# Greenhouse orientation



## Tall Grille (May 4, 2011)

I am planning to build a hoop hose/greenhouse. it will be 8' wide and 12' long and will be built from cattle panels. 
My question is about orientation of the house. I was planning on making the gable ends framed and enclosed with plywood with a door on one end and a window/vent on the other. My original plan had the gable ends facing east/west so the sun would beam directly on the south side of the roof all afternoon. However, when I was driving by a commercial greenhouse that I used to work at I realized that all of their 30+ houses have the gable ends facing North/South. This would allow the morning sun to hit the east side and the evening sun to hit the west side. 
My main concerns are in the early spring and late fall when the sun is low in the sky, I think a large portion of the inside of the house will be shaded by the gable end all day with the house facing north south. However, with the housing facing east west, the North side of the house will never see sun. Is there a common practice for the direction of a green house?


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

East to West will give it a LITTLE more light in Winter, but there are other things to consider also:

http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/features/2005/0305/gh1/index.shtml



> According to Biernbaum, if you will be doing winter farming you want to orient the greenhouse to maximize light interception during the winter months (orientation refers to which way the ridge of the greenhouse runs).
> * At northern latitudes (above 40 degrees), he says, an east-west orientation works best to catch maximum light during winter.*
> With an East-West orientation, Biernbaum explains, the winter light will penetrate the length of the south side of the greenhouse instead of shining through from the end.
> &#8220;While an east-west orientation works best in most northern latitudes, there may be some exceptions,&#8221; Biernbaum says. &#8220;If heavy snow is an issue and wind can help move the snow away, an alternative orientation might be used.&#8221;
> ...


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