So I am planning to build a plastic covered hoop house for raising chicks. The hoop house will be 20' x 52' x 8'. I need an efficient way of keeping chicks warm and proper ventilation is key since they produce a lot of ammonia. Since I am placing the hoop house on top of my drain field, digging down and installing a climate battery is not an option. So my plan is to use a linear compost pile outside the house that runs the length of the greenhouse (40-50' long). Then blow compost heated air into the house to provide both heat and fresh air. This will also create a positive pressure in the house so ammonia filled air can escape. The intake for the system will be outside drawing in cool fresh air in winter, circulating that air through the compost pile via pipes and heating it and discharging into the house using inline duct fans. My question is
1.Do you think rigid metal 6" duct will hold up under the weight of the compost?
2. How much duct work would I need to effectively heat the air to reasonable temperature?
I believe smaller diameter and longer duct work would work better but I can't find any calculators or articles illustrating how much is needed. I have seen the compost heating designs using piped water but most of the designs show the water discharging into a large barrel to allow the heat to warm the greenhouse and I don't know if that would work on a larger scale. Plus the circulated water doesn't give me air circulation. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
