Organized submissions on greenhouse design:
Vince and Andrew put this together—most of these links
have been put in the resources section:
Physical Structure
1. Free Standing/Shed Type
Pros - Efficient use of heat from the sun. Easy to
build/basic construction. Can be made to scale, very
large for commercial production or small for use as a
model. Very flexible to modifications and additions.
Cons - Glazing material for glass can be expensive.
Most insulate all walls, floor as well. Can be
expensive depending on modifications and additions to
the structure itself (solar,insulation,ventilation).
http://attra.ncat.org/new_pubs/attra-pub/solar-
gh.html?id=Minnesota
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/greenhou/building.
htm
2. Dome Structure
Pros - Most efficient use of energy capture, even
distribution of heat throughout greenhouse.
Aesthetically pleasing (at least I think so).
Cons - Generally not made for the commercial production
of vegetables, more of a model or small scale
production. Glazing material for glass expensive.
http://www.domegreenhouse.com/
http://www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/aug3/domes.htm
http://www.gardendome.com/solar_power.htm
3. Earthen/Buried Structure
Pros - "Free" insulation from surrounding ground. Less
many spent on physical structure itself. Low
maintenance. Thermally consistent climate. Less heat
loss from wind, fewer surface area for wind to hit.
Cons - Can be expensive depending on substrate being
dug in to. Not large in scale, would be used as a model
rather than a source of a legitimate amount of food.
http://www.bensoninstitute.org/Publication/Manuals/Wali
pini.pdf
http://www.motherearthnews.com/uploadedImages/articles/
issues/2004-02-01/202-082-01.jpg
http://greenhouse.taroandti.com/2008/02/28/earth-
sheltered-pit-greenhouse/ **This source is specific for
tropical plants in Texas, but still gives a good visual
depiction on the basic structure of a pit greenhouse.
Brian Curran collected this:
Hey All,
I had a really great conversation today with Kim Delong
who manages the Jane Grey research greenhouse at UC
Berkeley. I had left a voice mail on friday and she got
back with me today and she emailed me a list of solar
greenhouse engineers that are some of the better ones.
Hi Brian,
Here are some greenhouse contacts:
Engineers:
George Dekker
VRE Systems
Grassie, Ont
800-499-4873
gdekker@versystems.com
Alex Turkewitsch
Greenhouse Engineering
Toronto, Ont
416-489-3816
Alex@GreenhouseEngineering.com
Greenhouse builders - they're all somewhere in the
Midwest:
Dale Rahn
Stuppy Greenhouse Mfg.
North Kansas City, MO
800-821-2132 x3701
drahn@stuppy.com
Rob Tanzer
Rough Bros.
Cincinnati, OH
513-618-0310
Rtanzer@roughbros.com
Dennis Raath
Ridder
Bethany, OK
405-650-9219
draath@swbell.net
Walter Poetsch
Ludy Greenhouses
New Madison, OH
800-255-5839
walt.poetsch@ludy.com
We use Argus Controls. I love Argus Controls, and
they're always there to answer my
questions. 800-667-2090
Stay away from Nexus Greenhouses in Colorado. They
designed and installed the shades and some of the other
systems here. Very bad design of the shades. The shades
failed almost
immediately and they wouldn't repair them. I've heard
that they only are interesting in installing the huge,
commercial greenhouses, and won't follow-up on their
work.
I hope this info helps.....
Kim