We needed to build this storage room in order to protect our expensive electronic PV equipment located in the greenhouse (batteries, inverter, and charge controller) from the intense heat of the Summer and from cold nights during the Winter. Heat of course destroys electronics, and voltage goes down when batteries get cold. The colder it gets at night, the less electricity we had to use.

 

 

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MATERIALS USED

- concrete blocks for a foundation
- construction grade straw bales for the walls
- rebar to pin the bales together
- 2" x 6"s for a roof plate
- plywood and more straw bales for a roof
- an adobe/lime plaster to protect the bales from moisture and bugs

Woops... we forgot to put in a door to the outside of the greenhouse/storage room. We removed one of the polycarbonate sheets and easily found a used solid-core external door at one of the many demolition companies which were flourishing in Tucson at the time. Older sections of town were being torn down to make way for "progress". This was a real bonanza for budget builders like us, but it was very sad to see as so many of the newer homes being built will were not as well constructed or as attractive as the ones that were being torn down.

NOTE: Had this storage room been built outside in the elements, it would have needed to be plastered with an adobe-lime stucco to protect the bales. Please see our Lime Stucco page for more information. A sheet of tin would need to be used over the bales on the roof.

 

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