[Greenbuilding] Composting cat shit

[Bob Korves]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "RT" <ArchiLogic at yahoo.ca>
> Perhaps someone would care to 'splain eet to me, the wisdom of making a 
> "low mass greenhouse" because quite frankly (and shirley too) I don't get 
> it.
> Rob Tom
---------------------------------

Sure Rob,
First, it is "low thermal mass sunspace", not "low mass greenhouse."  This 
is used as an air heater to transfer energy to the insulated building, and 
any excess produced stored in thermal mass there.

It is ideal for heat transfer if the sunspace can heat up quickly, therefore 
more quickly able to transfer heat to a cooler interior or mass storage. 
Any additional thermal mass in the sunspace slows the rate of warming, and 
whatever heat is stored in the sunspace mass will be mostly lost back 
through the glazing at night or when clouds move in.  The low mass sunspace 
is much better able to collect heat during partly cloudy days with a short 
period of sun followed by a period of clouds.

This assumes a sunspace built primarily to help heat the building, and not 
planned primarily for maximizing plant or human comfort levels in the 
sunspace.  Such low thermal mass sunspaces can be built with a small depth 
from the building walls, purely as a solar collector, or may have additional 
depth for light storage (bicycles?) and for use by occupants when conditions 
are comfortable.
-Bob Korves