Attached greenhouses can provide relief from the dryer air inside your home during winter months by adding moisture and providing a comfortable living environment. They also offer the advantage of using the greenhouse’s solar heating to heat the rest of your house, as greenhouses absorb solar energy for plants within them. However, proper planning for orientation, ventilation, and structural support is crucial, as well as checking local building codes and regulations before construction.
Choosing the right type of greenhouse to attach to your house is a big decision, as it affects how well your plants will grow and how much you enjoy using them. Attached home greenhouses can be built from various materials, such as wood or PVC piping. To design your greenhouse, consider the layout, including space for a sitting area or a hammock for a cozy relaxation spot among the plants.
The first decision when building a home is where to attach the greenhouse. If you are building a new house and can orient it as you please, having the greenhouse be a part of the house can lead to increased home value and more living space. Some greenhouse structures are lean-to or attach to the house, providing added benefits of heat holding properties.
However, attaching a greenhouse to an existing building, such as siding or stucco, is not recommended due to humidity concerns. An attached/enclosed porch is different because there is no moisture. In most cases, you can attach a greenhouse to any type of house, but certain factors need to be considered, such as the structural integrity of the house, available space, and local building regulations.
Building a greenhouse attached to a house isn’t as straightforward as it might seem, with challenges such as architectural considerations, structural stability, and the need for proper planning and safety measures.
📹 What About Attaching A Greenhouse To My home?#AskRobAvis 012
A viewer of our video “Aerial Video Of Our New Passive Solar Greenhouse” asks why we didn’t attach the greenhouse to our …
Will a greenhouse stay warm in winter?
A greenhouse is a structure that uses natural solar heating, thermal mass, and insulation to provide warmth to plants. Sunlight passes through the greenhouse, warming the interior and absorbing by plants and soil. Thermal mass elements like concrete floors, bricks, or barrels filled with water absorb heat during the day and release it slowly at night, stabilizing temperature fluctuations. Proper insulation is crucial for retaining heat, with greenhouse walls and roofs designed to minimize heat loss. Double-glazed windows, multiple layers of plastic film, bubble wrap, or thermal curtains can also be used to trap heat during cold nights.
Should a greenhouse have a floor or no floor?
A greenhouse is a cozy garden space with decorative plants and a fireplace, ideal for those who prefer a solid floor. This doesn’t mean sacrificing plant cultivation options, as capillary boxes, pots, containers, or buckets can be used. Additionally, leaving holes in the ground allows for planting olive trees, fig trees, or winter-resistant plants. A greenhouse with fixed beds and decorative flooring can accommodate both capillary boxes and a table.
Why is greenhouse bad for the earth?
Greenhouse gases are chemical compounds in the Earth’s atmosphere that absorb infrared radiation from sunlight, causing global warming and climate change. These gases, which can occur naturally or be produced by humans, trap heat in the atmosphere, resulting in a colder Earth that is too cold to support life and would have an average temperature of -2°F instead of the current 57°F. Some gases, like industrial gases, are exclusively human-made.
Can you put a greenhouse inside your house?
Consider purchasing a greenhouse kit with LED grow lights, a plastic cover, and roll-up zipper doors on Amazon. A cold frame greenhouse is an indoor option for those with limited space. If space isn’t a limiting factor, consider setting up an outdoor greenhouse indoor. Indoor greenhouses provide high humidity, which is ideal for tropical houseplants like aroids, ferns, and orchids. Leslie F. Halleck, a certified professional horticulturist, recommends using a cold frame indoor greenhouse or glass cabinet for these plants. If you struggle to grow these indoor plants indoors, the higher humidity of a cold frame indoor greenhouse or glass cabinet can be helpful.
Where should you not put a greenhouse?
Place a greenhouse under tall trees to reduce sunlight and prevent glass damage. High walls, hedges, and trees can serve as windbreaks, providing shelter without blocking light. These barriers keep plants warm and prevent wind damage during storms. However, it’s important to ensure the trees are a suitable distance to provide shelter without blocking light. Providing ample room for cleaning and maintenance is crucial for maintaining a healthy greenhouse environment.
Why are greenhouses bad for the environment?
The intensive agricultural methods used in greenhouses can damage local environments by overtaxing water supplies and polluting rivers and soils with nutrients, pesticides, and plastic waste. However, the impact of these seas of plastic on local temperatures can be even more dramatic and beneficial. They increase the albedo, or reflectivity, of the land surface, typically by around a tenth, and reduce solar heating of the lower atmosphere. A new satellite mapping exercise revealed the extent of the planet’s growing enthusiasm for greenhouses, estimated at 3.
2 million acres, with China hosting more than half of this expanse. The albedo iceberg is not just the surface, with temporary coverings of crops by reflective plastic sheets potentially increasing the figure by 10 times.
Are indoor greenhouses worth it?
Indoor greenhouses are compact and portable, allowing for the growth of a wide variety of potted plants, including herbs used in everyday cooking and baking. They also improve air quality by generating oxygen and having air purifying properties. Indoor greenhouses are ideal for people living in condos or apartment buildings without access to a backyard, as they allow them to grow herbs, flowers, or vegetables without worrying about space limitations. They also provide a calming and pleasing aesthetic, making them an ideal solution for those who may not have access to a backyard.
What is a greenhouse attached to a house called?
A conservatory is a room with a glass roof and walls attached to a house, used as a greenhouse or sun parlor. A solarium is a glass-enclosed patio or porch built onto an existing home to use sunlight and create a sense of being close to nature. They can be curved or straight and have window openings and tracks that accommodate shades to insulate against temperature variations. Sunrooms are “sunny rooms” that use many windows but are not completely made of glass.
They are enclosed patios with traditional roofs and traditional windows that do not stretch from floor to ceiling. Sunrooms allow people to enjoy the surrounding landscape while being sheltered from the weather. However, they may only be comfortable for three out of four seasons depending on insulation and heating abilities.
Choosing the right conservatory, sunroom, or sunroom for your home, school, or business depends on your preferences and the importance of sunlight for our well-being. Spending time in your new structure will provide hours of enjoyment.
Should a greenhouse be attached to house?
Attached greenhouses are energy-efficient and can be built using your home’s walls, reducing winter heat loss and keeping the greenhouse at the right temperature year-round. However, they may be limited in space, especially for large plants or larger vegetables. Additionally, building an attached greenhouse can be more expensive due to additional building materials and home modifications. Despite these drawbacks, they offer a cost-effective solution for those looking to grow their own vegetables or maintain a small garden.
What are the disadvantages of attached greenhouses?
Attached greenhouses have disadvantages such as requiring a frost-free footer and foundation, which can add costs and require more stringent building codes. Freestanding greenhouses have less limitations in size, height, and style, and better lighting conditions due to their ability to allow light to enter on all four sides. However, they also have increased heating costs during colder months, are less energy-efficient, and are less convenient to access due to the need for outdoor access. Overall, the choice between attached and freestanding greenhouses depends on the specific needs and budget.
What are the benefits of an attached greenhouse?
Attached greenhouses are generally more energy-efficient due to the heating of one wall, making them accessible from the living space. They also add aesthetic value to a home, often complementing the architecture. However, attached structures require a frost-free footer and foundation, which can be costly and building codes are generally more stringent for structures attached to living spaces. On the other hand, freestanding greenhouses have less limitations regarding size, height, and style, and typically have better lighting conditions due to the ability to allow light to enter on all four sides of the greenhouse.
📹 What I Wish I Knew BEFORE I Got A Greenhouse
While my greenhouse is custom, it’s only one of the many options @BCGreenhouseBuilders offers across to suit any budget!
Wow, thank you Rob for taking your time to answer my question and make this article. I did not expect this, as its first time ever someone from youtube made the article about my question 🙂👍. Regarding to what you noted here i have few more questions: 1. This blue vapour barrier would help with stopping humidity from greenhouse entering in to house wall but also would not let any humidity to escape from inside house, the wall would not be able to ‘ breathe ‘ which in turn would rot the wall. Would you have any solutions to this ? What about building greenhouse few feet away from the house creating some sort of closed corridor which could be ventilated separately and would not require more building permitions as technically greenhouse would be separate structure. I live in similar latitude to yours which is 55 degrees in Lithuania, we also have harsh winters up to -25c.
Will you collect water from the humidity of the greenhouse? Like in a normal house, with people living there cooking etc, there is few liters of water. In very arid climates it could be used for a drip system to water very small greenhouse. Could you think and design an automated process? Or have one already? Indeed if your roof is metal sheets, the warm humid air would rise in between the roof, condensate and then drop on the inner linings of the roof and you would have a severe mold problem very quickly. Even just letting non humid warm air there, it would lead to condensation issues. And especially when you are so generous with your ideas and plans, you would need to be careful so that people do not run into troubles because they follow your advice but are less knowledgeable and climate conditions vary. If you will explain the condensation issue of warm air meeting up with colder surfaces, you will be doing a great service so people would learn to know what to look for. Thank you for your website! Edit: sorry, checked your website, and good, you know all about how to be giving responsible advice!!
Why bother building a lean-to greenhouse against the home when you are just going to isolate it away from the house to begin with? We have a properly ventilated lean-to against our house and intermittently run a small dehumidifier during the most humid days and have had zero issues with humidity inside our house, walls, attic, or eaves…