Novel Greenhouse Design by Zak Dowell

This novel greenhouse design incorporates metal water barrels for two purposes. Greenhouses general require ground anchoring points to provide structural support and prevent up uplift during high wind conditions. In the case of this design, water barrels are used as the primary instrument for greenhouse structural anchoring, as well as a form of thermal mass. Ground anchoring is a time-consuming aspect of the greenhouse construction process. This design uses the weight of 12 metal 55 gallon barrels filled with water to anchor the greenhouse to the ground. The barrels rest on top of pressure treated boards that serve as the bottom anchor plate of the green house. Boards are also bolted to the sides of the barrels above the water line (the point at where the barrel is filled with water). Because the barrels are painted with a special solar absorbing black paint, they have the ability to absorb solar energy during the day and give this heat back to the greenhouse over the course of the cold nights, thus lessening fossil fuel inputs for greenhouse heating.

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Earthmore LLC