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Energy Efficient Greenhouses and Energy Saving Technologies

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A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Biosystem and Biological Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 December 2021) | Viewed by 19138

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jouke Campen

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Guest Editor

Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Interests: agrotechnology; engineering; horticulture; physics; control engineering; air conditioning; modeling; simulation; simulation models

Dr. Feije de Zwart

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University
Interests: horticulture; computers and internet; civil and hydraulic engineering; greenhouses; sustainability; simulation; computer software—apps; air conditioning; programming; energy; control engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Paris agreement demands that all sectors reduce their energy consumption. The horticultural sector’s main use of energy is for heating. Reducing the heating demand by improving the insulation of the greenhouse and controlling the humidity in an energy-efficient way should be considered for this sector. Identifying crop tolerance for low temperatures and high humidity levels also can contribute to a lower energy demand. The remaining heating demand should be provided by fossil-free sources such as geothermal, seasonal heat storage, and so-called green electricity. The possibilities and implementation of these sources largely depend on the local conditions. In the part of the world lacking solar radiation in wintertime, artificial lighting contributes largely to the energy demand of this sector. The application of LED lighting and increase of light use efficiency are to be considered for reducing energy demand. Research on these topics is demanded for a successful implementation.

Dr. Jouke Campen
Dr. Feije de Zwart
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Keywords

insulation
LED
seasonal heat storage
dehumidification
geothermal heat
low temperature heating
climate boundary limits for the crop
temperature integration
carbon dioxide enrichment

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 6417 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Air Convection Wall with a Hollow Structure in Chinese Solar Greenhouses: Thermal Performance and Effects on Microclimate

by Yunfei Zhuang, Shumei Zhao, Jieyu Cheng, Pingzhi Wang, Na Lu, Chengwei Ma, Wenxin Xing and Kexin Zheng

Agronomy 2022, 12(2), 520; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12020520 - 19 Feb 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2103

Abstract

A Chinese solar greenhouse (CSG) is a horticultural facility that uses solar energy to promote a growth environment for crops and provides high-efficiency thermal storage performance to meet the demand of vegetables’ growth in winter. Besides being an important load-bearing structure in CSGs, the north wall is a heat sink, storing during the day in order to act as a heat source during the night. At times, the night temperature is lower than the minimum growth temperature requirement of vegetables, and the additional heating is needed. Therefore, optimizing the heat storage and release performance of the north wall in a CSG is an important approach for improving growth environment and reducing consumption of fossil fuel. This study proposes a heat storage north wall with a hollow layer on the basis of air convection, aiming to optimize the utilization of solar energy in CSGs. By the air convection effects, the hollow layer collects and stores surplus solar energy in the air during the day and transfers it to the cultivation space for heating at night. Additionally, field tests were conducted to compare the natural and forced convection strategies via airflow and heat transfer efficiency. The final effect on the indoor temperature ensured that the lowest temperatures at night were above 5 °C under both the natural and forced convection strategies during the winter in the Beijing suburbs where the average minimum temperature is below −10.8 °C during the experimental period. The hollow structure improves the utilization efficiency of solar energy in CSGs and ensures winter production efficiency in northern China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficient Greenhouses and Energy Saving Technologies)

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23 pages, 6127 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Greenhouse Cladding Materials and Thermal Screen Configuration on Heating Energy and Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa var. “Seolhyang”) Yield in Winter

by Timothy Denen Akpenpuun, Wook-Ho Na, Qazeem Opeyemi Ogunlowo, Anis Rabiu, Misbaudeen Aderemi Adesanya, Kwame Sasu Addae, Hyeon-Tae Kim and Hyun-Woo Lee

Agronomy 2021, 11(12), 2498; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11122498 - 9 Dec 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3548

Abstract

Strawberry cultivation depends on environmental factors, making its cultivation in the greenhouse a challenge in the winter. This study investigated the most appropriate greenhouse cladding material and thermal screen configuration for strawberry production in the winter by considering greenhouse air temperature, relative humidity (RH, vapor pressure deficit (VPD, and solar radiation (SR). Two gothic greenhouses with different cladding materials and thermal screen configurations, namely, the single-layer greenhouse and double-layer greenhouse, were used for strawberry cultivation. The greenhouse microclimate was controlled by natural ventilation aided with circulating fans and boilers. Strawberries were planted on 5 greenhouse benches, 660 stands per greenhouse. Daily environmental parameters were recorded and processed into daytime and nighttime. The impacts of cladding material-thermal screen configurations on temperature, RH, VPD, and SR, and the subsequent effect on strawberry yield in both greenhouse systems, were evaluated. Comparing the environmental parameters recorded in the single-layer and double-layer greenhouse showed that VPD and SR were significantly different in the daytime, whereas RH and VPD were significantly different in the nighttime. The post hoc test further showed that RH, VPD, and SR in both greenhouses were significantly different. The significant difference in RH and VPD can be attributed to the inner layer of polyethene in the double-layer greenhouse, which sealed up the pores of the thermal screen, resulting in humidity buildup, causing a lower VPD than in the single-layer greenhouse. The single-layer greenhouse yield was 14% greater than the double-layer greenhouse yield and can be attributed to the higher daytime VPD and lower RH achieved in the single-layer greenhouse at night. The study established that though the single-layer greenhouse system was cost-effective regarding construction, the operating cost of the single-layer greenhouse was higher than that of the double-layer greenhouse. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficient Greenhouses and Energy Saving Technologies)

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Review

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31 pages, 3967 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Comprehensive Review on Climate Control and Cooling Systems in Greenhouses under Hot and Arid Conditions

by Meriem Soussi, Mohamed Thameur Chaibi, Martin Buchholz and Zahia Saghrouni

Agronomy 2022, 12(3), 626; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12030626 - 3 Mar 2022

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 12533

Abstract

This work is motivated by the difficulty of cultivating crops in horticulture greenhouses under hot and arid climate conditions. The main challenge is to provide a suitable greenhouse indoor environment, with sufficiently low costs and low environmental impacts. The climate control inside the greenhouse constitutes an efficient methodology for maintaining a satisfactory environment that fulfills the requirements of high-yield crops and reduced energy and water resource consumption. In hot climates, the cooling systems, which are assisted by an effective control technique, constitute a suitable path for maintaining an appropriate climate inside the greenhouse, where the required temperature and humidity distribution is maintained. Nevertheless, most of the commonly used systems are either highly energy or water consuming. Hence, the main objective of this work is to provide a detailed review of the research studies that have been carried out during the last few years, with a specific focus on the technologies that allow for the enhancement of the system effectiveness under hot and arid conditions, and that decrease the energy and water consumption. Climate control processes in the greenhouse by means of manual and smart control systems are investigated first. Subsequently, the different cooling technologies that provide the required ranges of temperature and humidity inside the greenhouse are detailed, namely, the systems using heat exchangers, ventilation, evaporation, and desiccants. Finally, the recommended energy-efficient approaches of the desiccant dehumidification systems for greenhouse farming are pointed out, and the future trends in cooling systems, which include water recovery using the method of combined evaporation–condensation, as well as the opportunities for further research and development, are identified as a contribution to future research work. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficient Greenhouses and Energy Saving Technologies)

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