Directory:Walipini Underground Greenhouses - PESWiki
A directory of resources pertaining to the Walipini underground greenhouse mothod developed by the Benson Institute in Provo Utah.
One of the main principles involves embedding the greenhouse in
the earth to take advantage of the earth's constant temperature, to
store the solar energy collected during the day. Water barrels can also
be used to store the thermal heat and carry it through the night or
cloudy days (which are not as cold). Water is a much better thermal
mass storage mechanism than soil.
The solar gain comes through a light-permeable material such as
plastic, Visqueen, polycarbinate. The angle of the panels is designed
to be 90-degrees to the Winter Soltace sun (Dec. 21 / June 21, depending
on hemisphere). The the upper portion of the walls are insulated down
past the frost line.
The word "Walipini" comes from the Aymara Indian language and
means "place of warmth". They've been able to grow banannas at 14,000
feet elevation in the Andes.
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