Effect of greenhouse design parameters on conservation of energy for greenhouse environmental control

Abstract

A mathematical model was developed and used to study the effect of various energy conservation meas-ures to arrive at a set of design features for an energy efficient greenhouse. The Simulation results indicatedthat under cold climatic conditions of northern India, a gothic arch shaped greenhouse required 2.6% and4.2% less heating as compared to gable and quonset shapes. An east–west oriented gothic arch greenhouserequired 2% less heating as compared to a north–south oriented one. North wall insulation of an east westoriented gothic arch greenhouse saved 30% in heating costs. The use of night curtains reduced the nighttime heating requirement by 70.8% and daily requirement by 60.6%. By replacing the single cover on thesouthern side with air inflated double wall glazing, the heating requirement was reduced by 23%. Thecombination of the design features for an energy efficient greenhouse suitable for cold climatic conditionswas found to reduce the greenhouse heating needs by 80%. An internal rock bed thermal storage/retrievalsystem met the remaining heating energy requirements of the energy-conserving greenhouse.