Greenhouse design for efficient energy and resource utilization

The better the foundation is insulated, the more energy is saved. Polystyrene foam boards laid on the outside or inside provide additional insulation. The deeper the foundation, the more protection it offers. A deep foundation saves energy: cold from the soil cannot penetrate the greenhouse. Heat from the greenhouse soil is also not lost. In addition, it provides excellent protection against mice, which can become a real disaster.

When designing the foundation, you should also consider the possibility of installing a reservoir for collecting rainwater — water running off the roof flows through the gutter and collects in a catchment tank located inside or outside the greenhouse.

Options for placing the reservoir:

• Underground water intake — no useful space is lost inside the room.
• Above-ground reservoir — a structure made of concrete or laid out of bricks.

The reservoir must be covered, but accessible for cleaning. Water from irrigation or dripping from the leaves should not get in there. Otherwise, there will be a threat of disease, which can spread throughout the greenhouse.

On this issue, as in the choice of greenhouse shape, there is no consensus, but there are significantly fewer options — there are only four cardinal directions. The "east-west" orientation has its ardent fans, and the greenhouse, facing the long side and the roof slope to the south, will certainly collect more solar energy. However, such an arrangement is justified only in spring and is ideal for a nursery.

A summer greenhouse is better oriented, like garden beds, from south to north; this way it is better illuminated by the most productive morning and evening rays, and it will be easier to shade the plants from the scorching midday sun. This is exactly how the Chinese, whose multi-thousand-year experience in vegetable gardening cannot be underestimated, position their greenhouses. They also have nurseries oriented from east to west, with a slope to the south, and summer double-pitched greenhouses — from south to north.

Most often, the choice of a place for building a greenhouse is very limited. Owners of private houses are in the most advantageous position in this case. Those who do not have a plot of land have a much harder time. Some particularly enthusiastic hobbyists decide to rent a whole greenhouse or part of it, risking facing a mass of problems, or build it on a dacha plot. In this case, one thing must be taken into account: keeping plants away from the owner is less reliable than in close proximity to them. Therefore, it is better to choose a place for the greenhouse that is closer and which you can visit often. After all, weather conditions can change sharply, and in the case where the road to the greenhouse takes a significant amount of time, you risk not having time to close it and losing the entire harvest.

A plot near a private house most often has a small area and is crowded with garages and sheds, fruit trees and shrubs, vegetable beds, and flower beds. All this is necessary for you, and sometimes it is difficult to decide what to give up to make it possible to place a greenhouse. When choosing the location of the greenhouse, choose an area with maximum illumination and protected from prevailing winds. The latter is especially important if it is intended to keep plants in the greenhouse in winter. Good protection of the structure from the wind in the cold season allows you to significantly reduce heating costs and more stably maintain the optimal temperature. In windy weather, heat losses are more significant and can sometimes increase by one and a half times. With a gusty wind, the temperature can drop to a critical minimum, and the plants will die. A strong gust of wind can cause a lot of trouble, starting with the fact that poorly fixed glass can tear off, and ending with the complete destruction of the greenhouse during a hurricane. Wind is no less dangerous in terms of lowering the temperature. In calm weather and in windy weather, at the same thermometer reading, you still dress differently.

When choosing a place, also focus on the wind direction. It is not difficult to find out the direction of the prevailing winds. The most advantageous placement of the greenhouse is such that it is protected, at least from the north wind, which brings cold. Usually, the function of a protective screen is performed by buildings located on the north side of the greenhouse. Less often, trees, a hedge of shrubs, or a high fence act in this role.

Keep in mind that if a house or fence is located in the immediate vicinity of the greenhouse, the protective screen can also become an obstacle: during heavy snowfall, snowdrifts may form and crush the greenhouse with the weight of the snow.

In regions with snowy winters, this is a very pressing issue. This possibility should be considered in advance. A solution may be to build a greenhouse with a steeper pitch, which will significantly reduce the likelihood of damage caused by a large mass of snow.

However, there is also a positive aspect to this. A moderate accumulation of snow prevents heat loss through the glass surface, thereby protecting the greenhouse from freezing during severe frosts. In cases where the distance between the rafters to which the glass is attached is small, the snow, melting at the point of contact with the glass, forms peculiar arches resting their edges on the rafters. This is a favorable circumstance, but one must ensure that too much snow does not accumulate.

Windbreaks can shade the greenhouse, so it is necessary to follow a certain rule: the distance between the greenhouse and the nearest structures must exceed at least 5 times

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On small plots, it is difficult to place a tall, free-standing greenhouse without compromising the lighting of the crops. A shortage of space forces one to seek compromise planning solutions. An optimal solution in such a situation is moving the structure to the south wall of a permanent building.

Lean-to greenhouses: saving heat and space

Placing a lean-to greenhouse on the south side of a building solves several technical challenges at once. The solid wall protects the structure from cold winds and acts as a heat accumulator. As a result, operating costs for heating during the winter period are significantly reduced.

Advantages of southern lean-to structures:

• Minimization of heat loss and energy savings for heating in winter.
• Convenience of plant maintenance, especially when arranging an entrance to the greenhouse directly from the building.
• Optimal level of natural light for most crops.

In practice, it is often necessary to build a greenhouse under conditions where there is practically no free space. However, if there are alternative options on the plot, always consider the groundwater level and proximity to permanent walls. Correct positioning will save resources on heating and supplemental lighting.