One of the great things about sustainable architecture is that great sustainable features can be added easily onto your existing home. One of those that you might not have thought of before, is adding a greenhouse to the south side of your home to grow your own food, and heat your home. Just like solar heating, heat is stored in the greenhouse insulating the home, and allowing heat to enter. Heat moves through the house by convection. On the outside, you can design it to go with your landscaping, and reap the benefits of having a greenhouse if you don't have the space in your yard, for a detached one. Check out www.aces.edu , where they talk about the benefits of an inside entrance, so you can won't

have to walk outside to visit your greenhouse in bad weather. Another option is to have doors that close off the area and keep it as a separate living space. They also report that an attached greenhouse 'may also cost less per square foot to build than a freestanding greenhouse.' Check out www.greenhousebuyersguide.com for more details on an attached green houses. Although I find the best explanations of how they work, types, advantages, and disadvantages are best explained on educational publications, like, extension.umd.edu. If you want to get right into building and design check out www.builditsolar.com . They have designs best suited to transfer heat to the home, plus ideas for cooling the home with an attached greenhouse as well.

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ATTACHED GREENHOUSES