Solar Hothouse
As a young boy, I loved walking through my grandfather’s huge hothouse, admiring all the cool and exotic plants. I’ve wanted one of my own ever since, so I finally made it happen.
Having a limited budget, I was fortunate to find materials either free or repurposed from thrift stores and Craigslist, including the shower doors I used as windows, storm windows, and a door. My neighbor milled the cedar planks and fir posts from windfall trees out of the forest in our backyard—a service he offered free. I scrounged the curved aluminum struts for the ceiling from an old dish TV antenna, and I found the exhaust fan and the 12-volt battery that powers it from a Honda at a local wrecking yard. Among the new items I had to purchase outright are the solar panel with charger, the double-wall polycarbonate panels for the roof, the thermally activated
