Greenhouse advice sought from SoCal, Southwestern folks

[darby]

Hi all:

I've been growing a handful of cattleyas under shade cloth for 10+ years now. I always intended to build a greenhouse (probably a kit, possibly the Harbor Freight one) but never felt I could swing the cost...but...I'm giving it serious thought now, especially after seeing a thread here on the board about Orchidbyte's 6'x8' backyard greenhouse, which looks great to me (I can't seem to add a link without the board rejecting my post, though?).

I'm in Los Angeles, so the problem is high summer heat and low humidity. Could anyone who has a hobby greenhouse in a hot, dry environment comment or give advice on their preferred cooling systems, misters/foggers, reflective shadecloth, etc? I know people do have orchid greenhouses here, I'm just having trouble finding info specific to this environment.

Also: can you comment on the monthly costs of running those systems? I'm under the impression that the cost of building the greenhouse itself will be a lot less than running all of the equipment...

Thanks, I appreciate it.