Over the years, I’ve often wished for a greenhouse to grow plants through winter. I didn’t want to spend too much money to build a greenhouse that later failed, and purchasing a pre-built greenhouse was a bit too pricey for my pocketbook.
After a little research, I found the four basic principles necessary in making a functional greenhouse:
1 A clear wall is required for sunlight to pass through.
2 The clear wall should have the ability to trap heat inside the greenhouse and keep cold outside. In other words, the “clear” wall should have a high R-value.
3 There should be dark-colored objects inside the greenhouse to absorb the incoming sunlight and re-radiate it into the space. This radiative heat can’t escape the greenhouse very well; it can’t go back out through the clear wall.
4 There should be something in the
