Upgrade your agricultural or horticulture education program
A Rimol Greenhouse is an excellent way to bring hands-on learning to your agricultural or horticulture education program. Public and private K-12 schools and educational institutions across the country have worked with us on school greenhouse projects. This includes new builds, additions to existing school greenhouses, or retrofits of old greenhouse structures.
Whether you are in the process of building a new school or adding a greenhouse to an existing building, an educational greenhouse will provide your school with years of reliable service. To get started designing your school greenhouse, use the following planning guide.
How is the greenhouse project being funded? What is your budget?
Many school greenhouse projects are funded through federal grants. Others are funded as part of a larger investment in new school infrastructure. And others still are completed through private fundraising efforts by the PTA, FFA chapter or other school group.
Take a look at the full amount of the funding that you have for the school greenhouse project. The structure and equipment should be about 50-60% of the total project cost. Other costs beyond the structure and equipment to consider for a school greenhouse project include:
- Site preparation – excavating, stone, and concrete
- Water, gas, and electric
- Permitting
- Architect - if State Ed is involved, architect is often used to prepare the package for approval. If the structure will be connected to the school, an engineer or architect is required.
- Construction costs
What size greenhouse do you need?
Once you know the location of the greenhouse on your site, we can work with you to size the greenhouse that will be the best fit. For our Matterhorn structure, which is our most popular choice for schools, standard sizes are 20′, 24′ and 30′ wide bays, with lengths 24′ or longer in 12′ increments.
When sizing your greenhouse, we recommend sketching out a floor plan. Consider how many students you would like to accomodate in the greenhouse at one time. On your floor plan, include the following:
- Door locations - attached to a building?
- Bench size and layout
- Aisle width – handicap accessible?
- Work area – for how many?
- Sink and storage?
What building permits/approvals do you require?
Working with your adminstration and local officials, determine if you need approval from the State Department of Education and/or local building authorities. If these approvals are necessary, we will need to know any specific engineering requirements before quoting.
Our Matterhorn greenhouse structures are a popular choice for schools, as they can be engineered to meet any ground snow load and wind load requirements necessary. Our polycarbonate-covered institutional greenhouse structures can also be engineered to meet most snow and wind loads. Our experts can advise you on the best structure to fit your needs and building requirements.
We work with a team of licensed engineers who can provide a set of stamped engineering plans to be submitted to the local building department for your building permit. We can also work with you for any other documentation that is required for local planning authorities or other required approvals.
How will you control the greenhouse climate?
Once you determine the specifics of the greenhouse frame, you will also need to plan for heating, cooling and ventilation. Most school greenhouses use a gas unit heater to maintain a comfortable temperature year-round for students. You will also want a digital environmental control system to make sure that the greenhouse environment is being managed on nights, weekends and summers - when somebody will not be in the building to manually adjust temperature and ventilation.
There are many climate control options to consider for a school greenhouse, such as:
- HAF fans
- Sidewall vents
- Ridge vents
- Fans and shutters
- Shade cloth and automated shade systems
- Evaporative cooling systems
- Environmental controllers with remote management capabilities
Let's Discuss Your School Greenhouse Project
Contact us to discuss your school greenhouse project with your regional Rimol representative. We can make a site visit early on in the process to take measurements, meet with project stakeholders and answer any questions. Even if your project is still in the early planning stages, reach out to us and we will help you through the planning, budgeting and permitting process as your trusted greenhouse partner.