Abstract
The examination of recent developments and future perspectives on smart and solar greenhouse covers is significant for commercial agriculture given that traditional greenhouse relied on external energy sources and fossil fuels to facilitate lighting, heating and forced cooling. The aim of this review article was to examine smart and solar materials covering greenhouse. However, the scope was limited to intelligent PhotoVoltaic (PV) systems, optimization of some material properties including smart covers, heat loading and the use of Internet of Things (IoT) to reduce the cost of operating greenhouse. As such, the following thematic areas were expounded in the research; intelligent PV systems, optimization of the Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE), Panel Generator Factor (PGF) and other material properties, heat loading future outlook and perspectives. The intelligent PV section focused on next-generation IoT and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) systems for greenhouse automation while the optimization of material parameters emphasized quantum dots, semi-transparent organic solar cells, Pb-based and Pb-based PVs and three dimensional (3D) printing. The evaluation translated to better understanding of the future outlook of the energy-independent greenhouse. Greenhouse fitted with transparent PV roofs are a sustainable alternative given that the energy generated was 100% renewable and economical. Conservative estimates further indicated that the replacement of conventional sources of energy with solar would translate to 40–60% energy cost savings. The economic savings were demonstrated by the Levelized cost of energy. A key constraint regarded the limited commercialization of emerging innovations, including transparent and semitransparent PV modules made of Pb-quantum dots, and amorphous tungsten oxide (WO3) films, with desirable electrochromic properties such as reversible color changes. In addition to intelligent energy harvesting, smart IoT-based materials embedded with thermal, humidity, and water sensors improved thermal regulation, frost mitigation and prevention, and the management of pests and disease. In turn, this translated to lower post-harvest losses and better yields and revenues.
Highlights
The review paper presents recent developments and future perspectives of smart and solar greenhouse covers
Most PV materials for greenhouse covering are unsuitable for commercial use due to the low photo-conversion efficiency (PCE) and plant conversion factor, reduction of the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), cost, UV degradation, lack of scalable synthetic methods, and ecological toxicity; this means there was an urgent need to develop new materials and optimize the properties of existing properties through electrochromic technologies, 3D/4D printing, replacement of traditional DSSC with wavelength-selective semitransparent dye-sensitized solar cells, integration of Quantum dots (QD) to improve the PCE; this explain why the optimization of existing materials was reviewed under Sections 4, 5
Recent R&D projects have resulted in the development of hundreds of PV materials for greenhouse ranging from Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) and Electrochromic Glazing (EG) and smart photovoltaic (PV) materials comprising of Pb-quantum dots, amorphous tungsten oxide (WO3) films, copper-doped InP/ ZnSe QDs and Pb-free materials, Pb Halide Perovskites, copper-doped InP/ZnSe QDs, semitransparent (ST) organic solar cells (OSCs), and 2D Ruddlesden–Popper perovskitebased solar cells (PVSCs)
Summary
The review paper presents recent developments and future perspectives of smart and solar greenhouse covers. Potential solutions include active solar heat storage release systems (Castañeda-Miranda and Castaño-Meneses, 2020b) and the BIPVs with low-voltage DC distribution systems The former system regulates the temperatures in greenhouse through the storage of solar energy in water tanks, while the latter facilitates daytime light-harvesting and energy saving. Most PV materials for greenhouse covering are unsuitable for commercial use due to the low PCE and plant conversion factor, reduction of the PAR, cost, UV degradation, lack of scalable synthetic methods, and ecological toxicity; this means there was an urgent need to develop new materials and optimize the properties of existing properties through electrochromic technologies, 3D/4D printing, replacement of traditional DSSC with wavelength-selective semitransparent dye-sensitized solar cells, integration of QDs to improve the PCE; this explain why the optimization of existing materials was reviewed under Sections 4, 5. Each section contributed to the understanding of the present state of smart greenhouse covering materials and future prospects
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