Thermal Banking Greenhouse Design -Sustainable Energy

Steven Schwen of Earthen Path Organic Farm (Lake City, Minnesota) has built an innovative greenhouse that allows him to extend his growing season while reducing energy costs.
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[@peteaulit]

"we're not battling the land, we're learning to dance with it, to work with it." yep, well said. This guy embodies what my friend and I have been talking about for a while, and is literally putting his money where his mouth is. Remembering or reinventing how things used to be for thousands of years before machines and chemistry took over our food production and lives.

[@sandhollowhomestead6972]

Wonderful presentation of living in harmony with the earth. Man is just relearning what our part is on this planet.

[@tsewangstobdan10]

Really liked the philosophy behind it. I'm from the Himalayas and planning to do something similar for my hydroponics project. I'm trying to learn how geothermal energy works and the challenge to conserve it for the night time when temperature drops below -10 degree celsius.

[@ShenaniganZone]

this dude got the right idea for living life. hope to start my greenhouse project later this year

[@victoriamiskolczy6336]

I love the practical logic behind the passive solar, and heat banking greenhouses. Anybody with land should employ these techniques!

[@speedbuggy16v]

you dont even need that much land, the ideas apply to a smaller green house as well as larger ones. Not sure about the efficiency between the extremes, but the ideas still work.

[@speedbuggy16v]

I love it, the variety of profits you speak of are sometimes lost in todays world. Thanks for the ideas in how to conserve and use "free" energy!

[@jesset7641]

You sir are a true inspiration. I am taking steps to do exactly what you have, for all the same reasons. Thanks for restoring my faith.

[@mouhamdhazim6644]

same here bro >> i was thinking about it ! now it can be true

[@TalksWithDirt]

I just set up a greenhouse Im going to do aquaponics in. In going to have my first seasonal freeze tonight. All my plants are going to spend the night with the water in the fish tanks warmed by the days sun soak. I can't wait to go out tomorrow AM and greet my warm(er) happy plants that just weathered their first freeze. A small batch of tomatoes, basil, peas, string beans, and oregino.

[@foodfarmerearth]

your greenhouse sounds great, TalksWithDirt!

[@SimpleTek]

I love this building, it's one of the reasons I started my channel on greenhouses using free energy! Thank you so much for this!

[@johnnylawson1329]

great job! I would love to build one of these in a smaller version for my back yard,,

[@Peacefulrelaxvideos]

Wow that looks amazing. Would love to have 1 like that 😍

[@hawkhawk6700]

very nice ending regarding the profits perspective. nice video-thanks

[@harmonysalem9377]

Merci from Montreal, Canada.

[@musicbyfabien6263]

"You know maybe it is a sixties thing" No, this part of the sixties was ahead of it's time.

[@austinjohnson4890]

That's why the hippies were a threat to the government, sustainable independence.

[@speedbuggy16v]

conservation of energy, and working with the earth rather than against it will always be a thing. You either want to be part of the solution, or part of the problem.

[@felixmikolai7375]

Thank I will Try to build one like yours. Happy harvesting :3

[@nafsearthling3214]

Thank you, you truly inspired me to build my greenhouse in your way, I only wonder how I have to convert your system into my aquaponics system.

[@ImASurvivorNThriver]

Great ideas here! Thanks for sharing.

[@foodfarmerearth]

I really like what Steven came up with. Thanks for watching!

[@jamesalanstephensmith7930]

Great design! Looking to permaculture and GH grow in Maine!

[@back2basics597]

Don't battle the land, dance with it. Beautiful and true. God's stewards.

[@BCElginTex]

There is some nice information 'peppered' throughout.

[@foodfarmerearth]

peppers are good! ;-)

[@DEVUNK88]

I like what Steve said about success not just being about $$$$. I find peace of mind and having purpose goes along way. having money is great but it is also a burden in some ways.

[@extde]

I am dreaming of greenhouse made from stainless steel and construction glass. The greenhouse that withstand hundreds of years. This would be a real save on materials and less pollution compared to recycling conventional greenhouses.

[@darrensullivan8696]

Земля и воля КФХ

[@genevievegrondin2378]

I couldn't agree more for using the soil for an energie batterie. I live in Quebec witch is far more north. We have 3 month of minus 30 degree celcius. But, the problem i saw is the cost and the low efficacy (coming from the fan and the restriction of the pipes) of using the air for carrying the energie of the hot air at the top of the greenhouse. I always though water makes a mutch better job once you heated it. With that in mind, I used 4 x1000L tank full of water with a small pump that runs the water through dodge caravan radiators. After that, the water runs through a lot of plastic pipe that I buryed in the ground at 2 feet with a shovel. I can keep all my windows closed at 12:00 even if its 30 celcius outside. That way, i was able to build my all year round greenhouse under 3000$, i water the plant with hot water and i store a lot of energie for the next winter.

[@1mtstewart]

would water with ethylene glycol added to prevent freezing be a better medium for storing heat than air? a pipe running across the peak of the green house could collect the heat and a pump would come on and circulate as the temperature reached a desired point for collection to the earth?

[@blastrevino6303]

It would, this video was a waste of grant money.... everyone and their mom uses water and insulation to keep it warm as it goes beneath the roots in the soil.. it raise with heat and keeps fruits and veggies growing all winter too

[@ElisandeWalters]

honestly with projects like this I wish ppl would consider making "update" videos after a few years

[@maryann2970]

You might like the channel "A Different Way". He built a passive solar greenhouse and had a second video explaining what he'd done wrong and what would change when building a second greenhouse.

[@TheDMTLover]

Good reasoning in there. Still, once I start my green house, I'll go hydroponic with a different approach. I'll put it only too.

[@jasonandersen5975]

Frank Zappa is awesome.

[@mimib6253]

Seeing this sort of community in multiple counties in every state

[@mimib6253]

Yes please.....humanity needs better options

[@patglenn7762]

What would be a minimum size requirement in order to be efficient in thermal storage. i.e. At what point would the size be insufficient to support the load requirements?

[@mimib6253]

Kinda surprised nobody has integrated any grey water hydroponics style system in their greenhouse yet

[@niklar55]

The question I have, is how do you replenish the nutrients in the soil, that the plants remove? .

[@crazyplantlady2403]

Where did you buy your glazing/roof?

[@jerryinnes2859]

Couldn't have this been down with water? I dont know about where you live but here we have pool water heaters. Black pipe on the roof of the house, water heats up and circulates back to the pool thus heating the water. This principle can be used to heat the internal of a house with the pipe going to under the floor, I know they do this in England. Seems like a complicated way of heating the ground with air....

[@Christina-CR3a710N5]

Could you grow tropical trees in the areas between the soil heating system? Would the roots cause a problem?

[@erutuon]

It sounds like they couldn't, because he said that the greenhouse goes below freezing on the coldest nights, and that implies it would be below 40 F on other nights. Many plants from the tropics need temperatures consistently above that, so the greenhouse would need heating on some or many winter nights to keep them from being damaged by the cold.

[@RickLarsonPermacultureDesigner]

How's it going now?

[@treefrogs2894]

one of the best method I used I use 900 degrees Fahrenheit oil on a 600 gallon with granite rock use the oil for solar transfer started heating oil you can storage it at very high temperatures great for hot water system it's not nothing a new idea I done at the New York City for a laundry mat true a hot water system oil temperature go up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter it produce a lot of hot water great saving for money the conventional solar hot water system you don't storage a lot of heat which is a major problem for high demand water system same principle for a greenhouse I did one upstate New York a prototype it work out exception and do you well in the dead of winter you could store lot of energy in oil granite use very high temperature oil with proper engineering

[@mokabedikaziyo5609]

Hello fellow farmers, i am here in Botswana in Southern Africa and the temperatures here can reach 40 degrees celcius during the hotest times of the year, so i want to know if this can work for me in these conditions and how i van make it work ? I also want to know the amount of perforated pipes i need underground to sufficiently cool and warm a 10mx30m greenhouse? Lastly regarding the perforations on the pipes, is there any spacing requirements between the perforations?

[@gloriouspopemantom373]

Consider using hoses with liquid ~3m down in the earth. I dont know your ground temperatures but I assume its reasonably cool. Probably around 2-300m total, 4-5 loops depending on your pump system. Much cleaner and easier than air. Car radiators with fans in greenhouse for cooling/heating. You could easily connect the liquid loops to a heat pump to get more control.

[@foodfarmerearth]

MN farmer extends growing season & reduces energy costs…

[@slumbucketretro]

I lived in this greenhouse for about 6 months.

[@mikecorcoran6834]

This lesson is so important for people to see who want life as it was supposed to be, rather than a slave society chasing dollars to buy crap that never enriches their lives.

[@justinmason9846]

Why not just have a geothermal heating and cooling system. It's very similar to that but with water rather then air like they are using. I don't really understand this I would think is less effective, but I'm not to sure the difference between the 2 methods.

[@JohnGuest45]

+justin mason Air has more advantages in this application..which is growing plants. A lot of people lose sight of this when they are designing the system. ;) Putting air underground not only cools it but dehumidifies it too. When the system is running, the greenhouse air is circulated so you dont need a HAF fan to provide airflow which evens out the temperature and co2 distribution. Plants grow better with gentle airflow over the leaves ;) The thermal mass allows heat to be stored and retrieved but thats only half the story. The heat keeps the roots warm, the water that condenses out in the tubing is available to the roots, the air running through the tubing helps to oxygenate the soil which is not only good for the plants but also for the aerobic bacteria. These systems do work extremely well, unfortunately, most of the ones on you tube are badly designed. The tube lengths are generally far too long, they are buried too deep or in a single layer and in every case they lack sufficient fan power to realise the full potential. The installation in this video has a very odd tubing layout from what i can see. Assuming all the standpipes are sealed, the entire flow from the 6 loops has to flow down the two (sch 80) 4" return tubes. Thats not good as each 4" return will be carrying half of the flow originally supplied by a 10" header. If thats the case, apart from increased frictional loss and back pressure, the airflow in the entire system will be unbalanced so some tubes will get more of the air than others. The frictional loss and backpressure not only reduces the fan`s output (less air), it increases the running cost because it`s having to work harder.

[@eustacemcgoodboy9702]

$40,000 seems VERY expensive for a green house to me. You can build a heated green house much cheaper. Heat it with a partially buried wood oven fueled with wood from your own land. Fully organic, 100% bio and renewable. He admits that most of the money and materials were supplied by grants. Would you pay $40,000 for a green house in your back yard? I sure wouldn't.

[@nerdy1701]

To be far I think that the high price of some of these early projects are because they are experimental. With what has been learned from these projects now days it is definitely possible to make these cheaper and more sustainable then conventional methods. Unfortunately experiments are expensive! Lol

[@eustacemcgoodboy9702]

@@nerdy1701 I can by 4 (right, FOUR of them) pre-fab Riga brand greenhouses in Riga Latvia for 1000 Euro. 1120 shipped anywhere in Latvia. Just sayin'.

[@Eliukcory]

It looks like a lot more than just a green house to me. With the barn. Square footage wold be helpful. May be I miss it if he said.

[@jondavidgriffin]

without insulation underground how is the stored energy not lost into surrounding soil?

[@DMalenfant1]

He said at the beginning the point was to heat the ground.

[@jondavidgriffin]

@@DMalenfant1 yes but how is that heat not lost to the surrounding soil is my question

[@treefrogs2894]

another creative way storing heat at high temperature you can turn it into steam steam turbine

[@JohnGuest45]

Using high temperatures is very inefficient due to the losses.

[@RandomUserName92840]

Someone being murdered in the background at @3:10

[@ravingcuriosity6345]

Maybe I missed that part, but I would be very interested in some measurements. How warm was the day, how warm was inside of the greenhouse, how warm was the floor, how warm was during the night, how your new design fare comparing to the old design? I think those are very important things to clarify in order to motivate more people to adopt such design. Because then we would know not only that it works, but how efficient it is!

[@keithhound]

A more affordable option is a Walipini

[@foodfarmerearth]

I had never heard of a Walipini - so I looked it up. Great idea! I'm not sure how the plastic might hold up in extreme weather, but the concept is a good one. Thanks for sharing.

[@gonnagetya1433]

Kinda missing the concept behind the video. Standard Walipini (basically in ground greenhouse) still has the majority of issues that a standard greenhouse has (excess heat at solar noon, loss of heat during night) but also has lack of sun during winter when the sun is at a low angle. Might work for southern users where the sun isn't as low in the sky.

[@Shawn-Hyde]

How was it that the grant for this was secured? I have a similar project with a different design concept to address the colder ground temperatures here in northern Minnesota and am interested in turning it into a larger "open source" project. Great job on the project. I would also like to make note to others that are doing aquaponics and green house designs that you should try to stay clear of PVCs... PVC(polyvinyl chloride or vinyl) and CPVC(chlorinated polyvinyl chloride or vinyl) and the cement used to join it is not safe for food use, not safe for grow beds and not safe for aquaponics. PVCs contain known human carcinogens and they leach into fish tissue, food and the water when used in this environment. Many of the cheaper imported PVC's also contain lead, mercury and other even more harmful chemicals. People really need to stop using PVC for growing foods, to many people on youtube using it for anything from chicken watering and feeding to aquaponics setups. PVCs are not safe, do some research please.

[@foodfarmerearth]

Steven applied for a grant through SARE. There's info for applying for grants via their website: sare.org

[@Digger927]

As per the comments about "profit", some minor good points he makes about the value of health, etc...but saying profit is a crude measure just is not realistic...money makes the world go around folks...sustainability and whatnot is a good catch phrase but to be truly sustainable it has to afford itself.