Hybrid (Gas and Geothermal) Greenhouse Simulations Aimed at Optimizing Investment and Operative Costs: A Case Study in NW Italy

Chicco, Jessica Maria; Fonte, Leonardo; Mandrone, Giuseppe; Tartaglino, Andrea; Vacha, Damiano

doi:10.3390/en16093931

Open AccessArticle

Hybrid (Gas and Geothermal) Greenhouse Simulations Aimed at Optimizing Investment and Operative Costs: A Case Study in NW Italy

by

Jessica Maria Chicco

¹

,

Leonardo Fonte

²,

Giuseppe Mandrone

^1,*

,

Andrea Tartaglino

²

and

Damiano Vacha

¹

Interuniversity Department of Regional, and Urban Studies, and Planning (DIST), University of Turin, 10124 Torino, Italy

²

Direzione Edilizia e Sostenibilità, University of Turin, 10124 Torino, Italy

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Energies 2023, 16(9), 3931; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093931

Submission received: 27 February 2023 / Revised: 5 April 2023 / Accepted: 3 May 2023 / Published: 6 May 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Shallow Geothermal Energy 2023)

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Abstract

Generally, greenhouses are high energy-consuming, sometimes accounting for 50% of the cost of greenhouse production. Geothermal energy plays a very important role in maintaining the desired temperature and reducing energy consumption. This work deals with a project of a hybrid heating plant (97% geothermal energy and 3% gas-condensing boiler) for the innovative Plant Phenotyping Greenhouse at the University Campus in Grugliasco (few km West of the city of Turin). The aim of the study is to testify to the energy efficiency of this kind of hybrid plant as well as its economic sustainability. Numerical simulations of a GRT were used to calibrate the system and verify that the software reasonably modeled the real case. They helped to correctly size the geothermal plant, also providing data about the thermal energy storage and production during on and off plant cycles. The results show a thermal power of 50.92 kW over 120 days of plant operation, in line with the expected energy needs to meet the base load demand. Long-term results further ensure a negligeable impact on the ground, with a thermal plume between 5 and 10 m from the plant, reducing substantially in a few months after switching off the plant.

Keywords: greenhouse; shallow geothermal plant; cost optimization; modelling

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MDPI and ACS Style

Chicco, J.M.; Fonte, L.; Mandrone, G.; Tartaglino, A.; Vacha, D. Hybrid (Gas and Geothermal) Greenhouse Simulations Aimed at Optimizing Investment and Operative Costs: A Case Study in NW Italy. Energies 2023, 16, 3931. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093931

AMA Style

Chicco JM, Fonte L, Mandrone G, Tartaglino A, Vacha D. Hybrid (Gas and Geothermal) Greenhouse Simulations Aimed at Optimizing Investment and Operative Costs: A Case Study in NW Italy. Energies. 2023; 16(9):3931. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093931

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chicco, Jessica Maria, Leonardo Fonte, Giuseppe Mandrone, Andrea Tartaglino, and Damiano Vacha. 2023. "Hybrid (Gas and Geothermal) Greenhouse Simulations Aimed at Optimizing Investment and Operative Costs: A Case Study in NW Italy" Energies 16, no. 9: 3931. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093931

APA Style

Chicco, J. M., Fonte, L., Mandrone, G., Tartaglino, A., & Vacha, D. (2023). Hybrid (Gas and Geothermal) Greenhouse Simulations Aimed at Optimizing Investment and Operative Costs: A Case Study in NW Italy. Energies, 16(9), 3931. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093931

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Hybrid (Gas and Geothermal) Greenhouse Simulations Aimed at Optimizing Investment and Operative Costs: A Case Study in NW Italy

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