Solar Greenhouse Heat Sink
lori_lee
14 years ago
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Comments (16)
web4deb
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Heating Greenhouse w/ Hot Tub Heat??
Comments (24)I still think the only way this would work (aside from having the hot tub in the green house, would be to capture lost heat. Now my hot tub is very well insulated, especialy above the tub. My hot tub is a self contained tub, the heater is contained in the tub enclosure. But I think this method would work even better with an inground hot tub. Idealy, if the hot tub is not installed yet, you could build an inground hot tub (the heater is seperate with an inground hot tub). Install the just the heater inside the greenhouse. Otherwise, the place I have found the most Waste heat with my Tub, is above the heater. So hputting some sort of heat exchanger above the heater to capture the heat lost from the heater would work very well....See Moresolar greenhouse plans for free
Comments (1)cool...See MoreIncorporating water as a heat sink in greenhouse construction?
Comments (18)I was away for a couple of days. #1. Absolutely! You're transferring BTUs from the collector into your pit during the day. It's essential for the operation of the system for the pit to be warmed. If you have direct sunlight, that collector will get hot very quickly. Depending upon the angle of the sun, and hours of light, you should get about 30,000 to 40,000 BTUs per day into the pit. It can hold a lot more than that, but you're limited by the hours per day, and also the relative inefficiencies. If you had a warm spell during the winter where you didn't really need to run it at night, theoretically, you might be able to charge it with maybe a couple hundred thousand BTUs. #2. You should wet the ground thoroughly once you've completed the structure. It should remain sufficiently damp after that point with the factors you mentioned. Make sure you wrap the tarp up and over the foundation such that outside rain won't be able to fill the pit -- otherwise, you'll have a swamp in there! #3. The hinged covers have three purposes: a) reflecting additional solar energy to the collector via the mylar film (make sure they're angled correctly when attaching the chains). b) avoiding snow/ice/freezing at night during the winter. Depending upon your hardiness zone, it may also be necessary to circulate some water through the collector at night to avoid cracking the cement or damage to the water lines. If severe freezing is a sure thing during the winter, then the collector should run day and night. Your "day/night" valve will just open the loop through the radiator, instead of shutting off flow to the collector too. c) to protect the solar collector during the warmer months when the system won't be running. Hope this helps. -Bruce...See Moreoriginalscooby's permaculture videos
Comments (20)there really is not a lot of easily found information about permaculture or the things we have been alluding to in this thread. Skooby's videos were great because it was a bunch of information all in one easy place. since i finished the videos, i have looked for more of the same, but there really is no good source i have yet found. i have ordered a few books through the library, but don't have them yet. much of what i found on the web is not much more informative than this thread. it is like you have to know what they are talking about to understand. i think this is because permaculture is not so much a technique so much as it is a philosophy. there are several techniques that are permaculture, but permaculture cannot be defined by them. an example would be forest gardens are permaculture but permaculture is not forest gardening per se. from what i gather permaculture is about sustainable agriculture (and living) and self sufficiency as individuals and communities. it uses systems to create easier, healthier and more efficient and sustainable food production. some people take this as going off-the-grid and becoming hunter gatherers, while for others it is just gardening a little differently and using natural systems rather than artificial means to keep aid in production. as much as i would like to go off-the-grid and live in a forest, it is not practical for me. but i do grow a large portion of my own food in a very small area. i plant plants that have edible parts before those that do not and rather than practice monoculture by planting in rows of one species i mix them up as little forest systems where companion plants help each other perform better. i want to add a few chickens, bees, solar power and a cistern to have a little more self sustainability, but i started with a forest garden. the thing that i liked the most about the videos were a few gardening techniques that filled in the gaps in application for what i already practice and believed. they are: plants work better in systems of many species. gardens can have multiple layers like a forest to maximize production per square foot. animals, insects and flowers are as important as the fruiting plants for a healthy and productive system. nothing needs to imported into a system including fertilizer. nothing should be exported from it. raised beds. mulch. less water. micro climate creation with ponds, hardscape and shade. biodiversity in species as well as varieties. last saturday i prepared a few beds for production with a technique i saw in the videos. you prepare the soil for the last time. i mixed in a bunch of compost from the dump. then you mound the beds. my bed was already part of a terrace. it takes the run-off from part of my house, garage and driveway. so i created a swell (channel) to pull that water through the bed to spread and store the moisture. i then covered the mounded areas to be planted with cardboard (this was the new technique i learned) and then mulched heavily on top with more compost (chipped wood and yard waste) from the dump. i will be planting heavily with everything from artichokes to zucchini and will research which plants work best in systems and put them together. i will mix in flowers. the result should look like a riot of texture and color like an english flower garden, but much of it will be food. i will probably produce several hundred dollars and months worth of food in just a few hundred square feet and without tilling, poisoning, fertilizing or exporting any waste and using much less water to boot. not going to change the world, but it helpsi think that is the essence of permaculture. it is a true think global act local sort of movement. i have not found any how to books or websites. most of my searches ended with come sort of commercial design service or class. i hope the books i reserved are more of the how to and hands on sort of info. if anybody has any recommendations i would welcome some advice. would also like to here more about what others have done alone these lines. wikipedia has a good article tha links to a "companion plant" spread sheet i found useful....See Morehex2006
14 years agolori_lee
14 years agohex2006
14 years agoljpother
14 years agohex2006
14 years agoSteven Laurin & Company
14 years agodcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
14 years agohex2006
14 years agoSteven Laurin & Company
14 years agohex2006
14 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years agodcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
14 years agohex2006
14 years agomarkmahlum
14 years ago
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