Soap Bubble Insulated Greenhouse

[Peter Lindemann]

Hi Folks,

Here is an amazing technology that allows anyone, just about anywhere, to grow food all year around. It's the solar heated, soap bubble insulated greenhouse!

Just follow these links to learn more.

Bubble Insulated Greenhouse

SolarBubbleBuild: Eco greenhouse filling with liquid bubble insulation

Permaculture Greenhouse

Enjoy,
Peter

[Armagdn03]

Very interesting!

My only concern (and it may not be grounded) is the continual upkeep the insulating layer.

I have worked as an engineer at a refrigerator production facility for a bit now, and unknown to most people 90 percent of the mass of such units falls in the insulation category. and so I have had some interesting exposure to industrial uses of thermo-mechanics. What I like about this idea, is that the bubbles act like a small green houses within themselves, or like optical diodes not only insulating, but allowing passage, and then accumulation of solar energy. I wonder if foams more permanent than soap bubbles could created that had similar optical properties. I have worked with, and have education in the polymer field, and know that many polymers lend well to foaming...Expanded polystyrene (eps) being one people are familiar with (foam coffee cups). The problem is that, materials which lend themselves to expansion (foaming) have large polymer and monomer chains, and conversely materials with low opacity need monomers whose length is shorter than the wavelength of the incident light to be "clear". Sounds like a worth while venture if you have the knowledge.

[Peter Lindemann]

Adjustable Insulation

Very interesting!

My only concern (and it may not be grounded) is the continual upkeep the insulating layer.

I have worked as an engineer at a refrigerator production facility for a bit now, and unknown to most people 90 percent of the mass of such units falls in the insulation category. and so I have had some interesting exposure to industrial uses of thermo-mechanics. What I like about this idea, is that the bubbles act like a small green houses within themselves, or like optical diodes not only insulating, but allowing passage, and then accumulation of solar energy. I wonder if foams more permanent than soap bubbles could created that had similar optical properties. I have worked with, and have education in the polymer field, and know that many polymers lend well to foaming...Expanded polystyrene (eps) being one people are familiar with (foam coffee cups). The problem is that, materials which lend themselves to expansion (foaming) have large polymer and monomer chains, and conversely materials with low opacity need monomers whose length is shorter than the wavelength of the incident light to be "clear". Sounds like a worth while venture if you have the knowledge.

Armagdn03,

The beauty of this system is that the insulating material is very cheap, AND you can insulate the greenhouse at night and leave it uninsulated during the day. This is very useful in the Spring and Fall. During the Summer and Winter, you can insulate it all of the time, if you need to, to protect the plants from either high or low temperature extremes.

The bubbles don't pop very quickly, and as you can see from the video, you can go from uninsulated to fully insulated within a few minutes! The bubble solution is constantly recycled. Removing the insulation bubbles is just as easy by straying a liquid mist into the bubble area.

The water content of the bubbles acts as an infrared blocker, and the bubbles (trapped air) act as a heat conduction barrier. The cost of maintaining the insulation barrier is no more than a few cents worth of electricity per day.

This is one of the most brilliant, low tech solutions to the year-round greenhouse I have ever seen!

Peter

[Armagdn03]

Armagdn03,

The beauty of this system is that the insulating material is very cheap, AND you can insulate the greenhouse at night and leave it uninsulated during the day. This is very useful in the Spring and Fall. During the Summer and Winter, you can insulate it all of the time, if you need to, to protect the plants from either high or low temperature extremes.

The bubbles don't pop very quickly, and as you can see from the video, you can go from uninsulated to fully insulated within a few minutes! The bubble solution is constantly recycled. Removing the insulation bubbles is just as easy by straying a liquid mist into the bubble area.

The water content of the bubbles acts as an infrared blocker, and the bubbles (trapped air) act as a heat conduction barrier. The cost of maintaining the insulation barrier is no more than a few cents worth of electricity per day.

This is one of the most brilliant, low tech solutions to the year-round greenhouse I have ever seen!

Peter

Fantastic points! I can appreciate the flexibility of the system, thanks alot for sharing!

[Allcanadian]

@Peter

This is one of the most brilliant, low tech solutions to the year-round greenhouse I have ever seen!

I would agree, it is hard to imagine all the expensive high tech coatings and expensive insulating materials replaced by --- soap bubbles, lol, brilliant. I also imagine there are many engineers in this field scratching their heads and wondering why they did not think of it. This is what is truely missing in this modern age of high tech in all it's complexity-- simple inexpensive solutions that work. As an engineer I have come to understand that if anything I design or build becomes more complex with time then I am in fact moving backwards.
Regards
AC

[ABCStore]

Silicone foam is an excellent, but very expensive insulator...

ABC

[dubsta]

That thing is amazing!!!

I wonder how much it would cost to build a 2500 square foot greenhouse...

[ren]

Thats awesome Peter

Id be interested in testing a small scale model one first, perhaps with a certain fruit or vegetable for year round crops.

AC is right, the best part about this is how SIMPLE it is


Well done

Regards

[ashtweth]

I was just putting some info together for the permaculture stuff we are collecting from the 2 farms donated to panacea for research. This is all Free info as usual, what a whooper Peter, thanks a lot man.

Sincerely
Ash

[everwiser]

A lot of greenhouse operators in the Midwest U.S. already use two layers of polyethylene sheeting separated by forced air. While the approach is novel, wouldn't the water in the bubble cell walls act as a thermal bridge between the layers decreasing the effectiveness?

[Allcanadian]

@everwiser

While the approach is novel, wouldn't the water in the bubble cell walls act as a thermal bridge between the layers decreasing the effectiveness?

Yes, but by volume the amount of water would be very small in comparison to the amount of air. As well the primary mechanism for the transfer of heat is not conduction but convection and radiation. The small air volume of the bubble slows convection and the boundary condition or surface of the bubbles also acts as an optical barrier to radiant energy.
Regards
AC