Passive solar greenhouses are widely used in northern China to grow crops year-round without supplemental heating. My former mentor introduced me to a project by the University of Missouri Extension, where they built a passive solar greenhouse. This past winter, I had the chance to meet Tim Reinbott at a conference and learned that his team recently published a series of videos explaining their passive solar greenhouse and potential improvements. I found these resources fascinating and wanted to share them with Indiana growers.
Video 1. How to build a solar greenhouse
Video 2. How to build a solar greenhouse – What I would have done differently
In addition, I’d like to share some observations from my visit to China a few years ago. I saw several passive solar greenhouses in a region with a latitude similar to Indiana’s. These structures varied in design, with some incorporating more modern technologies than others. Below are a few pictures, along with my notes.
Figure 1. Passive solar greenhouse north wall (Photo by Wenjing Guan).
Figure 2. Passive solar greenhouse insulation mat (Photo by Wenjing Guan).
Figure 3. Passive solar greenhouse ventilation (Photo by Wenjing Guan).