The scope of this paper is to investigate how polycarbonate hollow sheets can be used to reduce the energy demand of a greenhouse substituting both the glass for envelope and other plastic or metal materials in the heating system applications. A tunnel greenhouse for crop production (basil and others) of 40 m of length and 10 m of width was modeled within the EnergyPlus simulation software. The climate locations refer to the north-west of Italy. The effect of the use of polycarbonate sheets as envelope of was investigated in terms of heating energy requirement for an internal air maintained at a 20 °C temperature, and a ventilation and infiltration rate designed to maintain a correct crops growth. Then, once reduced the heating energy demand, the application of polypropylene hollow sheets for the crop basal heating and a low-cost solar energy collector were investigated.
Energy feasibility of the application of polycarbonate and polypropylene sheets in agricultural greenhouses for heating and solar energy collection
FABRIZIO, Enrico;
2010-01-01
Abstract
The scope of this paper is to investigate how polycarbonate hollow sheets can be used to reduce the energy demand of a greenhouse substituting both the glass for envelope and other plastic or metal materials in the heating system applications. A tunnel greenhouse for crop production (basil and others) of 40 m of length and 10 m of width was modeled within the EnergyPlus simulation software. The climate locations refer to the north-west of Italy. The effect of the use of polycarbonate sheets as envelope of was investigated in terms of heating energy requirement for an internal air maintained at a 20 °C temperature, and a ventilation and infiltration rate designed to maintain a correct crops growth. Then, once reduced the heating energy demand, the application of polypropylene hollow sheets for the crop basal heating and a low-cost solar energy collector were investigated.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.