The Economic and Environmental Impact of Greenhouse Heating Pipe Insulation

Erdem Küçüktopcu, Bilal Cemek and Halis Simsek
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Erdem Küçüktopcu: Department of Agricultural Structures and Irrigation, Ondokuz Mayıs University, 55139 Samsun, Turkey
Bilal Cemek: Department of Agricultural Structures and Irrigation, Ondokuz Mayıs University, 55139 Samsun, Turkey
Halis Simsek: Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: This study aimed to determine the effect of optimum pipe insulation thickness on energy savings and air pollution under greenhouse conditions. In this regard, an optimization model based on a Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis was carried out using the P1–P2 method. Three fuel types, coal, natural gas, and fuel oil, were tested with nominal pipe sizes ranging from 25 to 65 mm, and hot water was used in the system. Our findings showed that the highest insulation thickness (0.807 m), the greatest energy savings ($62.351/m), and the lowest payback period (0.502 years) were achieved with a 65 mm pipe size for fuel oil. Overall, the insulation minimizes heat loss through the heating pipelines, resulting in economic and environmental benefits. Fuel oil was determined as the best option for savings in this study. Hence, for fuel oil utilization, the emissions of CO 2 varied from 2.762 to 3.798 kg/m and SO 2 from 0.014 to 0.020 kg/m for pipe thicknesses ranging from 25 and 65 mm, respectively.

Keywords: greenhouse; energy; insulation; environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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