Influences of greenhouse-integrated semi-transparent photovoltaics on microclimate and lettuce growth

Reda Hassanien Emam Hassanien, Li Ming

Abstract


Shading in greenhouses is a simple and cheap method usually used to reduce the intensity of solar radiation and air temperature. Moreover, combining Photovoltaic (PV) panels and crops on the same cropland could alleviate the increasing competition for the agricultural land between food and energy production. In addition, the integration of PV with greenhouses could reduce, or partially replace the energy consumption for greenhouse crop production. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the shading effect of semi-transparent mono-crystalline silicon double glazing photovoltaic panels (STPV), mounted on top of an agricultural greenhouse, which occupied 20% of the roof area, on the microclimate conditions and the growth of lettuce plants inside a greenhouse. Results showed that the combination of STPV and polyethylene cover decreased the solar radiation by 35% to 40% compared to the use of polyethylene cover only for clear days which was in the acceptable range of photosynthetically active radiation for lettuce plants. Moreover, STPV shading decreases the air temperature by 1°C-3°C and had no effect in the relative humidity under natural ventilation. Furthermore, there were no significant differences (p0.05) in the growth of lettuce plants between the shaded greenhouse by the STPV and the unshaded. Shading insignificantly increased the fresh weight, leaf area and the chlorophyll contents (p0.05). In conclusion, the integration of STPV modules can decrease the solar irradiation and the internal air temperatures as well as generate electric energy for environmental control systems without significant influence on the growth of lettuce plants. Meanwhile, it can decrease the water consumption by decreasing the evapotranspiration rate.
Keywords: semi-transparent photovoltaics, greenhouse, shading, lettuce growth, microclimate, energy consumption
DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20171006.3407

Citation: Hassanien R H E, Li M. Influences of greenhouse-integrated semi-transparent photovoltaics on microclimate and lettuce growth. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2017; 10(6): 11–22.

Keywords


semi-transparent photovoltaics, greenhouse, shading, lettuce growth, microclimate, energy consumption

Full Text:

PDF

References


Bot G, VandeBraak N, Challa H, Hemming S, Rieswijk T H, van Straten G, et al. The solar greenhouse: State of the art in energy saving and sustainable energy supply. Acta Horticulturae (ISHS), 2005; 691: 501–508.

Sethi V P, Sharma S K. Survey of cooling technologies for worldwide agricultural greenhouse applications. Solar Energy, 2007; 81(12): 1447–1459.

Sethi V P, Sharma S K. Survey and evaluation of heating technologies for worldwide agricultural greenhouse applications. Solar Energy, 2008; 82(9): 832–859.

Chai L, Ma C, Ni J Q. Performance evaluation of ground source heat pump system for greenhouse heating in northern China. Biosystems Engineering, 2012; 111(1): 107–117.

Ureña-Sánchez R, Callejón-Ferre Á J, Pérez-Alonso J, Carreño-Ortega Á. Greenhouse tomato production with electricity generation by roof-mounted flexible solar panels. Scientia Agricola, 2012; 69: 233–239.

Hassanien R H E, Li M, Dong L W. Advanced applications of solar energy in agricultural greenhouses. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016; 54: 989–1001.

Breyer C, Koskinen O, Blechinger P. Profitable climate change mitigation: The case of greenhouse gas emission reduction benefits enabled by solar photovoltaic systems. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015; 49: 610–628.

Kadowaki M, Yano A, Ishizu F, Tanaka T, Noda S. Effects of greenhouse photovoltaic array shading on Welsh onion growth. Biosystems Engineering, 2012; 111(3): 290–297.

Yano A, Kadowaki M, Furue A, Tamaki N, Tanaka T, Hiraki E, et al. Shading and electrical features of a photovoltaic array mounted inside the roof of an east-west oriented greenhouse. Biosystems Engineering, 2010; 106(4): 367–377.

Li C, Wang H, Miao H, Ye B. The economic and social performance of integrated photovoltaic and agricultural greenhouses systems: Case study in China. Applied Energy, 2017; 190: 204–212.

Yano A, Onoe M, Nakata J. Prototype semi-transparent photovoltaic modules for greenhouse roof applications. Biosystems Engineering, 2014; 122: 62–73.

Cossu M, Yano A, Li Z, Onoe M, Nakamura H, Matsumoto T, et al. Advances on the semi-transparent modules based on micro solar cells: First integration in a greenhouse system. Applied Energy, 2016; 162: 1042–1051.

Cossu M, Ledda L, Urracci G, Sirigu A, Cossu A, Murgia L, et al. An algorithm for the calculation of the light distribution in photovoltaic greenhouses. Solar Energy, 2017; 141: 38–48.

Fatnassi H, Poncet C, Bazzano M M, Brun R, Bertin N. A numerical simulation of the photovoltaic greenhouse microclimate. Solar Energy, 2015; 120: 575–584.

Foster R, Cota A. Solar water pumping advances and comparative economics. Energy Procedia, 2014; 57: 1431–1436.

Veldhuis A J, Reinders A H M E. Reviewing the potential and cost-effectiveness of off-grid PV systems in Indonesia on a provincial level. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015; 52: 757–769.

Al-Helal I M, Abdel-Ghany A M. Measuring and evaluating solar radiative properties of plastic shading nets. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 2011; 95(2): 677–683.

Lorenzo P, Garcia M L, Sanchez-Guerro M C, Medrano E, Caparros I, Giménez M. Influence of mobile shading on yield, crop transpiration and water use efficiency. Acta Horticulturae, 2006; 719: 471–478.

Chauhan P M, Kim W S, Lieth J H. Combined effect of whitening and ventilation methods on microclimate and transpiration in rose greenhouse. Proceedings of the International Conference on Thermal Engergy Storage Tchnologies, Devi Ahilya University, Indore-17, India, 2003.

Ahemd H A, Al-Faraj A A, Abdel-Ghany A M. Shading greenhouses to improve the microclimate, energy and water saving in hot regions: A review. Scientia Horticulturae, 2016; 201: 36–45.

Dai Y, Shen Z, Liu Y, Wang L, Hannaway D, Lu H. Effects of shade treatments on the photosynthetic capacity, chlorophyll fluorescence, and chlorophyll content of tetrastigma hemsleyanum diels et gilg. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 2009; 65(2): 177–82.

Zhao D, Hao Z, Tao J. Effects of shade on plant growth and flower quality in the herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.). Plant Physiol Bioch, 2012; 61: 187–196.

Wang N, Huang Q, Sun J, Yan S, Ding C, Mei X, et al. Shade tolerance plays an important role in biomass production of different poplar genotypes in a high-density plantation. Forest Ecology and Management, 2014; 331: 40–49.

Mashonjowa E, Ronsse F, Mhizha T, Milford J R, Lemeur R, Pieters J G. The effects of whitening and dust accumulation on the microclimate and canopy behaviour of rose plants (Rosa hybrida) in a greenhouse in Zimbabwe. Solar Energy,2010; 84(1): 10–23.

Araki Y, Inoue S, Murakami K. Effect of shading on growth and quality of summer spinach. Acta Horticulturae, 1999; 483: 105–110.

Paul W. Stackhouse J. NASA Surface meteorology and Solar Energy, 2015.

Aldrich R A, Bartok J W. Greenhouse engineering. In: Sanders M, editor. 3rd ed. Ithaca, New York, 14853: NRAES; 1994. p. 218.

Kitta E, Katsoulas N, Savvas D. Shading effects on greenhouse microclimate and crop transpiration in a cucumber crop grown under Mediterranean conditions. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 2012; 28(1): 129–140.

Pieters J G, Deltour J M, Debruyckere M J. Light transmission through condensation on glass and polyethylene. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 1997; 85(1): 51–62.

Yano A, Furue A, Kadowaki M, Tanaka T, Hiraki E, Miyamoto M, et al. Electrical energy generated by photovoltaic modules mounted inside the roof of a north-south oriented greenhouse. Biosystems Engineering, 2009; 103(2): 228–238.

Cossu M, Murgia L, Ledda L, Deligios P A, Sirigu A, Chessa F, et al. Solar radiation distribution inside a greenhouse with south-oriented photovoltaic roofs and effects on crop productivity. Applied Energy, 2014; 133: 89–100.

Marrou H, Wery J, Dufour L, Dupraz C. Productivity and radiation use efficiency of lettuces grown in the partial shade of photovoltaic panels. European Journal of Agronomy, 2013; 44: 54–66.

Al-Helal I M, Abdel-Ghany A M. Responses of plastic shading nets to global and diffuse PAR transfer: Optical properties and evaluation. NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 2010; 57(2): 125–132.

Stagnari F, Galieni A, Pisante M. Shading and nitrogen management affect quality, safety and yield of greenhouse-grown leaf lettuce. Sci hortic-amsterdam, 2015; 192: 70–79.

Gimenez C, Otto R F, Castilla N. Productivity of leaf and root vegetable crops under direct cover. Scientia Horticulturae, 2002; 94(1): 1–11.

Fu W, Li P, Wu Y. Effects of different light intensities on chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics and yield in lettuce. Scientia Horticulturae, 2012; 135: 45–51.

Akira T, Suguru S, Kazuki N, Makio H. Improvement in lettuce growth by light diffusion under solar panels. Journal of Agricultural Meteorology, 2014; 70(3): 139–149.

Fernández M D, Bonachela S, Orgaz F, Thompson R, López J C, Granados M R, et al. Measurement and estimation of plastic greenhouse reference evapotranspiration in a Mediterranean climate. Irrigation Science, 2010; 28(6): 497–509.

Marrou H, Dufour L, Wery J. How does a shelter of solar panels influence water flows in a soil-crop system. European Journal of Agronomy, 2013; 50: 38–51.




Copyright (c)



2023-2026 Copyright IJABE Editing and Publishing Office