7 Passive Solar Greenhouse Design Tips

Passive solar greenhouses are gaining popularity in cold parts of the world as a way of growing food all year round. There are a considerable number of ways to design and build a passive solar greenhouse but a small number of principles that you can use to ensure success. In this video I talk about the 7 main principles that lead to a successful passive solar greenhouse design. They include:
Insulation
Aspect ratio
Orientation
Glazing and glazing material
Ventilation
Air movement
Irrigation
and giving your plants access to real soil
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[@joshuapersaud1659]

great video brother, You truly are a smart man. You have so much knowledge in your field and a true expert. I challenge you to produce a video and a green house that anyone can do on the cheapest way possible. that can be heated and cooled all year around in Canada, so the world will be a better place

[@loveofgrowing515]

This is amazing informative and intelligent- I am stunned

[@gonelooney5698]

Thank You for passing on this information : )

[@tangobayus]

This is the smart way to do it, with glazing angled for winter sun and insulated walls around it.

[@FruitingPlanet]

Great information here, only thing i would remarke, is that the specific heat capacity is always per unit mass, most of the times j (joule) as unit for thermal energy, kg as unit for mass and k(kelvin) as unit temperature above absolut zero. That means you cant meaningfully compare the specific heat capacity, without dividing by an objects mean density, the density of water for example is much less, than that of stone or concrete, therefore its better specific heat capacity compared to those is not as big as it appears, when space is the limiting factor.

[@BenMonteSS]

Great video, and thank you for sharing. I'm on Long Island Zone 7A, and in the planning stages of my approx 12x16 GH build for this year. What are your thoughts on Solexx 5MM Glazing? Thanks again!

[@dustinthewind5538]

In Calgary did you have any issues with bylaw or code as far as having a wood burning appliance(rocket mass heater) for the greenhouse?

[@ginadecarlo4833]

Thank you

[@VergePermaculture]

Your welcome!

[@organiccleanfoodconnection]

Thanks for the video. I am working on a low budget 6‘ x 20‘ everybody should have one geothermal greenhouse. Any input would be appreciated. I used trampoline frame and old Barnwood. The 4 inch black tubing has three large holes on one side so I wrapped it with light ground cover fabric. So this is probably a mistake :-) but it would be interesting to know how this type of pipe works versus pipe with slits all the way around the pipe. I laid the pipe at 4 feet going back-and-forth in three trenches making the pipe 60 feet. Then I laid another 60 feet2‘ above that. Insulated the soil with 2 inch insulation 4 foot all the way around. I am running double plastic inflated. It is working so far but would like to build another one with pipes 6 feet and 8 feet? Thanks for any suggestions. Everyone has a old trampoline frame laying around :-)

[@KijijiBeaverdam]

Hi great video. Looking at doing one or more of these. Like to know why Curtis stone has a problem with the heat. There is a person in Alaska that has some good information on energy an how things work. Not sure why he said European is way ahead of us in this technology. With so much good to be done for people an there Health.

[@TheGreenmoose1000]

Awesome video! , but fyi figs have a very complex pollination that doesn't work well in green houses.

[@tobysydney1411]

Can u surround a passive solar house with water and fill with fish like a Mexican Aztec Chinampa design? Would it effect greenhouse foundations? This could add fertility and water to system

[@kuibeiguahua]

Thank you, the possibilities are endless!

[@fallingleaves6951]

Thanks! good information. Is your rocket heater using cob or cement? If cob, how does the greenhouse moisture effect it?

[@VergePermaculture]

Cob. It is great, except for the intersection at the floor. That is where it has issues.

[@AKDanMusicMan]

I've seen screenshots of the passive solar greenhouse design tool, and it's mentioned here, but I did not see it on your website. Is that tool now only accessed from one of your online courses, or is the tool discontinued?

[@brianwolf3470]

You mentioned using cooler panels on the exterior, is this re-purposed walk in cooler walls?

[@VergePermaculture]

Or new ones. There are plenty of manufacturers of these panels.

[@johnkstinson]

Hey great video! At about 36:14 in the video you say that "R2 is a tenth of R20". I just wanted to clarify that the effectiveness of insulation with respect to R-value is not linear, so in terms of measuring heat loss, R2 is much less effective than a tenth of R20. It's probably closer to R2 being 50x less insulating than R20.

[@VergePermaculture]

jks you are right but there is a level of detail that is needed in order to get a point across. Going into non linearities of insulation would loose a lot of people. Thx dir the comment.

[@VergePermaculture]

Actually, the non linearity is opposite. There is a diminishing return as you go larger.

[@TheJunkyardgenius]

hi rob, great video. I am designing a passive solar greenhouse on my allotment in Scotland. your videos and website have been a great help. I was looking up insulation r values. my first thought as a carpenter was to use kingspan, celotex or xtratherm rigid foam board with foil covering as it's the best product we use on all new houses and is excellent at retaining heat. After looking up the technical specs, it's r value is 4.5m2k/w for 4 inches or 100mm thick but to get an r value of 20 I would need 16 inch thick walls. that doesn't seem right, your walls don't look that thick. what type of insulation do you use or recomend?

[@VergePermaculture]

I think you might be confusing R value with RSI. That foam board, if I am thinking of the right stuff has an R value of close to R 7/inch.

[@TheJunkyardgenius]

VergePermaculture thanks rob, I since found a conversion chart European values are si r values based on metric system. us or canandian r values are different. when you look up insulation, none of the companies here ever put si r value, it's just r value so it can be a bit confusing if your watching a mix of online videos, U.S. progragrames and UK programmes and the all just say r value. but I have my numbers and realised I only need 3 inches but since I am building it with stud walls, I have opted for a mix of 4 inches of glass wool in the wall as I have aquired lots through spares from jobs, the to stop cold bridging where the studs are, I am going to put 2 inches of polystyrene insulation over studs on the inside (but could also be done on the outside like a jacket) then my sheathing ply ontop which will take me a bit over r20 in total and it keeps the cost down as polystyrene here is very cheap compared to kingspan polyuerethane sheets. Thanks again.

[@moviebuffbabe5651]

a lot of plumbers would argue with your "air pruning" idea as they have to replace pipes with roots due to plants finding water and unless i'm mistaken they would find condensate moisture in those pipes used for heating and cooling.

[@FruitingPlanet]

you actually don´t even need those pipes, if you are using crushed stone an intake and outlet, even if you use drainage pipes and the roots grow in to them, the air will move around.

[@markroeder2491]

It seems as though you missed it on glazing angles. Reflectance is increase dramatically over 15 degrees off perpendicular.

[@VergePermaculture]

Our new green houses are far shallower.

[@tambyinthavong4195]

won't to build one but don't know where to start ?

[@VergePermaculture]

There is a lot of content on greenhouse on the channel. If you are looking for a course we have a 10 week Sef Study course you can take. Here are the details. www.smallfarmacademy.com/affiliates/dashboard

[@mfredricknew]

am I to understand in tip #5 when you say that you can not beat soil based growing that you are opposed to aquaponics?

[@VergePermaculture]

Not opposed, I just think Soil is best.

[@scottsutton7989]

Great information except your comment of placing plants into the subsoil, many greenhouses are built upon concrete, or are rent situations and the landlords don’t want the subsoils disturbed. You can easy stay organic and grow in containers, beds or whatever medium you prefer ? Ie aquaponics, hydroponics on and on. Most who take on building a greenhouse should have that decided “befor” they start!!! From my personal observations using “inground” growing techniques takes up far more real estate inside the greenhouse. Anyway for what it’s worth my family has farmed hundreds of acres for now third generation in Arizona. Cheers...

[@1marceltony]

like being on video need attention badly ?

[@VergePermaculture]

I am not sure what you are saying in this comment.