Commercial greenhouse structures cover an area of between nine and ten thousand acres in the United States. It is estimated that their energy consumption for heating requires seven and one quarter million barrels of oil equivalent annually.

After tracing a brief history of the development of greenhouse structures in the United States and early efforts at energy conservation, a brief look at the current status is given.

Two areas of energy management are proposed--development of alternate energy sources and conservation of existing sources through structural changes. Since the manufacturer is more involved in the latter, some of the structural modifications that show the most promise for energy conservation are discussed in more detail.