Development of Semi-basement Type Greenhouse Model for Energy Saving

Abstract

Purpose: The heat culture areas of greenhouses have been continuously increasing. In the face of international oil price fluctuations, development of energy saving technologies is becoming essential. To save energy, auxiliary heat source and thermal insulation technologies are being developed, but they lack cost-efficiency. The present study was conducted to save energy by developing a conceptually new semi-basement type greenhouse. Methods: A semi-basement type greenhouse, was designed and constructed in the form of a three quarter greenhouse as a basic structure, which is an advantageous structure to inflow sunlight. To evaluate the performance of the developed greenhouse, a similar structured general greenhouse was installed as a control plot, and heating tests were conducted under the same crop growth conditions. Results: Although shadows appeared during the winter in the semi-basement type greenhouse due to the underground drop, the results of crop growth tests indicated that there were no differences in crop growth and development between the semi-basement type greenhouse and the control greenhouse, indicating that the shadows did not affect the crop up to the height of the crop growing point. The amount of fuel used for heating from January to March was almost the same between the two greenhouses for tests. The heating load coefficients of the experimental greenhouses were calculated as 3.1 kcal/m2 · ℃ · h for the semi-basement type greenhouse and 2.9 kcal/m2 · ℃ · h for the control greenhouse. Since the value is lower than the double layer PE (polyethylene) film greenhouse value of 3.5 kcal/m2 · ℃ · h from a previous study, Tthe semi-basement type greenhouse seemed to have energy saving effects. Conclusions: The semi-basement type greenhouse could be operated with the same fuel consumption as general greenhouses, even though its underground portion resulted in a larger volume, indicating positive effects on energy saving and space utilization. It was identified that the heat losses could be reduced by installing a thermal curtain of multi-layered materials for heat insulation inside the greenhouse for the cultivation of horticultural products by installing thermal curtain of multi-layered materials for heat insulation inside the greenhouse, it was identified that the heat losses could be reduced.