Geothermal Green House Prototype
The geothermal greenhouse prototype stage 1 is completed in Vermont at our research farm!
Key Features
Innovative Design: Renewably-powered in-earth 4-season greenhouse combined with a root cellar.
Geothermal Integration: Vented, heated, and cooled using geothermal air pipes and water-to-air ground source heat pumps.
Durable & Low-Maintenance: Emphasis on long-term resilience and minimal upkeep.
High Energy Efficiency: Potential to achieve 500% energy efficiency.
Versatility: Can be used alternatively as housing or emergency shelter.
Open-Source Model: Encourages replication, scaling, and modification across varied locales.
Low-Cost and Practical: Can be easily and cheaply reproduced
The core idea is to fuse age-old techniques with modern technology. By integrating a renewably-powered in-earth greenhouse with geothermal systems, we aim to improve options in accessible food production and storage. This not only maximizes our energy efficiency, but also offers a design meant to last with minimal maintenance, which can be easily built and replicated to enable localized 4 season growing of high value crops (for example local fruit in the winter without any need for fossil fuel inputs).
Given its inherent stability and temperature control, this infrastructure can double as housing or even emergency shelter. This duality offers exciting possibilities for communities, especially in regions with extreme weather conditions.
Budget
The total actual cost thus far is about $43,000, which is near the target of the estimated $45,000 spent so far. (These numbers are slightly higher than in the spreadsheet due to a few smaller items not being accounted for yet). Construction of phase 1 was completed in 16 days with 2 people (one operating a large excavator). Based on lessons learned so far, this time could likely be reduced by 20-40%.
Construction Progress
The concrete shell and air-to-air geothermal system have been successfully installed. The system includes 300 feet of line running through over half a million pounds of thermal mass in the form of crushed stone and concrete wall. The entire structure is surrounded by 5 inches of styrofoam insulation to store thermal energy in the battery. Initial tests indicate signs of success, but additional testing will be needed on more extreme heat/cold days. The root cellar has also been constructed with ventilation systems and compatibility with HEPA air filtration.
Photos of the prototype and construction
Prototype Greenhouse Design in Sketch-up
