KSD Solar Greenhouse

Residential - January 2010

A small prototype built in 2010 and tested for performance and improvement.

Quick Facts

Energy Needs Met

50% to 74%

of space heating

Property

Owner:: Scot Comey
Type:: Residential
Address:: 18 Oak Hill Road, Attleboro, MA 02703
Energy need met:: 50% to 74% of space heating

Technology

Type:: Solar Space Heating
Installed:: January 2010
Purposes:: For space heating

What You Need to Know

Description:

A small prototype of our special greenhouse, with thermal mass and insulated walls to hold heat at night. KSD is developing a set of groundbreaking, patent-pending solar products. See our new Klinkman Solar Design Temple Am-David Project. <<< A UNIQUE GREENHOUSE - NOTHING LIKE IT ANYWHERE! >>> We built a wood-frame greenhouse with a plywood roof. The greenhouse has a linear trough reflector wall that concentrates light through a target window, and then the sunlight spreads out again. In the winter of 2010 the greenhouse was a wonderful sunny living space on a winter afternoon. More important to growers, the prototype solar reflector and greenhouse kept tomato sprouts alive with only solar heat from January of 2010 until after the last frost. Having few windows means that our greenhouse doesn't lose much heat at night. ........... Our recent experience with Hurricane Irene showed that our greenhouses will offer significant wind and flying object protection for growing delicate mid-winter crops, but that we finally need to get around to trying our long-planned reflector upgrade. Our next greenhouse should put a well-controlled 100% of winter sunlight onto the plants. Our goals are high greenhouse productivity, perhaps one manual adjustment of the reflectors every two weeks, and very low lifetime costs for the system. <<< A UNIQUE "SOLAR SAVER" HEATING SYSTEM PROTOTYPE >>> We also plan a demonstration of our new "Solar Saver Heat System" prototype, soon to reach the market. Our patent-pending "Solar Saver" system uses a set of Roland Winston Cup solar collectors, a rock bed for heat storage and a seven-day thermostat. Everyone will want this automated solar product. Our goal is to replace 50% to 90% of fossil fuel consumption for most older houses in the Northeast, for most commercial buildings, for a number of industries and for existing greenhouses (until their owners can afford an upgrade). As a bonus, excess heat from the collectors can heat a hot tub or swimming pool from May through September. ......... We are expecting to have a prototype back from the welder in time to show you this one-of-a-kind solar heat collector unit on Oct. 1, and explain how the new system will work so well and be so affordable. Within the next two months, we will want to move on to solar-heat our first house. (10/12 update: we're solar-heating a synagogue that has a soup kitchen operation. We're not in Attleboro to show the greenhouse off during the 2012 tour.) Our Business Contact Information: .................. KLINKMAN SOLAR DESIGN, Paul Klinkman & Liberty Goodwin, Co-Owners P.O. Box 40572, Providence, RI 02940. Tel. 401-351-9193, E-Mail: paul@klinkmansolar.com & liberty@klinkmansolar.com. Web: www.klinkmansolar.com (The greenhouse prototype is sited on the property of our business associate, Scot Comey)

Other Benefits:

We're a disruptive technology, the affordable and dependable kind that changes the world, not the me-too kind that has little ultimate impact.

Efficiency or Sustainability Improvements:

Batt/Blanket Fiberglass Daylighting, Recycled Materials, Sunspace

My Motivation:

Providing light and heat for year-round gardening. Testing the new system to see how well it worked.

Additional Notes:

This greenhouse may be moved some time soon. If interested in it, contact KSD at 401-351-9193.

Open House Info:

Call before visiting - KSD, 401-351-9193 From I-95 in Attleboro take exit 2 toward Pawtucket. Go past the mall and over the railroad tracks, south half a mile. At the second light go left, past Tigger's Diner and Sin Alley Tattoo. Go half a mile. At the light, merge slightly left onto Central Ave. Go half a mile. The next light will be at a Tee. Go left onto state route 152. Go north 1 mile. Go right onto Oak Hill Road just before the Oak Hill Mini Mart. Go east 1 mile. The landmarks are Evergreen Landscaping on the right and Seven Arrows on the left. Go five more houses on the left. Look for a yellow diamond sign on the right with a deer on it. Our gravel road is directly opposite that sign on the left. Turn left and go up a block. Our greenhouse should be visible on the left. We're in the middle of upgrading both our greenhouse's reflector wall and our greenhouse's heat storage system. We have already put a good deal of care into our window design. We expanded the windows to handle solar precession issues and to allow two week periods between manual refocusing. Current projects are to install an automatic greenhouse vent and to add a heat-grabbing fan that stores heat in a gravel floor. In doing so we should be able to maintain tomato weather, staying above 50 degrees in the greenhouse all winter. .......... We actually designed the current prototype for algae growth experiments. We hope to get back to our algae experiments soon, with the goal of producing abundant and inexpensive biofuel.

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