Potential of solar-assisted adsorption cooling system for Mediterranean greenhouses
Greenhouse crop production is increasingly used in Mediterranean regions because of its potential to produce more with limited use of land, water, and other resources.
The space heating and cooling system maintains indoor climates of greenhouses within the plant comfort zone and thus ensures uninterrupted food production regardless of outside weather conditions.
Providing the desired temperature for plants is challenging due to the heat buffer from solar radiation in the greenhouses located in warmer areas.
Cooling closed cultivation spaces can be energy-intensive, and it accounts for a major component of operational costs, especially during the summer season.
Significant improvements have been made to minimize the cooling demand of greenhouses by integrating efficient design fixtures to the outer envelope, improving shade screens, and establishing optimal control parameters.
However, the greenhouses in warm regions still resort to mechanical chillers for active cooling, contributing to an increased carbon footprint.
Evaporative cooling is a popular means of cooling in the Mediterranean region, but it is water-intensive.
Also, this system is not efficient for hot and humid areas.
Solar-assisted adsorption cooling systems can be an excellent alternative to the traditional systems from economic and environmental aspects.
Because they can operate at lower temperatures, making them more attractive than other solar cooling systems.
This study focuses on solar-assisted adsorption cooling systems for a commercial-scale greenhouse application in California.
The designed system contains a two-bed silica gel-water adsorption chiller connected to a flat solar thermal collector.
The thermal performance of the overall system has been simulated using the MATLAB program to analyze the potential of the proposed system for the study greenhouse under Mediterranean climates.
Ahsan, T.M.A. and Ahamed, M.S. (2023). Potential of solar-assisted adsorption cooling system for Mediterranean greenhouses. Acta Hortic. 1377, 165-172
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1377.20
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1377.20
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1377.20
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1377.20
controlled environment agriculture, greenhouses, solar radiation, heat buffer, solar thermal collector
English
1377_20
165-172