, I'm happy to subscribe and support!

[@marin4311]

Very smart and elegant design.

[@trishapomeroy9251]

Some really great ideas here! I am in North Central Washington State USA zone 4b. I can see some ideas that I can use on my small scale farm. Thank you!

[@Strategos92]

A nice one!. Very relaxing to listen to and informativ as well :)

[@R.U.1.2.]

Good job! I hope your hard work pays off in a great way!

[@dongjianyi2492]

Thanks

[@mayqiu2199]

What a fantastic job. Well done.

[@natmccallum8885]

Fascinating; thanks for sharing.

[@DaleClark]

Great work!

[@OutsideSometimes]

I live in the mountains in CO, and a modified version of this greenhouse our property seems like a good idea

[@timbaxter681]

Great design!

[@magicman9486]

WOW!!! I am really impressed. Would really be interested in how your greenhouse is doing with this cold spell we are going through.

[@br6544]

thank you very much Dong Jianyi i will use this for inspiration for my greenhouse design

[@j.j.maaskant7287]

Thank you, Jianyi Dong. Quite interesting even for an amateur like me.

[@microslavery]

That is a pretty slick system.

[@Geoluvsjesus]

Good job brother, thank you for sharing

[@Soothsayer210]

That is amazing Dong. I did not even know that you could do this here in Canada. Thx. for the video. I would have liked to know more about those blankets you were using and the clay wall that you made.

[@jamesstepp1925]

This is a very nice example of the greenhouses built in China now. I have been studying their passive solar greenhouse design evolution for a year or so to build one on my property on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. Nowhere near as large as yours of course, not commercial for me. The basic design has improved so much over the last decade, from original rammed earth walls to the double layer greenhouse covers you displayed. Very impressive and they have a lot of design features I am going to incorporate. I would like to grow USDA zone 6-9 fruits and veggies with it. I will be adding a few things that I did not see in your walkthrough because my growing environment will be even more challenging than yours here in Alaska. 1) I would like to incorporate a heat battery system like a GAHT to store heat from the summer and use it in the winter months. This should help to even out the temperatures more. 2) I will need something like a rocket mass heater for those many days where we do not get any real sun and the system is too cold. They're nice because they use an active thermal mass system for heating and I can tie it into the GAHT system. 3) One idea I picked up from an article on the Chinese greenhouses was to store animals in part of the greenhouse. That seems to have a few advantages. One is body heat from the animals. Another is they produce carbon dioxide to help with plant growth. They produce natural fertilizers for the plants. Chickens and ducks could keep insects to a minimum if they do not bother the plants. It also would keep everything consolidated in one place. 4) I would like to grow the new dwarf citrus trees in the greenhouse. To help with soil amendments as well as heating I am planning to compost in the greenhouse. This will produce carbon dioxide as well. 5) I have a fairly substantial river running through my property and plan on having a microhydro rig to bring up electric for grow lights. waterotor.com/ Thank you for sharing. It was very helpful to see a modern iteration of this greenhouse in real world usage.

[@dongjianyi2492]

Thanks for the great comment. Combining this greenhouse with a heat battery system is a really good idea. But putting animals inside the greenhouse maybe problematic. I used to put chicken in my greenhouse. They made it very very dusty.

[@jamesstepp1925]

@@dongjianyi2492 That is good to know, thank you!

[@3crowsfarm16]

I would avoid putting animals into the greenhouse as they can kick up so much dust that it gets all over the food My buddy had chickens in half his greenhouse and there would be a solid crust of dust on all the keaves and fruit within a day of washing it off

[@dongjianyi2492]

@@3crowsfarm16 Cannot agree more. I had the same problem

[@jamesstepp1925]

@@3crowsfarm16 Noted, as I agreed with the channel owner when he said the same thing. I'll build them something different.

[@pattonmaclean4777]

You are a genius!

[@naturenirvana1]

That's really great. We are on Canada east coast growing a food forest.

[@RaiyanKamal]

A food forest on Canada east coast sounds intriguing. Where are you growing this forest? How big?

[@naturenirvana1]

@@RaiyanKamalOur entire property is 8 acres but fforest project is a smaller area. We do try to plant our entire property permaculture style.

[@jongyoonoh6721]

Thanks buddy, it is amazing challenge.

[@cherrytreepermaculture756]

Beautiful!

[@1943vermork]

Really impressive results

[@josephhellstern949]

Thanks for sharing...

[@scandinavianhomestead2309]

That really cool!

[@OutThere5]

This is impressive. I’m a civil engineer and very much into greenhouse designing. I like the way you have the motors and blankets set up. Add geothermal for cool air during the summer and it will be even more efficient again! Great job

[@hudson8865]

Thank you.

[@vincentjean6756]

Congratulation from Montreal, Jianyi!!!

[@warrenpeterson6065]

I understand the name Dong means: east, winter, manager, and beam. If correct then you were destined from birth to construct a greenhouse based on a style from the east and to manage winter solely through the Sun's beams. Best wishes for much success!

[@dongjianyi2492]

A million thanks!

[@travelvideos]

They have 312 sunny days in Alberta - the sunniest place in Canada. Good to get that all sun and put into good use for the greenhouse! It might not be possible in other places where are gloomy winters.

[@dongjianyi2492]

Sunlight is very important. But this design still helps a lot in the gloomy days.

[@lynnmoss2127]

I’m in Michigan and I am blown away with Dong’s design and automation. I was also wondering what to do with gloomy days?

[@bounjamin]

@@lynnmoss2127 I think the blanket stays down if it is during a colder day

[@ladyslipperland]

Friggin' amaaazing !!!!!

[@JordanBeagle]

Sending hope that it's functioned well in the past two weeks with this cold snap

[@mog5858]

thanks for sharing

[@phaganators]

You are the future my friend

[@mallorymyers7525]

This is a very interesting idea.

[@darylwade2335]

This is inspiring me to do something similar here in eastern Ontario.

[@christophetache2594]

Thanks , very cool!

[@SimpleTek]

I can't even put the right words together how impressed I am. I LOVE the inside roll up thermal blanket. The design is very impressive. Is this a kit or did you design it? I'm so impressed I included a link to your channel from mine . I have sooo many questions.... I seriously want to come visit once the pandemic slows down. Manitoba here. GREAT videos!!!!

[@dongjianyi2492]

You are welcome to visit my greenhouse

[@SimpleTek]

@@dongjianyi2492 I hope to come visit this summer!!!!!!!!!!

[@James-lz1in]

This video is outstanding! Can you explain what materials the insulated blanket is made out of, and if there's anything you'd change about it? I'm designing a greenhouse of my own based on this design, but I'm having a lot of difficulty finding any products like that blanket sold in the US. I'd love if you could share your experience with them and/or any viable alternative products you've considered.

[@anilgargsfo]

Very impressive

[@bobdebouwer7835]

Awesome!

[@SdaCosta22]

Incredible

[@kangdanlin]

nice video

[@drew609]

good stuff~!

[@jacobschenkel1010]

新年好！非常棒，谢谢你的分享

[@dongjianyi2492]

谢谢，新年好！

[@willjennings7191]

Just a note: the inside layer of the insulating blanket should be a reflective surface, not an absorptive surface. If you can properly engineer the interface between a foil and black layer, then you would retain more heat.

[@dongjianyi2492]

Great advice. Will talk to the manufacturer about it. Thanks

[@willjennings7191]

@@dongjianyi2492 I would consider applying a desiccant in this context to prevent ice crystal nucleation at the thermal boundary. You might also deter mold and algae.

[@dongjianyi2492]

@@willjennings7191 The insulated blankets are super dry. Because they absorb too much heat in sunny days.

[@willjennings7191]

@@dongjianyi2492 I would start working with diatomaceous earth in this setting as a desiccant and aphid treatment. You should also consider adding a CO2 producer to the greenhouse. I would try a worm bin for the spent tomato vines.