It's a greenhouse that produces, stores,
regulates and then uses it's own heat...
Even in Minnesota's sub-zero temperatures
my greenhouse saved money instead of
becoming an expensive hobby!
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I was able to build a solar greenhouse that provided:
an energy savings of 30% in winter heating bills for my home...
all the vegie and bedding plants that I needed for my gardens...
salad greens and strawberries through all but a few weeks of the winter.
Total cash out of pocket - less than $100. Maintenance fees? Nothing!
I was fortunate enough to come upon a quantity of aged cedar from a home
that was having it's deck replaced.
During my garden research I'd run across a lot of information concerning greenhouses.
Which led to my going on to solar greenhouses... and so when the offer of free lumber
was made it didn't take much thought to know that not only would I take it,
I already had a use for it.
It took about a week to design the greenhouse that I wanted that would fit my location
and available space. I was able to obtain most of the materials at no cost
by recycling the cast offs of others.
Some old storm windows became the short south wall, the built in screens allowed an easy
air intake for warm weather climate control.
Some old metal barrels, scrubbed up and painted became my thermal storage.
Old shelving and paneling and scrap lumber became the shelving.
So, for less than $100, I had a 10 X 8 greenhouse!
The first year I set up a space heater, just to make sure that it didn't freeze out.
Minnesota winters can get to 10 and 20 below zero.
All the experts were telling me that it couldn't be done.
But after going through that first winter and hitting a minus 30
... without that space heater ever coming on
... and my lttle test glass of water never freezing.
I didn't worry about it anymore.
The next three winters I still had my little glass of water to watch for freezing
but I never did bother to put the space heater out again.
My little greehouse not only met all of my goals...
It exceeded them!
input from me as far as heat supplementation.
The excess heat produced during the day was drawn into the mobile home by using a fan with a thermostat set to start when the temperature in the peak of the greenhouse hit about 80 degrees.
By making use of the free heat - heating costs for the mobile home dropped
by approximately 30 percent over the heating season
(based on comparisons of evergy bills with surrounding neighbors
in mobile homes of the same size and orientation).
alpine strawberries most of the year 'round.
(December and January they slacked off a bit until light levels came back up...
I used no supplemental lighting during the short-light months.)
My last winter there I started experimenting with the cold greenhouse
varieties of cucumber and tomato. Results were pretty good.
It also produced vegetables and bedding plants enough for my own use with
enough surplus to be able to sell or trade for supplies for the greenhouse...
Replacement soils, soil ammendments and plastic (changed annually) and paint
or replacement hardware as neccessary.
...so in essence, except for my labor, which was very enjoyable to me,
the greenhouse not only paid for itself but greatly reduced my energy bills every year.
I lost that little greenhouse when I lost my home.
But, with luck, my new love and I will build another.
For I hope that he, too, will love gardening and plants.
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