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Grow Fresh Vegetables Year-Round Using Only the Sun
Produce abundant fruits and vegetables through fall, winter, and early spring without paying for heat. Chinese solar greenhouses—earth-sheltered, east-west oriented, well-insulated, and intelligently glazed—allow you to grow warm-weather crops in cold climates using passive solar energy alone.
What You'll Gain and Learn
- Design and Build your Greenhouse: Step-by-step guidance for creating a self-sufficient, solar-powered structure.
- Maximize Heat Efficiency: Techniques to store solar energy and keep crops warm on cold nights.
- Extend your Growing Season: Grow tomatoes, peppers, and other warm-weather vegetables, even in freezing temperatures.
- Summer Cooling Solutions: Maintain optimal growing conditions without losing energy.
- Flexible Growing Methods: Harvest year-round using soil beds or aquaponic systems.
Written by Dan Chiras, PhD, author of 38 books on solar energy, sustainability, and self-sufficiency, this guide blends practical instruction with proven strategies. His methods have been featured in Mother Earth News, Solar Today, and Home Power, and he has taught workshops for the American Solar Energy Society and University of Colorado.
Transform your backyard into a productive, solar-powered garden and enjoy fresh produce year-round. With clear illustrations, actionable tips, and step-by-step guidance, building and operating your own Chinese greenhouse has never been easier.
Dan Chiras, PhD, is the author of 38 books, including Solar Electricity Basics, Power from the Wind, Power from the Sun, and The Homeowners Guide to Renewable Energy. He has taught workshops on solar electricity and passive solar heating for the Evergreen Institute, the American Solar Energy Society, the Colorado Renewable Energy Society, the Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association, and the University of Colorado. Over the past 45 years, Dan has published articles on natural building, green building, solar electricity, passive solar design, self-sufficiency, and sustainability in publications such as Solar Today, Home Power, and Mother Earth News. He has installed numerous solar electric and wind systems in Missouri and has lived on solar electricity since 1996. He lives on a solar- and wind-powered farm in Gerald, MO.
1. My Introduction to Chinese Greenhouses
Early Experiences with Greenhouse Growing
Building a Four-Season Greenhouse
The Chinese Greenhouse
Meeting Dr. Sanjun Gu and The Real Chinese Greenhouse
What's this Book about?
2. What's Wrong with Conventional Greenhouses?
Shortcomings of Conventional Greenhouses
Conclusion
3. What Makes the Chinese Greenhouse so Special?
A Closer Look
The Advantages of Earth-Sheltering
How Earth-Sheltering Actually Works
A Brief History of the Chinese Greenhouse
Evolutionary Changes to Chinese Greenhouse Design
A Chinese Farming Success Story
Do Chinese Greenhouses Really Work?
Chinese Greenhouses and All-Season Greenhouses
Conclusion
4. Building a Chinese Greenhouse: Site Selection, Excavation, and Drainage
Above Ground or Underground: That's the Question
Compensating Strategies
Selecting and Excavating Your Site
Getting it Right: Proper Orientation
Proper Drainage: Protecting Your Greenhouse from Water Infiltration
Water, Water, Everywhere, and You can be Sure It Will Find a Way In
Conclusion
5. Thermal Mass, Framing, Glazing, and Insulation
Thermal Mass
Framing Your Greenhouse
Roof Slope: What's the Optimum Angle?
Glazing or Plastic
Insulation
How Much Glazing do you Need?
Conclusion
6. Improving Performance: Daytime Internal Heat Banking
Daily Internal Heat Banking
Additional Considerations
Conclusion
7. Improving Performance: Daily Heat Banking with a Solar Hot Air System
Using a Solar Hot Air Collector to Bank Heat
Where Can I Purchase a Solar Hot Air Collector?
Mounting a Solar Hot Air Collector
How does a Solar Hot Air System Work?
What's the Proper Tilt Angle?
Mounting a Solar Hot Air Collector on a Rack
Controlling Hot Air Systems
Build Your Own Solar Hot Air Collector
Conclusion
8. Improving Performance: Daily Heat Banking with Solar Hot Water Systems
What Is a Solar Hot Water System?
Drainback Solar Hot Water Systems
Pump-Driven Glycol-Based Solar Hot Water Systems
Which System Should You Use?
Evacuated Tube Solar Hot Water Collectors
Installing a Solar Hot Water System
Conclusion: How about Long-Term Heat Storage?
9. Improving Performance: Long-Term (Seasonal) Heat Banking
Long-term Heat Banking: A New Idea?
Long Term or Seasonal Heat Banking
Heat Banking in Earth-Sheltered Buildings like the Chinese Greenhouse
Active Annual Heat Storage
Which Way to Go?
Daily Internal Heat Recovery System
Solar Hot Air System
Seasonal Heat Storage with a Solar Hot Water System
Conclusion: An Invitation to Share
10. Battling the Heat: Summertime Production
Summer Options
Retiring the Greenhouse for the Summer
Continuing to grow in a Chinese Greenhouse in the Summer
Quit Bugging Me
Conclusion
11. Getting it Right: Designing Climate Batteries
Climate Battery Design and Construction
Climate Batteries and Cooling
Conclusion
12. Supplementing Solar Input: LED Lighting
Do You Need to Supplement Lighting?
What Kind of Lights Work Best?
Understanding Light
Understanding PAR
When do you Need Supplemental Lighting?
DLI: One More Thing About Lighting
Conclusion
Determining Daily Light Integral
13. Building My Chinese Greenhouse: A Pictorial Documentary
Site Selection and Preparation
Building the Thermal Mass Wall
Building Rammed Earth Tire Walls
Earth-Cooling Tube Installation
Waterproofing Mass Walls
Framing the Greenhouse
Installing the Roof
Mudding the Walls
Exterior Insulation and Backfilling
Insulating the Interior Walls and Roof
Installing Siding
Revegetating the Berm
We Made It!
Index
About the Author
About New Society Publishers