Location: Boone, North Carolina
Climate Zone: 6b
Size: 30’x49′
Application: Educational
Ceres Technologies: GAHT® System, SunSense™
Date Completed: 2021
Appalachian State University, located in Boone, North Carolina, is a public university recognized for its strong commitment to sustainability, hands-on learning, and community engagement. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, App State is known for its exceptional programs in environmental science, education, business, and renewable energy. The university is also celebrated for its beautiful campus, active outdoor culture, and leadership in green building and climate action initiatives.
When the school first reached out to Ceres, they already had two functioning greenhouses on campus. One was a high-tunnel greenhouse, mainly used for season extension, and the other was an Atlas greenhouse that used a dual-layer sheet plastic system and a wood boiler for backup heating. The addition of the Ceres HighYield™ Kit, with an integrated Ground to Air Heat Transfer (GAHT®) System, would mean that the school would have a state of the art facility to test against the other two structures.
While the Ceres greenhouse is used to grow various crops throughout the year, its main educational purpose is for students to measure the structure’s overall performance. In 2023, students ran a study to compare the performance of the Ceres greenhouse against the other two greenhouses, analyzing temperature, humidity, light, and energy use. You can find a report of the study here. While there are unique benefits to all three greenhouse structures, the report found that the Ceres greenhouse stood out thanks to its passive-solar design and energy-efficient GAHT® system.
The GAHT® system continues to be a central focus of research as students study ways to optimize the greenhouse environment and make it more energy-efficient. This greenhouse project is a special example of the educational possibilities of Ceres’ designs. We enjoy partnering with universities because often we learn things about our greenhouses that help us improve our solutions for future growers.
