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home page » passive solar design chapter » planterbed detail page ... you are here
Planter beds and attached greenhouses are often at the heart of any HTM.
Along with green, growing plants there come benefits both practical and spiritual.
Sloped glass gives an HTM its unconventional look, but vertical glass simply does not produce as much solar heat gain or allow you to grow crops indoors.
Indoor planterbeds and the ability to grow crops year-round in extreme climates is the hallmark of our sustainable design.
Sub-surface drip irrigation is the norm for any planterbed, as it gets water directly to the root zone without need to sodden all the soil.
Watering from the surface is possible, but usually limited to outdoor planterbeds or low humidity climates where the extra water evaporating indoors would not be intrusive.
For instance, here in the high country our winter humidity is lucky to be 30%, with surface watering, we can easily raise that to 50%, or more.
And do it without passively without electricity, filters and machines.
Proper humidity levels protect more than just your furniture.
All fixed vertical and sloped windows along the south facing planterbed and clerestory thermopane units should be at least 1 inch overall (two 3/16 inch glass with a 5/8 inch gap) or 7/8 inch overall (two 1/8 inch glass with a 5/8 inch gap).
More than a 3/4 inch gap can lead to energy robbing convection currents within the space.
Less than a 5/8 inch gap can more easily allow conductive heat/cooling loses.
Residential windows are generally thinner, less effective against heat/cold transmission, more delicately vacuum sealed, not as well tempered and more prone to condensation problems.
Patio door glass, for instance, is marginal for vertical windows, but fully unsuited for sloped applications.
Buying thicker, commercial 3/16 inch thick tempered glass thermopane units (store window glass) is recommended.
Using commercial components wherever possible, is one key to saving money while building a home.
Your local Quik Stop/garage/warehouse was much cheaper to build than any local home, yet was built with heavier duty building materials, block walls, nice tile, big laminated windows, heavy duty garage door, large handicapped bathrooms and steel entry doors.
South walls with the planterbed and sloped glass are nice because you don't "lose" any floorspace - the sloped glass could not be walked under anyway. The large expanse of glass really brings the outside in creating the feeling of a much larger structure and increasing the view potential dramatically. If you find the energy loss from so much glass challenging, drapes are a always a very effective design option. Basic commercial thermopane glazing units with a traditional vacuum seal provide maximum UV transmittance (solar gain) with a very respectable R rating (insulation). With the exception of North side windows (where there is little or no direct light) we tend to avoid argon gas filled thermal windows, Low-E and other techno/marketing gimmicks. FYI - if you ever line a hallway or planterbed with bricks ... DON'T SET THEM IN MORTAR. Cobblestone edging brick cleanup is a lot easier when they're removeable - just take them outside for the hose.
Indoor planterbeds perform many functions besides being just a great hobby. The staggering volume of wet earth in these planterbeds holds an amazing amount of energy (cooling or heating). This is one of the keys to high thermal mass housing: energy storage. The other main benefit from having indoor planterbeds is the humidity to be gained from plant evapo-transpiration. Mechanical humidifiers are well known for their stale water and problems with bacterial transmission. Plants provide plenty of natural humidification without any need to worry about how pure it is and totally without need for electricity. Proper levels of humidity are guaranteed to make your home more comfortable in the winter through better transmission of energy (hot air holds a great deal more heat than dry air). Plus, your skin will appreciate it and you won't have to worry about static electricity shocking your fingertips off every time you reach for a doorknob. If you are building in a hot & humid climate, the planterbed might host cactus and ferns to minimize evapotranspiration or be replaced with storage and/or mobile potted plants that can be rolled in and out seasonally. Please note that we have normally design with an above ground planterbed (below grade is pictured) to ease construction a bit, use smaller windows and speed energy deliver from planterbed storage area.
Insulated drapes are a common addition in cold, cloudy winter climates, but keep in mind that even on a cloudy day your home gets some solar gain, otherwise it would be dark. The triangular space between drape and glass serves as a very effective moderating space (hot or cold). Hot climates dictate you drop the amount of solar gain in the summer, so you cool your thermal mass by installing sun shade materials along the exposed glass front. Creating a cooler micro-climate outside the home with a shaded trellis is key to any design: shade cloth chapter. Commercial greenhouses use knitted shade panels that vary with climate and amount of sun you are trying to block. The effect is predictable with sun blockage translating into cooling for the home interior - material pictured above is a 30 percent sun blockage. Shade canopies are typically simple horizontal installations over a standard wood or metal pipe trellis. The angled shade sail shown above is a unique approach for illustration of a more minimalist approach.
Indoor gardening planterbeds and attached greenhouses are the heart of an HTM. Along with green, growing plants there come benefits both practical and spiritual. Sloped glass gives an HTM its unconventional look, but vertical glass simply does not produce as much solar heat gain or allow you to grow crops indoors. Indoor planterbeds and the ability to grow crops year-round in extreme climates is the hallmark of our sustainable design. Indoor planterbeds perform many functions besides being just a great hobby. The staggering volume of wet earth in these planterbeds holds an amazing amount of energy (cooling or heating). This is one of the keys to high thermal mass housing: energy storage. The other main benefit from having indoor planterbeds is the humidity to be gained from plant evapo-transpiration. Mechanical humidifiers are well known for their stale water and problems with bacterial transmission. Plants provide plenty of natural humidification without any need to worry about how pure it is and totally without need for electricity. Proper levels of humidity are guaranteed to make your home more comfortable in the winter through better transmission of energy (hot air holds a great deal more heat than dry air). Plus, your skin will appreciate it and you won't have to worry about shocking your fingertips off every time you reach for a doorknob. Please note that we have gone to above ground planterbeds in most designs to economize and simplify construction. The one shown in following picture is below grade to store even more heat and offer ability to use larger front glazing panels.
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The burlap "fence" shown here along front of below-grade planterbed was a temporary solution to the problem of dog hair in the tomato patch. We replaced it with cobblestone edging bricks for a more finished look. Oh, by the way, if you ever line a hallway or bed with bricks: DON'T SET THEM IN MORTAR. Edging brick cleanup is a lot easier when they're moveable; you just take them outside and hose them off. |
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Here's a look at a south face design sketch which incorporates a shed roof and a full overhang past the sloped glass. Overhang designs still manage to generate full solar gain during the peak heating months while providing generous amounts of shade in the summer. One advantage of this particular overhang design is that the shade cloth can now be hung vertically across the front of the posts instead of horizontally, awning style, out in front of the home. This is but one example of the type of design choices you will have with your HTM. Don't be lead to believe that the home you see on this site is the only design we can provide, there is very little limit to your choices. For example, you'll notice that the roof shown here is sketched as being built with standard BCI joists instead of T&G planks and logs. Please note that this sketch outlines a very deep frostwall. Some parts of the country call for frostwalls to extend up to four feet below the finished grade. | 
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Planterbeds along the south face are an important part of any HTM. They store an amazing amount of heat in the moist soil while providing a rewarding hobby. The planterbed in this sketch can stop at the floor slab or extend all the way down to the bottom of the footer for an even larger thermal storage mass. We do our best to incorporate planterbeds with sloped glass into your design while taking care to avoid overheating the home with such details as shade fabric and roof overhangs.
As shown below, exterior planterbeds are constructed in much the same way as interior planterbeds. These exterior planterbeds have direct roof gutter irrigation in addition to greywater recycling options. Root infiltration is kept to a minimum and the pipes easily installed by simply laying the leach field upon tilled soil and covering with at least six inches of mulch and/or gravel as per local code and/or your sustainable irrigation needs. Bricks under the pipe every couple of feet will help ensure even distribution by keeping the entire "leach field" level. We recommend avoiding a layer of landscaping fabric under the distribution pipes: (fabric under these pipes will help prevent root infiltration, but the resulting bio-mat negates any long-term benefit). The best advice we can offer for a low-maintenance, passive irrigation system is to not glue the distribution pipe fittings: this allows you to easily disassemble the field, clean the pipes, and remove any root infiltration.
In the photo below, you can see where we are installing a layer of landscaping fabric above the irrigation pipes to keep weeds from growing in between the trees and shrubs (those sickly looking sticks). The west side planterbed (shown above) was not fitted with landscaping fabric as a comparison. As expected, we found that the landscaping fabric was unnecessary with a deep enough mulch layer to block weed growth. In fact, the landscaping fabric was a nuisance as soon as it started to decompose. For the record, it has been fifteen years and we have not had to dismantle the leach field pipes yet to remove root infiltration. I suspect that it may never be required.
An orchard is typically the best use of greywater - a small tree can easily uptake 15 plus gallons per day and the pipes do not need to be pressurized. Please take this link to a detail page with typical greywater leach field sketches. With this style of system, the drywells are acting as "emergency overflow" leaching pits - the majority of the water is being delivered directly to the trees in your orchard.
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