A Time-Dependent Model for Predicting Thermal Environment of Mono-Slope Solar Greenhouses in Cold Regions

Shuyao Dong, Md Shamim Ahamed, Chengwei Ma and Huiqing Guo
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Shuyao Dong: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2, Canada
Md Shamim Ahamed: Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616-5270, USA
Chengwei Ma: Key Laboratory of Agricultural Engineering in Structure and Environment of Ministry of Agriculture, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Huiqing Guo: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2, Canada

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 18, 1-19

Abstract: Most greenhouses in the Canadian Prairies shut down during the coldest months (November to February) because of the hefty heating cost. Chinese mono-slope solar greenhouses do not primarily rely on supplemental heating; instead, they mostly rely on solar energy to maintain the required indoor temperature in winter. This study focuses on improving an existing thermal model, entitled RGWSRHJ, for Chinese-style solar greenhouses (CSGs) to increase the robustness of the model for simulating the thermal environment of the CSGs located outside of China. The modified model, entitled SOGREEN, was validated using the field data collected from a CSG in Manitoba, Canada. The results indicate that the average prediction error for indoor and relative humidity is 1.9 °C and 7.0%, and the rRMSE value is 3.3% and 11.5%, respectively. The average error for predicting the north wall and ground surface temperature is 4.2 °C and 2.3 °C, respectively. The study also conducted a case study to analyze the thermal performance of a conceptual CSG in Saskatoon, Canada. The energy analysis indicates the heating requirement of the greenhouse highly depends on the availability of solar radiation. Besides winter, the heating requirement is relatively low in March to maintain 18 °C indoor temperature when the average outdoor temperature was below –4 °C, and negligible during May–August. The results indicate that vegetable production in CSGs could save about 55% on annual heating than traditional greenhouses. Hence, CSGs could be an energy-efficient solution for ensuring food security for northern communities in Canada and other cold regions.

Keywords: Chinese solar greenhouse; thermal model; north wall; cold regions; heating requirement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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