Hello Folks,

I am wondering if anyone here actually lives in a greenhouse as their primary shelter. I have only read one short article about some folks doing that with barrel filled with water to capture heat in the winder and a wood stove on cloudy/cold nights, etc. Does anyone hear currently live in a greenhouse and if so are you willing to share some tips on living in greenhouses or advice, etc. I have heard that there are like 5 counties in sw Virginia that have no zoning so I am thinking a "greenhouse" house might actually fly in some areas provided you have a well and septic in place.

Jason, welcome to permies! The reasons for not doing that are many. Perhaps giving us some reasons for doing it will help

my last place on the coast was very green house like, it had a lot of skylight and had a large area in a loft for plants. i think it was really nice in some ways, i loved the massive natural light and the warmth. but in the heat of summer it was really too much to be inside at all. totally stuffy and way too warm. because it was in the grey foggy coast with perpetually juneary, it worked ok, especially in the winter it was pretty nice.

i like the idea in general and have taken some walks with the idea of living in a half greenhouse. my ideas usually involve having half the structure be greenhouse ish and the other half be an earthen cave, maybe half underground and bermed. that way you could have the best of both worlds, and a hearth in the cave part. the different sides of the house could balance each other out and the temperature situation would be better with having those two different sections joined.

Brian...if you have actually lived in a green house yourself and had ill effects please share them...otherwise lets stay positive when someone has an idea...

Yes you can live in a greenhouse...

It is a personal living choice and there are things to consider, as far as your own personal tolerances to that type of environment. I worked as a zookeeper for a number of years...because of the nature of the work and location...I stayed months on end at work, and didn't even have an apartment. My books and related things being in my truck camper. This was a large green house that contain turtles, crocodilian, and a breeding center for several species other reptiles. Orchids and climbing ficus covered just about every thing and the temperature was a constant 85 degrees most of the time...Frankly, it was beautiful...but not everyone likes the tropics.

Walipini or "Bikooh Garden"are a green house that I have also lived in for a short while...very nice...

Good luck with your adventure in this form of domicile...

Hi Jason,

If your goal is to have a low cost shelter and are willing to live a little rough then I think a greenhouse is a great idea. I have considered it myself but after the kids are grown. Child Protective Services would not be happy with raising 3 children in a greenhouse. But for a single person or a couple I would definitely go for it. I have lived in a wood heated tent and an unheated tent through parts of the winter (Zone 5) when I was younger so this would be no different. For the winter I would probably set up a tent inside the greenhouse. This would be for privacy and maybe a little extra warmth. A rocket mass heater inside a canvas tent which is inside a greenhouse would be awesome. In the summer you can mitigate the heat with shade cloth and venting. I would spend the money and go for a pit greenhouse "Walipini" if I had the choice and the money. That would help with regulating the temp a lot. I would also look into John Hait's idea of building an umbrella around a structure for heat retention. Lot's of ideas to try. Don't wait for someone to do it first, go for it!

i checked out a lot of things like this not long ago, and have bookmarked a bunch of similar things. my friends have recently gotten some land and were looking into putting something up really quick and we were all looking for the best kinds of small sheds, pre made, kit houses and the like.

anywho here is one of the coolest things we found for something pre made that could be together extremely quickly :

http://livingoutfitters.com/cedarshed-sunhouse-8x16

http://livingoutfitters.com/cedarshed-sunhouse-12x12-shed

http://livingoutfitters.com/cedarshed-cedarhouse-10x12

http://livingoutfitters.com/cedarshed-cabana-12x10

actually i think my friend did end up buying one or two of these, tho not sure this was the one he got. the idea was to take a couple of them and use them in parts, basically put them partially together and then to puzzle piece different areas together around other areas that you built from scratch, rather than just use them as is.

but as is, if you are good with tiny spaces, someone could definitely live in one of these.

there were also a lot of pre made greenhouses online to purchase, so their grand plan was to get a pre made greenhouse and a premade shed and configure them together with some other areas built from scratch. and then later build something from the ground up.
ah anywho, thought maybe you might think they were interesting

An Earthship is sort of like a livable greenhouse....check that out....the living spaces and the greenhouse are connected.

We thought about it, my son may actually do it when he moves out.

Humidity and moldy clothes would be the issues to work out, in my mind. But no worse than living in the tropics.

If the greenhouse stays warm enough for the plants and the waterpipes in the winter, sleeping on a RMH bench would be awesome.

I have lived in two greenhouses and several sun rooms. I made no attempt to cultivate plants in any of them. I was concerned only with staying warm and dry. You must be a morning person. They heat up fast.

I built one when I was 19 and living in a transient camp north of Lake Superior while looking for work at gold mines in the area. It was the best home in a camp with many drunks living in squalor. I filled one end with rocks which heated up during the day and gave off heat at night. Visitors waited outside in the mornings, to warm themselves after frigid nights in damp canvas tents.

Here is a link to a person who lived in a greenhouse but lots of alterations were done. http://www.instructables.com/id/Live-in-a-Greenhouse/