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Are there any greenhouses that are warmed entirely by geothermal means?
I am curious as to the viability of greenhouses in colder climates producing food year round that are heated entirely by geothermal. My understanding is that geothermal can provide heat to about 54 degrees f. So, a follow-up question would be, are there food crops that will produce at those temperatures?
3 Answers
Good question. I don't know of any, but there's no reason why there couldn't be.
That said, I'm not sure it would be all that cost effective to install a geothermal system just to run a greenhouse, even if you use that energy to grow all your food. If you heat your house that way as well, that'd be a different story. I'm also not sure it'd be all that necessary to heat a greenhouse that much unless you live somewhere really frigid. Personally I think the cheaper way to go would be to lay a radiant subfloor in the greenhouse, and run it with a solar water heater. Cheaper yet would be a solar powered space heater.
As far as your question about plants growing at 54 degrees, yes, just about anything would grow at that temperature (although much more slowly than at say 84 degrees). As long as they don't freeze, most edibles are pretty happy. Bear in mind though that a greenhouse is designed to heat itself when the sun is out, so it would likely heat up to above 54 degrees on a sunny day without too much trouble.
That said, I'm not sure it would be all that cost effective to install a geothermal system just to run a greenhouse, even if you use that energy to grow all your food. If you heat your house that way as well, that'd be a different story. I'm also not sure it'd be all that necessary to heat a greenhouse that much unless you live somewhere really frigid. Personally I think the cheaper way to go would be to lay a radiant subfloor in the greenhouse, and run it with a solar water heater. Cheaper yet would be a solar powered space heater.
As far as your question about plants growing at 54 degrees, yes, just about anything would grow at that temperature (although much more slowly than at say 84 degrees). As long as they don't freeze, most edibles are pretty happy. Bear in mind though that a greenhouse is designed to heat itself when the sun is out, so it would likely heat up to above 54 degrees on a sunny day without too much trouble.
Iceland, Geothermal Energy
"In the late 19th century geothermal energy was first used for market gardening and at the beginning of the 20th century for heating greenhouses."
http://www.geob…
"In the late 19th century geothermal energy was first used for market gardening and at the beginning of the 20th century for heating greenhouses."
http://www.geob…
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