Energy Minimisation in a Protected Cropping Facility Using Multi-Temperature Acquisition Points and Control of Ventilation Settings

Premaratne Samaranayake, Chelsea Maier, Sachin Chavan, Weiguang Liang, Zhong-Hua Chen, David T. Tissue and Yi-Chen Lan
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Premaratne Samaranayake: School of Business, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
Chelsea Maier: National Vegetable Protected Cropping Centre, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
Sachin Chavan: Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
Weiguang Liang: National Vegetable Protected Cropping Centre, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
Zhong-Hua Chen: Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
David T. Tissue: Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
Yi-Chen Lan: School of Business, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia

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

Abstract: Energy management in protected cropping is critical due to the high cost of energy use in high-tech greenhouse facilities. The main purpose of this research was to investigate the optimal strategy to reduce cooling energy consumption, by regulating the settings (opening/closing) of either vents or curtains during the day, at the protected cropping facility at Western Sydney University. We measured daily changes in air temperature and energy consumption under four treatments (open/closed combinations of vents and shade screens) and developed an optimal cooling strategy for energy management using multi-temperature acquisition points at different heights within a greenhouse compartment. The optimal treatment (vents open/curtains closed) reduced energy load at the rooftop, thereby maintaining a desirable plant canopy temperature profile, and reducing cooling energy. Daily energy consumption was lowest for vents open/curtains closed (70.5 kWh) and highest for vents closed/curtains open (121 kWh). It was also found that delaying the operation of opening and closing of vents and curtains until the plant canopy temperature reached 25 °C reduced cooling energy consumption and decreased heating energy consumption in the morning (e.g., 08:00 to 10:00). The estimated savings of 1.83 kWh per 1 °C cooling between the optimal (vents open/curtains closed) and least optimal (vents closed/curtains open) conditions had the potential for significant energy savings at 494 kWh per °C over a crop cycle of nine months in warm weather conditions. However, selection of the optimal cooling strategy utilising control of vents and curtains must also account for the impact from other greenhouse environmental factors, including light, humidity, and CO 2 concentration, which may be crop specific.

Keywords: temperature; greenhouse control systems; energy consumption; cooling energy; roof-top vent; energy curtain (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
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