Hey Permies,
I wonder if temperatures were controlled, if you could live inside a greenhouse under a canopy of plants? Would the humidity be too much to handle or would be okay? I thought double walled hoop house.....any thoughts?

You would have to accept a certain amount of temperature fluctuation. Some plants do fine in the same humidity range that people find comfortable. If only those plants were grown, and drip irrigation were used, it could be quite adequate. I know that I could live in perfect comfort in a greenhouse. Someone who is unfamiliar with how they work, might find it completely unsuitable.

This is an interesting concept. If it could work well, then this could be an interesting multi-use housing alternative.

Hugelkultur walls and trellis overhead, lots of floor space....high oxygen.....natural light....food all around you....what's not to like?

If you can handle the heat in the summer. My teenager has considered it as his house (doing the online PDC really got him thinking). He was going to earthberm the north side/end and include a root cellar and a cool room for summer comfort.

You didn't say where you are: that would make a big difference.

I've lived with solar greenhouses attached to our houses for almost 20 years and I love it. But wouldn't want to live in the greenhouse 24 hours a day! On a sunny day it gets roasting hot, on winter nights it gets cold. There is not much thermal mass to stabilize the temperature. Also, in the greenhouses that have a large floor area given over to plants, when it's cold outside you get rain inside from the condensation. The greenhouses that don't have access to so much water, we use more for only heating the attached house, with limited plants, and it's wonderful to sit in those when the temperature is nice. We remove the greenhouses for the summer because they would roast us out of the houses.

Living spaces are more comfortable when the temperature is more moderated. I'm a big fan of thermal mass.

A little cob dome within a greenhouse would make a perfect spot for a bed and sitting area. Cob will smooth out temperature swings and absorb the condensate dripping. I don't see a person wanting to roast inside in summer. During sunny winter days, it's a great spot to be.

Hey Tim, this is my biggest passion! I shared a bunch of thoughts and information on another thread here: http://www.permies.com/t/24432/greenhouses/Living-bioshelter.

As for your humidity concern, it turns out the plants don't like high humidity either for the same reasons: pests, viruses, etc.

Zone 0 is hugely undervalued.

Dave Jacke says something like the permaculture systems that work best are the ones that are lived in most.

How cold does it get where you are?

It is really complicated though, there was a video on this thread that showed a thirty yearish old bioshelter.

The guy said that it had to freeze for a few weeks so that the reproduction cycles of the bugs were complete. There were a lot of frogs too.

It's the best video I've found that would show what it would be like to live in one. http://www.permies.com/t/28123/greenhouses/Hodkins-Conservatory-SEXY#228615

I may end up living in a wofati with an attached greenhouse after seeing how complicated the system was.

Suggest reading up on envelope homes.

Tim, I think there are two issues to be dealt with, one the temperature swings and two the humidity. If those were both managed, then sure, a greenhouse could be a really cool sort of home.

Question is, how difficult is it to control those two items, while maintaining a "greenhouse".

Honestly, I just don't know.

Plus the whole "living in glass houses" thing. Might matter how close your neighbors were