Add On Greenhouse Heats Farm Home

Add on greenhouse heats farm home ENERGY Solar 9-1-31 "It lowered firewood consumption from 15 full cords of hardwood during the winter of 1978-79 to an average of 3¢ cords for the past five heating seasons," says Joe Bacon, Spring Valley, Wis., who added a 38 by 14-ft. greenhouse to the south side of his 1928, 1,200 sq. ft. farm home. Bacon farms and also sells cut-rate, surplus tempered glass that he buys in bulk from a large window company. His prices can be as much as 1/7th that of retail prices and he's promoting the use of the inexpensive glass for solar on farms. "We'll help any farmer work out a design for a solar house or barn even if they have no intention of using our glass because we believe in the future of solar energy," says Bacon, noting that he has also designed a solar-heated barn and he's building a grain dryer. His added-on greenhouse measures 38 by 14 ft. and consists simply of a perpendicular glass wall that captures more of the sun's rays when it's low in the sky during winter but doesn't get too hot when the sun's higher in the sky during the summer. The tempered glass used is 8 times stronger than regular glass and is tinted to cut down on glare. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joe Bacon, Rt. 1, Box 157, Spring Valley, Wisc. 54767 (ph 715 639-3762).

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