A Validated Model, Scalability, and Plant Growth Results for an Agrivoltaic Greenhouse

We developed an agrivoltaic greenhouse (a ‘test cell’) that partially trapped waste heat from two photovoltaic (PV) panels. These panels served as parts of the roof of the enclosure to extend the growing season. Relative humidity, internal air temperature, incident solar radiation, wind speed, and w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2022-05, Vol.14 (10), p.6154
Main Authors: Evans, Michael E., Langley, J. Adam, Shapiro, Finley R., Jones, Gerard F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Agrivoltaics
Air temperature
Alternative energy sources
Arrays
Concrete
Corn
Crops
Electrical loads
Farmers
Freezing
Greenhouses
Growing season
Heat transfer
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaics
Plant growth
Radiation
Relative humidity
Renewable resources
Solar radiation
Sustainability
Wind direction
Wind measurement
Wind speed
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Summary:We developed an agrivoltaic greenhouse (a ‘test cell’) that partially trapped waste heat from two photovoltaic (PV) panels. These panels served as parts of the roof of the enclosure to extend the growing season. Relative humidity, internal air temperature, incident solar radiation, wind speed, and wind direction were measured for one year. A locally 1-D transient heat and moisture transport model, as well as a shadowing model, was developed and validated with experimental data. The models were used to investigate the effects of altering various parameters of the greenhouse in a scalability study. The design kept test cell air temperatures generally above ambient throughout the year, with the test cell temperature below freezing for 36% less of the year than ambient. Plant growth experiments showed that kale, Brassica oleraceae, a shade-tolerant plant, can be grown within the test cell throughout the winter. The simulations showed that enlarging the greenhouse will increase cell air temperatures but that powering an electric load from the PV panels will reduce cell air temperatures.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su14106154