How to Design a Year-Round Solar Greenhouse

Reader Contribution by Lindsey Schiller and Ceres Greenhouse Solutions
Updated on October 13, 2022
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by Adobestock/sonyachny
Design a year-round solar greenhouse that is entirely self-sufficient, relying only on the sun to provide all of its heating needs while growing more than traditional greenhouses and using less energy, water, and resources.

What is a solar greenhouse? Don’t all greenhouses use the sun? Well yes, but a solar greenhouse uses the sun’s energy not only for growing, but also to provide all of the greenhouse’s heating needs. In contrast to traditional all-glass or all-plastic greenhouses, which often rely on fossil fuels to grow year-round, solar greenhouses can create warm year-round growing environments using only the power of the sun, natural materials and energy-efficient design. As a result, they can grow much more –citrus, avocados, fruiting tomatoes – year-round using less energy, water and resources.

Here are the seven basic elements of solar greenhouse design. By following these, you can create a naturally abundant, self-sufficient growing oasis, allowing you to grow more with less energy and hassle. For more on designing your own solar greenhouse, see The Year-Round Solar Greenhouse: How to design and build a net-zero-energy greenhouse, which includes how-to info as well as many case studies for tailoring your structure to any climate.

YouTube video

Orient the Greenhouse Toward the Sun (the South)

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