Advanced Optical Materials for Sunlight Control in Greenhouses

The increasing demand for efficiently growing vegetation in greenhouses requires continual improvement of the control of the growth environment experienced by the plants. The single most important factor in maximizing the crop’s growth is the quantity, quality, and geometrical distribution of radiat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced optical materials 2020-09, Vol.8 (18), p.n/a
Main Authors: Timmermans, Gilles H., Hemming, Silke, Baeza, Esteban, van Thoor, Evelien A. J., Schenning, Albert P. H. J., Debije, Michael G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
advanced optical materials
Greenhouses
light control
Materials science
Optical materials
Optics
stimuli‐responsive materials
Sunlight
Urban environments
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The increasing demand for efficiently growing vegetation in greenhouses requires continual improvement of the control of the growth environment experienced by the plants. The single most important factor in maximizing the crop’s growth is the quantity, quality, and geometrical distribution of radiation intercepted at every moment. Few available greenhouse coverings are capable of responding to changes in sunlight conditions by themselves, limiting the grower’s control: they must use additional technologies, including screens, artificial lighting, heating, and cooling. This review considers existing efforts in providing adaptable greenhouse covering systems and advanced optical materials for controlling the color, intensity, and/or distribution of sunlight transmitted into greenhouse‐like structures by describing existing static materials and their responsive equivalents. This work also offers speculation on potential applications of other light‐control elements, mostly designed for use in the urban environment that can be adapted for greenhouse use in the future. Adaptive greenhouses capable of responding to changes in natural sunlight conditions can maximize the growth conditions for plants by continually controlling the intensity, color, and distribution of incident light. This review extrapolates on potential materials and device architectures that could be transplanted from the built environment to the world of horticulture.
ISSN:2195-1071
2195-1071
DOI:10.1002/adom.202000738