A greenhouse works by taking in sunlight and heating it up. This converts solar energy (sunlight) into thermal energy (heat). Greenhouses are designed to allow sunlight to filter through the walls and ceiling. The sunlight warms the trapped air inside, creating a more stable and temperate climate. This helps the plants to grow and protects them from extremes just outside of its walls.
Most people know that plants grow better when they have a consistent temperate heat and a good water source. A greenhouse can provide all of that if the grower ensures that everything is maintained and the system is kept in proper balance.
The composition of a greenhouse is key.
- Typically, greenhouses are made of plastic or glass.
- The purpose is to trap as much light and heat as possible
- The plants and soil inside absorb all the sunlight and then reflect it back out.
- As the solar energy is redirected, however, it is changed. Sunlight is composed of shortwave infrared radiation that is able to pass through the greenhouse’s exterior. These waves turn into longer-wave infrared radiation after absorption by the plants and they are no longer able to pass through the greenhouse’s exterior.
- With more sunlight coming in and more energy being trapped, everything inside the greenhouse heats up further.
