Ecology of consumption. Estate: Scientists from the Netherlands who created an unusual greenhouse house. The essence of the idea is to combine in one home energy efficient technologies and a garden complex.
City dwellers are often deprived of the opportunity to purchase truly fresh vegetables and fruits, only picked from the garden. And many country residents do not always have the opportunity to grow whatever they want on their plot. For example, heat-loving plant species. This is due to the limited area of the site or unsuitable climatic conditions. The solution may be to install a thermos greenhouse.
Thus, the researchers want to test the idea of building autonomous home, which can feed its residents.
For a bold experiment (its completion is scheduled for 2018), a house was built according to frame technology, with a glass roof and transparent walls on the third floor.
The house is oriented to the cardinal points. The slope angle of the transparent roof is designed in such a way that the plants receive the maximum degree of solar insolation. If necessary, the windows are covered with curtains. In addition to the greenhouse, the house was equipped with a rainwater collection system, which is used for irrigation and technical needs, a solar collector, and a ground heat exchanger.
Tests have shown that the idea works in a greenhouse too all year round manages to grow a variety of vegetables and fruits. For example, watermelons, tomatoes, peppers, beets, zucchini and cauliflower.
To bring the experimental conditions as close as possible to natural environment, a family of four settled in the house (based on the results of a competitive selection). According to the conditions of the experiment, people should live in their usual rhythm. Despite theoretical training and detailed instructions, the townspeople had a hard time. The lack of practical experience of life “on earth” had an effect.
So, people had to adjust their work schedule to the garden. Getting up early in the morning, distributing responsibilities, doing weeding, fertilizing, deciding who does watering and on what day, caring for plants, monitoring the operation of the ventilation system, etc.
According to Helly Scholten (the wife of the head of the family), they once left home for several days in the summer, and when they returned, they discovered that the plants planted in vertical garden, died due to heat and lack of moisture.
This served as a lesson to the family and made them view the experiment as something other than fun game, but as serious work that requires a lot of effort and knowledge. Things went well. Now the Dutch are fully self-sufficient in vegetables and fruits, and even have a surplus.
The project developers emphasize that although the house is experimental, the technology is being tested on it, and ways are being sought to improve the home, combined with a greenhouse. In the future, the researchers plan to put the production of house kits on stream, so that everyone can have their own personal garden. published
P.S. And remember, just by changing your consumption, we are changing the world together! © econet
Join us on
House with a greenhouse as a shell
The house with a greenhouse that we would like to tell you about is, first of all, a visual embodiment of a method of protection from the winter cold. A huge number of people are forced to live in an area of harsh climatic conditions, which impose a number of requirements on the architecture of residential buildings.
Some experts advise northerners to wear thermal underwear and warm clothes, arguing that purchasing long johns is more economical solution than turning on the heating boiler at full power. Some people offer more original ideas. What do you think, in particular, about setting up a tent - at home! - in order to reduce heating bills?
Returning to the object that became the reason for writing this article, let’s say that it implements perhaps the most original and rather expensive approach to saving thermal energy. In front of us is a house located not far from Stockholm. The owners built a greenhouse around it, inserting 4 mm thick glass into an aluminum frame.
The concept of such structures was first proposed back in the 70s by the Swedish architect Bengt Warne. His project was called Naturhus.
Well, the idea turned out to be quite sound, as the following video tour convinces us of.
The owners of the house, Marie Grandmar and Charles Sasilotto, were so inspired by Varnay's work that they decided to create their own version of Naturhus. They purchased a plot on which there was already a summer house, and installed a standard greenhouse around it, spending about 84 thousand dollars.
The couple installed a centrifugal cleaning system in their house Wastewater, which separates urine from solid particles. Next, the resulting liquid is purified using special plants and sent to water the beds and trees.
A greenhouse allows you to significantly extend the gardening season and grow representatives of the Mediterranean flora such as figs, as well as reduce heating costs.
The space between the walls of the house and the glass shell can be used all year round. It includes several compact terraces and one large one, located on the roof of the cottage.
Of course, this concept will only work in countries with harsh climates characterized by short summers and frosty winters. But the very fact that the heroes of our article are extremely satisfied with their home speaks of its wealth.
What do you think about her?
Even experienced summer residents in the middle of the first decade of the new century began to abandon the greenhouse, saying that it was a lot of trouble, and the result was not so impressive. Moreover, the younger generation is egging you on: tomatoes are sold on every corner, and you’ve been bending your back over one bush all summer.
But the next crisis seems to have put an end to these doubts and reasoning. A greenhouse is needed. It allows you to receive good harvest fresh herbs and vegetables, and environmentally friendly products. And this is not only savings family budget allocated for vegetable products, but also for medicines, because pure products allow you to maintain health, receive vitamins and microelements. The only question is how to grow a full-fledged crop without spending a lot of money on the purchase and maintenance of a greenhouse without headaches from either cold or overheating.
The best option for high yield of the greenhouse - if from spring to autumn someone lives permanently at the dacha. This is quite realistic for pensioners today, because modern technologies at low cost, they allow you to insulate country house, create comfortable living conditions in it. But permanent residence does not cancel some measures to facilitate physical labor in the country.
If the holiday village is guarded, then, of course, the best option is a stationary greenhouse covered with polycarbonate. It will serve for many years and will allow you to grow greens and vegetables even without heating from the end of March to November. Arched design on the foundation will save on covering material and will withstand wet snowfalls without problems.
The word “foundation” does not mean that the greenhouse needs to be poured concrete base. The best option is a base made of wooden beam, treated with anti-rotting agents. It will play an important role in the thermal insulation of the greenhouse and will successfully serve for at least 10 years. And this is an excellent time, because in a small garden it is extremely problematic to continue using the greenhouse in one place; it is easier to install a new foundation and move the frame with polycarbonate.
If cases of theft in your village are frequent, then it is better to do good foundation, on which you can quickly and easily install a collapsible greenhouse and cover it with thick, high-quality film. Such a greenhouse is also beneficial for the reason that during snowy winters it will not suffer from snow load.
I have already written about the choice. Perhaps we can also mention the new generation cellular polycarbonate with the Bio label, which guarantees an increase in yield and the amount of vitamins in vegetables. Actually, this, as in the case of film, is the result of the action of light-converting additives. I would give preference to this particular polycarbonate, remembering that the effectiveness of light-converting additives will decrease after a certain number of years. As far as I know, manufacturers provide a 10-year warranty.
I will add that it is very important to find a material whose price and quality are in harmony. In the comments to that article, we recalled how strong and durable the reinforced film produced in the 90s was, and how quickly it crumbles now. Same with polycarbonate. The first polycarbonate roof of my greenhouse served faithfully and partially still serves for more than 20 years. But one day I decided to change the design of one ramp and, foolishly, partially used a piece of newly purchased polycarbonate. So, it only served for 3 years, but I am already noticing signs of destruction along the edge of the roof overhang.
What I mean is that you need to buy from a conscientious seller material produced by a company with a good reputation.
And further. In the case of polycarbonate, you should not save money and neglect special edge and connecting tapes - they significantly increase the service life of the material and ensure high level transparency.
Until recently, the glass greenhouse was considered the most advanced. In it, the ground freezes little, thaws quickly, retains heat well and has high light transmittance. The main disadvantages of such a greenhouse are the need for a solid foundation, expensive materials and construction work. But if you position your country property as an estate, then it makes sense to incur the cost of a fundamental greenhouse. True, I would refuse traditional glass, as a fragile and dangerous material, and replace it with modern monolithic polycarbonate. It is lightweight, flexible, with high light transmittance and 4 times less cold than glass. Its price is high, but...
No matter what excellent covering material we choose, the quality and durability of the greenhouse directly depend on the frame. This was experienced by many summer residents in the winter of 2013, when many vaunted structures collapsed from the snow load, at the same time destroying the covering. Now, blowing on the water, at the end of the season, summer residents install spacers and supports in their greenhouses. Honestly, I haven’t heard of anyone being patient and suing the manufacturer. And while we support “reliable and durable structures” with sticks from the forest, low-quality goods will be sold on the market.
Alas, most reliable design for a year-round sheltered greenhouse in the conditions of the Russian winter, a handmade one remains. The best option- from wooden block. Properly designed and made, it will serve for a long time and reliably, and the material will not let the cold into the greenhouse. Welded metal constructions from the “do-it-yourself” series are also reliable, but the metal itself is a “cold bridge”.
However, not everyone can afford a custom-made greenhouse, so we have to choose from what is offered to us by a huge army of manufacturers, focusing on their wallet and reviews of the owners of the “greenhouse from the store.”
A blanket, warm socks, hot coffee - these are the first things we resort to if the weather outside is bad and the house is not too warm. But the people of Stockholm Charles Sachilotto And Mary Granmar decided to approach this problem from a different angle.
Initially, the couple decided to build energy efficient house from scratch. But then they met the architect Bengt Warna. The man offered them his very interesting concept, which interested the spouses.
The couple purchased a small house around which a greenhouse was built from 4mm safety glass.
Such a project has a huge number of advantages: the temperature inside stays around 20 degrees Celsius, even when it drops below zero outside. In addition, the family has covered terrace And your garden.
The couple grows very unusual products for Scandinavia inside their home: figs, tomatoes, cucumbers.
But most of all they like to spend time under a glass roof. Here Charles and Mary receive sunbathing, playing with a child or just relaxing.
True, the couple admit that periodically they have to turn on the heating for a short time, because the system simply cannot work without failures all year round.
This is undoubtedly a unique, although not the first of its kind, house. I am sure that the couple do not regret that they once decided to build it!
If you like this idea, be sure to share it with your friends and acquaintances!
Photo 1. Not far from Jerusalem, among the year-round blazing sun of the Judean Desert, there is a real oasis. The high-tech “miracle” of the Israeli agro-industrial sector, the Aleynu greenhouse, presents a human revolutionary concept, which, according to the creators of the project, can change human consciousness in its attitude to consumption. Greenhouse with an area of 4,500 sq. m. is located on a picturesque section of the road from Jerusalem towards the Dead Sea. The main activity of the greenhouse is the creation of environmentally friendly bioproducts, specifically the cultivation of a variety of greens.
Photo 2. For short term Since its inception, Aleynu products have managed to attract the attention of almost all major supermarket chains in the country. In addition to the fact that Aleynu is a supplier of fresh salad, the greenhouse grows aromatic herbs used in the preparation of all kinds of seasonings. However, what really sets Aleyna apart from other farms of this kind is the educational aspect. The revolutionary concept of rooftop greenhouses contains the idea of farming in a post-industrial society. According to the creators of "Aleinu", the greenhouse is clear example the extent to which traditional conventional agriculture is morally outdated and is not suitable for year-round provision of the population with environmentally friendly and fresh green products highest quality in conditions modern city. In the photo you see the creator of the greenhouse - Ben-Zion Kabakov 
Photo 3. Ben-Zion told us about the greenhouse technology. He treated her to some food. Of course, before eating, a real blogger and journalist takes photographs. 
Photo 4. This is onion-garlic 
Photo 5. Technologies were taken from NASA, developed for Mars, and improved. 
In order to truly understand all the benefits of urban green growing, it is worth taking a closer look at one factor above all - the volume of greenery. The product grown on the roof of our greenhouse is placed in a twelve-ton truck, while its weight is not even 300 kg. These 300 kg. it is quite possible to transport to small car, however, due to the impressive volume, companies are forced to resort to the help of huge trucks, which burn a lot of gasoline along the way and pollute the environment. In the case of vegetables and fruits, the situation is not so acute, since their weight is tens of times greater. As a result, we get an absurd situation where thousands of trucks ply the continents, delivering greens from the south of Spain to France and from California to Alaska and from Krasnodar to Irkutsk. Oil is burned and exhaust gases are released. Price? The consumer pays the price. And all this instead of growing greens directly where buyers live - in the city. When the journey from garden to plate takes hours, vitamins and minerals remain in the most intact form, and their health value is much higher. At the same time, irreparable damage to the environment is not caused when transporting products over long distances.
The whole logic of the development of society indicates to us that in the coming decades a new sphere will develop human activity, and a new labor market will emerge - urban agro-industrial production.
The new area of economy requires deeper knowledge of plant morphology and understanding of physico-chemical processes compared to conventional agriculture and, accordingly, more qualified specialists compared to today's farmers. It is among urban residents that it is easiest to find and train suitable personnel, while simultaneously creating new jobs for citizens.
Photo 6. Bedouins work at packaging. That's all simple work they do it too 
Photo 7. 
Photo 8. 
Photo 9. 
Photo 10. 
I see the future of urban farming in uniting all forces and activists in the following directions:
- commercial, through:
— creating a network of small microdistricts greenhouse farms with an area from 100 to 1,000 sq. m. each, united by a single harvest and cultivation planning protocol with a unified cooperative marketing system.
— creation of automated production agro-industrial greenhouses with an area of over 2,000 square meters. m. each, capable of providing tens of thousands of citizens with fresh produce all year round at their place of residence.
- public, with an emphasis on the educational and educational nature of activities, such as an important part general protection program environment:
— equipping community and private gardens, cottages and farms with agro-industrial hydroponic production means to increase productivity and acquire citizens the skills of modern urban agriculture.
- distribution of homemade products available to everyone hydroponic installations, ensuring a successful harvest of greenery right on the windowsill, regardless of the weather, all year round. These units are easy to use, do not require any prior growing experience, and operate without any supervision or additional equipment, decorate every home, becoming an integral part of the interior and represent the first experience of acquaintance with self-sustaining urban agriculture.
Photo 11. This is a special substrate made of mineral wool for growing seedlings 
Photo 12. Production premises 
Photo 13. Control of kashrut 
Photo 14. The fact is that according to kashrut, greens should not contain bugs - they are not kosher, and pesticides are usually used to destroy them. This was achieved in the same greenhouse mechanical methods and by buying their products in stores you get the most environmentally friendly products in Israel with the highest kashrut - Megadrin - this is important for religious people 
Photo 15. Everything is strictly controlled 
Photo 16. This is the kashrut controller 
Photo 17. Microscope and computer allows you to see everything 
Photo 18. The company has developed and implemented a set of methods and technologies for the construction of automated industrial aeroponic greenhouses. Five years ago, in the suburbs of Jerusalem, they built and launched industrial operation Israel's first rooftop greenhouse with an area of 4,500 sq. meters. This greenhouse produces over 3,000,000 plants of the highest quality per year. Cultivation is carried out in closed trenches filled with moist air and installed on the conveyor. The chutes move along a conveyor from the planting point to the harvest point. Along the entire route, the human hand does not touch the plants. Near the planting, young seedlings grow densely, close to each other, since in the first couple of weeks the seedling develops mainly the root system and does not require much space under the sun. As the plants grow, the automated conveyor increases the distance between plants. Thanks to this, more efficient use planting areas, and the technology allows harvesting 2.5-3 times more plants per unit area compared to conventional planting methods used in greenhouses. For example, the average planting density in our greenhouse is 60 plants per square meter. 
Photo 19. The economic methods used in this greenhouse were adopted by the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture when developing a new quality standard for agricultural products, IsraGAP, known for its strict attitude to control over the use of pesticides. "IsraGAP" is an unofficial name like GlobalGAP. 
Photo 20. Unfortunately, today the phenomenon of “urban agro-industrial farming on the roof” has not yet received recognition. And since water tariffs and municipal taxes are calculated according to legal status land, these tariffs are tens or even thousands of times higher compared to conventional agriculture, which kills the very idea of urban agro-industrial farming in the bud. As always, the Israeli bureaucracy stands in the way of Israeli high-tech in new areas 
Photo 21. Such platforms ride over the plantings - fans suck in and destroy those few bugs that make their way into the greenhouse. Fertilizer for the leaves is sprayed from there 
Photo 22. There is only one and a half millimeters of nutrient solution in the gutters, which allows for minimal water consumption and makes the weight of the entire structure acceptable for the roofs of houses. 
Photo 23. 
Photo 24. 
Photo 25. 
Photo 26. 
Photo 27. 
Photo 28. 
Photo 29. 
Photo 30. 
Photo 31. Here we see a device that moves the entire system 
Photo 32. 
Photo 33. This is hasa (salad) 
Photo 34. 
Photo 35. The harvest is harvested by hand. Many plants produce foliage several times from one root. 
Photo 36. Thanks to the developed composition of the nutrient solution and the technology of these plastic lines root system small and all the power goes into the leaves 
Photo 37. 
Photo 38. 
Photo 39. A computerized pump system checks all parameters and automatically gives a command of what and how much to add - minerals, temperature, etc. The creators, in addition to what has already been developed, have their own patented know-how. They themselves developed and wrote all the programs. 
Photo 40. 
Photo 41. 
Photo 42. 
Photo 43. Seedlings 
Photo 44. Double wall and mesh to protect against bugs without chemicals 
Photo 45. 
Photo 46. Loading a new batch 
Photo 47. When you see such a sticker in a supermarket, buy it immediately. My wife tried their hasa and was delighted. And this recognition is better than Mehadrin’s kashrut. 
Greenhouse coordinates:
רח’ אופירה 10, מעלה אדומים
Email address: [email protected]
Facebook page.
