my passive solar greenhouse design... work in progress.

Hey Fam,

Thought I'd share the passive solar greenhouse that I designed.  I got it under roof about 6 years ago but abandoned it for a while... after some crazy family trauma and finally got back to it during the pandemic.  Hopefully I can actually finish it this year. lol    

South facing
zone 6a
WV
insulated north wall and ceiling, 2x6 walls with roxwool insulation
solexx 3.5 glazing  ( love the stuff)
all exposed wood is cedar
sunk about 4 foot into the ground (insulated block),
windows along the bottom glazed wall as well as across the top
I have tubes run through the floor and outside to act as a thermal battery * but have yet to address power
320 gallon rain barrel setup


I plan to add a rocket mass heater down the length of the back wall and will either be setting up some solar panels or grid tying it meh lol   But this will allow me to automate the windows and circulation fan, fan for the thermal battery and possibly a water pump for nft.  I may try aquaponics ( partially for the added thermal mass) it was my original intent and I may go that route later.  The back room in the building will be used to grow mushrooms and some area for storage and prep.

My goal was to grow year round with minimal energy inputs.  This past winter without power or heat I was able to harvest tomatoes until the beginning of Feb.... and kept several trees and herbs and flowers alive without issue.   Sadly I had a data logger in there and thought it was on..... it was not.    Ill try to update the thread as I actually collect data, finish the build out and figure out how to best use it. lol


Thanks for checking it out.... i always welcome opportunities to learn and grow and welcome any ideas and input!! <3


The pictures below are to show the inside and window design that I went with.

Here is a link to a timelapse o the build that I never really finished. lol
https://1drv.ms/v/s!Ak-5EM4JX9eWgROzKYdPEaP2xMv5

Wow, that's beautiful work!  It looks very well-designed and I am jealous of the space and utility!

Are the circles in the back functional, decorative, or just "fun with the miter saw"?

Thank you!  I still have a lot of work to do figuring out how to best use the space.  

The circles were a decorative way to secure the solexx on the end wall.... also provided miter saw fun, had too many angles and needed circles to even things out   lol  

That's really beautiful, I love it.

Trace Oswald wrote:That's really beautiful, I love it.

Thank you, I appreciate that! <3