Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2 (1988) 209-231

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - - Printed in The Netherlands

209

C o m p u t e r S i m u l a t i o n of H e a t i n g R e q u i r e m e n t and E v a l u a t i o n of the Effects of P e r m a n e n t and M o v a b l e E x t e r n a l T h e r m a l I n s u l a t i o n s on E n e r g y C o n s e r v a t i o n in G r e e n h o u s e s

E.A. ARINZE ~*, G.J. SCHOENAU 2 and R.W. BESANT 2

~ Department of Agricultural Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (Nigeria) '-'Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sask. (Canada)
(Accepted 8 July 1987)

ABSTRACT Arinze, E.A., Schoenau, G.J. and Besant, R.W., 1988. Computer simulation of heating requirement and evaluation of the effects of permanent and movable external thermal insulations on energy conservation in greenhouses. Comput. Electron. Agric., 2: 209-231. The accurate determination of greenhouse heating requirements under varied weather and operating conditions is an important management problem. To minimize heat losses during heating and heat gain during cooling, and also to enhance solar energy utilization in greenhouses, various energy conservation measures are currently being applied in greenhouse construction and operation. In this study, a method of simulating heating requirements in greenhouses is presented, and the method was used to evaluate the effects of permanent and movable external thermal insulations on heating requirements on energy conservation in ten new and conventional greenhouse designs. A greenhouse heating requirement (heat loss) computer simulation model was developed by using basic energy conservation and heat transfer principles. The computer model was used to simulate energy consumption in the ten greenhouses and a test greenhouse designed and built at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sask., Canada. The effectiveness of applied thermal insulations was found to be a strong function of outdoor temperatures and day-length for a given location. The computer model can be used to estimate greenhouse heating requirements under varied operating and weather conditions in any given location.

INTRODUCTION

The accurate determination of heating requirements in a greenhouse under varied weather and operating conditions is an important management prob*Senior Lecturer, and formerly Ph.D. graduate student at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sask., Canada.

0168-1699/88/$03.50

1988 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

210 lem. Present-day greenhouses depend highly on fossil fuels for maintaining an acceptable thermal environment. To minimize the problem of high fuel cost, efforts are now being made by researchers to reduce energy losses in greenhouses by applying energy conservation measures, and by greater use of solar energy for greenhouse heating. At present, night-curtains have appeared to be useful in reducing night-time heat losses in greenhouses during the heating season. The principal effect of curtains as an energy conservation measure is to provide additional thermal resistance, which reduces the overall rate of heat transfer to outside air. A night-curtain that is placed between the crop and the greenhouse cover is called an internal curtain. An external curtain is placed between the greenhouse cover and the surrounding atmosphere. Thin single-layer or composite plastic materials of low conductive thermal resistance are commonly used as internal night-curtains, and lack of storage space inside the greenhouse may prevent the use of thicker sections. In addition, in more northernly latitudes (above 40 N), one possible problem with internal night-curtains in cold weather might be water condensation and ice formation between the curtain and greenhouse structural cover. This can cause stress or physical damage to plants as a result of falling cold water or ice when the curtains are lowered. External curtains, though still under development, can be used in relatively thick sections, and when properly applied can minimize the problem of water condensation. To be effective, external curtains must be protected against outside weather. Simpkins et al. (1976) experimentally evaluated a number of internal curtain materials for their energy conservation capabilities. The results of their experiments with small models permitted a comparison of many internal curtain materials and installation techniques. Rebuck et al. (1977), Albright et ai. (1978), Farrel et al. (1980), Mears et al. (1980) and a number of other distinguished researchers have also presented experimental data on energy conservation capabilities of internal night:curtains. Night-time energy savings by use of various materials as internal curtains ranged from 26 to 80%. Ansen (1973, 1975) presented a mathematical model to evaluate the internal curtain effect. Chandra and Albright (1980) also developed a theoretical model for estimating the effect on the heat requirement of using an internal night-curtain in a greenhouse. Curtain effectiveness was defined as the percent reduction in the greenhouse heat loss due to a night-curtain. According to Chandra and Albright, the theoretical results of their model compared favourably with available experimental data. This paper describes a method of simulating greenhouse heating requirements and evaluating the effectiveness of permanent and movable external thermal insulations in various greenhouse designs in any given location and weather conditions. It is an extension of previous work, in that relatively thick sections of movable external thermal insulations, rather than thin-layer internal curtains, are considered in developing the computer simulation model for

211

greenhouse heating requirements; also, the movable external insulation formed the major energy conservafion measure incorporated in the test greenhouse built during the study.
DESCRIPTION OF SIMULATED GREENHOUSE DESIGNS AND TEST GREENHOUSE

For the purpose of this study, ten new and conventional greenhouse designs as shown in Fig. 1 were selected. The differences in these greenhouses are due to shape, orientation and the amount of permanently insulated surfaces. All
L = LATITUDE + 20

TUNNEL-TYPE GREENHOUSE DESIGNS E-W ORIENTATION

GABLE ROOFED N-S ORIENTATION

FULL HOOP

[,.

8.ore

"I
FULL HOOP FULL HOOP

GAB LE ROOFED

E-W ORIENTATION
N I

NOTE

59rn
ECIo 1 -91 m

E[ I t o E [ 9 HEIGHT = 3.50m EEl0 HEIGHT : S.2m

HALF HOOP E- W ORIENTATION

Fig. 1. New and conventional energy conserving greenhouse designs.

212 the greenhouses are double-glazed, with air-inflated outer polyethylene and inner clear fibreglass covers. The greenhouses have the same floor area (244 m2), width (8 m), and length (30.5 m). The first nine greenhouses (EC1 to EC9) are the same height (3.5 m), and the tenth (EClo) has height equal to 5.2 m. It is also assumed that all the greenhouses are well sealed and have the same quality construction. All the greenhouse surfaces with double-layered transparent covers during the day are insulated between the covers at sunset with insulation material of 1.79 m2K W -1 thermal resistance. The thermal shades are removed at sunrise. All non-solar transmitting end and side walls, and greenhouse floors and edges are permanently insulated with insulation materials of 3.52 m 2 K W - 1 thermal resistance. During this study a test greenhouse was also designed and constructed at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sask., Canada. The support structure for the hoop (circular) greenhouse was tubular galvanized steel mounted on cedar wood-post side walls. The inner glazing over the arch area was corrugated clear fibreglass while the outer glazing consisted of an ultra-violetresistant polyethylene cover. The double-layered cover system was inflated with an electric fan. The 12.8 m8.1 m structure was designed as a tomatoproduction greenhouse, and it was oriented with its long dimension along a north-south line. The most important energy conservation measure incorporated in the test greenhouse was a heavily insulated movable external cover, which was drawn over the greenhouse arch at night to reduce heat loss. These shutters were designed to operate between the glazings. The arch shutter system consisted of two separate shutters 6.1 m wide and 12.2 m in length. The shutters were stored during the day along each of the long sides of the greenhouse. A schematic diagram of the shutter system is shown in Fig. 2. The shutters were drawn over the arch of the greenhouse by means of ropes having one end attached to a header and the other end attached to a pipe running along the ridge-board at the top of the arch. The shutters were constructed out of commercially available vinyl-backed fibreglass insulation. A shutter thickness of 0.089 m was used to obtain a nominal thermal resistance value of 1.9 m 2 K W - 1 for the arch shutter. Other energy conservation measures incorporated in the test greenhouse included north-wall and lower side-wall insulation with fibreglass insulation material of thermal resistance 3.5 m 2 K W-1, and perimeter insulation with 0.102m polystrene boards laid at about 0.23 m below ground level to reduce heat loss by conduction through the ground. The auxiliary heating of the test greenhouse was by a thermostatically controlled duct heater, which was mounted downstream of a perforated polyethylene tube running over the length of the greenhouse and used to provide uniform air distribution by an axial flow fan.

213

OTOR ,
i

TRAIN

.. :'.

. . . .

D R A W ROPE

~
: :

i:';:
.-: . '

..... ,'~-~ '~ "( .i ( i : I' I ........ ' --"

' i.

-SHUTTER H E A D E R B O A R D

'

.l

"..,'~.'.._

(a) T O P V I E W PIPE SHUTTER / ".\ J f /~ / . ~ ~ O U T E RG L A Z I N G y{INFLATED P O L Y ) ~%."<~ /INNER 5LAZIN5 ~ (FIBRER E N IF O R C E D ( ~ PLASTIC,
I/H/I//// /H/Z/

i/rl/////i/i/ll///ii,z//////I/i//i//////////r/

{ b) E L E V A T I O N

Fig. 2. Schematicdiagramof greenhouse movableexternal arch shutter (insulation) system. GREENHOUSE ENERGY BALANCEMODEL The heat required to maintain a greenhouse at a specified inside air temperature is the total of all heat losses from the greenhouse structure, including heat transmission through the roof, walls, floor, and edges, heat required to warm forced or natural ventilation air entering the greenhouse from outside, and heat due to moisture evaporation and plant transpiration (latent heat). By considering various sources of heat loss and gain in a greenhouse under steady-state conditions, a greenhouse heat-balance equation is written as follows: QR + Qu = QL-- Qcc -{-Qcf + Qco + QR + Qcv + AM (1)

The terms and units in equation (1) and subsequent equations are defined in the notations. The energy balance is written as follows (assuming steadystate condition) for each of the greenhouse thermal components, which include inside air, plant canopy, structural cover with or without movable external thermal insulation, and floor and soil beneath.

Energy balance of the inside air. The analysis assumes that the greenhouse inside air is well mixed with negligible temperature gradients in the inside air. The inside air temperature is also always specified for the purpose of determining greenhouse heating requirements in any given time interval.

214 The sensible heat balance of the inside air is:

QH-=Qcac+Qc~f+Qcap+Qce +Qcv

(2)

Energy balance of the plant canopy. The whole plant canopy is assumed to be
at a mean temperature Tp, and the energy balance of the plant canopy is:

Qup + Qc~, =QRp + ~Mp

(3)

Energy balance of the structural cover. The structural cover is double-layered,

and it consists of an outer thin-film plastic of polyethylene, and inner rigid plastic or clear fibreglass. A permanent or movable insulation is placed between the covers. The energy balance of the inner structural cover is:

Quoi+ Qcac= Ac

( T i - To) ~-~Mc R

(4)

where Rc is the overall (from inner cover to outdoor) thermal resistance of the structural cover. Me represents the rate of moisture condensation on the inner cover, and condensation occurs when the temperature of the inner cover is lower than the dew-point temperature of the inside air.

Energy balance of the floor and soil. The heat transfer from the floor to the
deep soil is assumed to be significant only in the vertical direction (Takakura et al., 1971 ). The floor energy balance is approximated by the following relationship ( Severns and Fellows, 1958) : Quf + Qc~f= VfAf( T f - Ts)

+QRf+~Mf

(5)

and for lateral heat flow at the floor edges or perimeter, Severns and Fellows (1958) give: Qco -- (FE)(PE)( Ti - To) (6)

The ground temperature Ts below the greenhouse floor is constant at some specified depth and is usually known. The values of heat loss coefficient, FE, for various levels of thermal insulation applied to floor and edges were obtained from Severns and Fellows (1958) and ASHRAE (1985, pp. 31.1-31.28).

Evaluation of heat and moisture flow and solar radiation terms

The heat flow terms in the energy balance model of equation (1) to (6) are made up of sensible heat (Qc terms), thermal or long-wave radiation (QR terms), and latent heat (AM terms). The absorbed solar radiation by various greenhouse components is also indicated by Qu terms. Some of the functional relationships used in calculating the values of the heat and moisture and solar

215 radiation parameters in equations (1) to (6) are summarized in the Appendix and presented in detail in Arinze (1981) and Arinze et al. (1984). COMPUTER SIMULATIONOF GREENHOUSETHERMALMODEL Equations (1) to (6), together with the equations presented in the Appendix for evaluation of heat and moisture flow terms, and transmitted and absorbed solar radiation (solar gain), were used to develop a computer programme for determining heat losses by various greenhouse thermal components, daily and hourly greenhouse solar gain, and heating requirements for specified inside air temperatures. These algebraic equations were solved numerically on a DEC 2050 digital computer by using the Newton-Raphson iterative technique. The computer solutions were obtained for plant canopy, soil, and structural cover temperatures, and used to determine the heat added to greenhouse inside air for known inside air temperatures. For numerical solution of the non-linear algebraic equations by the Newton-Raphson iterative technique, the values of greenhouse-dependent variables at time t are first calculated by using their values at time t = t - At and the values of the external boundary parameters at time t. The new values of the variables are determined by iteration. The iteration process is stopped as soon as the values of a dependent variable calculated in two consecutive iteration steps are equal or if the difference in values of a variable between two consecutive iteration steps is within the degree of accuracy specified in the computer program. In the computer simulations, 1% maximum tolerable differences in the values of the dependent variables in two consecutives iterative steps were used. When the tolerable difference test is satisfied the solution for the time step t is completed, and the predicted values of the dependent variables at time t are used as initial values to get solutions at time t-- t + At. In the computer runs, convergence was usually obtained in two to ten iterative steps and 10-minute time-steps were used in the computer model. The computer model was used to evaluate the thermal performance and solar gain for the greenhouse designs shown in Fig. 1 and for the test greenhouse located in Saskatoon. In developing the greenhouse computer model, Saskatoon was chosen as a reference location, and the long-term meteorological data, such as mean, maximum and minimum outdoor temperatures, monthly mean daily horizontal total solar radiation, mean daily clearness index and mean wind speed for Saskatoon used as input data in the computer programs were obtained from Bergsteinson and Calvert (1979). Sinusoidal variation of outdoor temperatures, from a daily mean value to a maximum value during the day, and to a minimum value at night, was assumed. The important input data used in the computer simulation for the ten greenhouse designs (Fig. 1) are shown in Table 1. In the computer model it was also assumed that plants occupy 70% of the floor space. Evapotranspiration and condensation on structural covers were consid-

216

TABLE 1
Input data for the ten energy conserving greenhouse designs Energy conserving greenhouse EC1 EC2 EC~ EC4 EC5 EC6 EC7 ECs EC9 EC,0 Daytime glazed area (m 2) 139.3 157.9 374.5 361.8 551.4 384.4 379.9 261.1 328.7 364.5 Volume Permanently insulated (m 2) area (m 2) 434.7 717.1 608.0 535.4 533.4 711.9 711.9 711.9 646.4 901.4 241.1 288.4 48.8 17.4 27.8 23.3 27.8 118.8 106.8 158.0

ered during the day and night, as presented in the Appendix. However, the model neglected the energy used up in plant photosynthesis and respiration.
INSTRUMENTATION FOR THE TEST GREENHOUSE

Various available instruments were used to measure temperatures at various locations of the test greenhouse thermal components, and other related parameters, such as outdoor temperatures, humidity and wind speed, and air flow rate across the duct heater. Copper-constantan thermocouples were used for temperature measurements, and the thermocouples' outputs were recorded as temperatures on multi-point strip chart recorders. The hygrothermographs placed at about 1.3 m above floor were also used to measure greenhouse relative humidity. The auxiliary energy, QH, added to inside air, was obtained by measuring inlet and outlet air temperatures and air flow rate across the duct heater. Positive uniform air distribution in the greenhouse was obtained by use of perforated polyethylene tube placed in the middle 3 m above the floor, and running over the length of the greenhouse and connected to the outlet of the duct heater. The data on wind speed and direction, outside air relative humidity, and dew-point were also obtained from weather records of the Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon, Canada.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Experimental and computed results for the test greenhouse

To test the accuracy of the computer model for determining greenhouse heating requirements, measured experimental data and computer-model sim-

217

o 11"20 ,~ --

5LOBAL RADIATION-HORIZONTAL SURFACE INCIDENTRADIATION-VERTICAL GLAZING RADIATION TRANSMITTEDTHROUOH GLAZING PREDICTEDo o o o o CLEAR DAY DATA K T = .765 d reflectance = 0-6

980

B&0

%
I
Z 0 I-C~

700

560

G?0 [

"2B0

o o o o

1~0
o

~
o

1
o

' 0 8.30 9-30

10

"30

111.30

, , ~ k o , 1"2"30 13"30 11,-30 15"30 16"30

SOLAR TIME-HOURS

Fig. 3. Measured and predicted incident and transmitted total solar radiation on a south-facing vertical poly-fibre glass - 2 0 J a n u a r y 1 9 8 0 (clear day). Clear day data; KT----0.765; ground reflectance = 0.6.

ulated results for the test greenhouse were compared. During the experimental tests, tomato plants were grown hydroponically in the greenhouse; the plants occupied about 70% of available floor area. The greenhouse solar-gain computer sub-program was verified by comparing the measured and computer-predicted incident and transmitted total solar radiation data for the polyethylene/fibreglass-covered south wall of the test greenhouse. The solar radiation data calculated at 10-minute intervals for the south wall are shown in Fig. 3 for a clear day (daily clearness index, KT = 0.765) with ground snow cover. Agreement between the predicted and measured data was found to be best for a ground reflectance of 0.6. Figure 4 shows the measured and calculated hourly energy consumption for the test greenhouse, with open shutters and auxiliary heating unit switched on both day and night. The measured greenhouse inside air and outdoor air tem-

218
o MEASURED 5REENHOUSE INSIDEAIR TEMPERATURE A MEASURED GREENHOUSE ENERGY CONSUMPTION z PREDICTED GREENHOUSEENERGY CONSUMPTION F127z

251

oooooOO

Ooo

:'- 1 NOTE AVERAGE WIND SPEED = 2Skm/h AREH SHUTTERS(EXTERNAL INSULATION) OPEN [ DOWN]
x MEASURED OUTDOORAIR TEMPERATURE a MEASURED OUTDOORHORIZONTALTOTAL SOLARRADIATION
[] z]

15

400

~ o

300 200 ~_~,

W -20
~- -25
i---

D [3 t] [
o

1oo

-3( --10

11

12

13

1~

1'5 % 1~ 1; LOCALTIME-HOURS

1;

21--2~-23

2'/+

1'

Fig. 4. Daytimeand night-time measuredand predicted greenhouseenergyconsumption as a function of measuredgreenhouseinside air temperaturewith open arch shutters (externalinsulation) - 18 and 19 December1980. Averagewind speed 25 kin/h; arch shutters (externalinsulation) open (down). peratures, and outdoor horizontal total solar radiation are also indicated in Fig. 4. The average outdoor wind speed was 25 km/h. In the computer model, a leaf-area index of 3 was used for the tomato plants. The hourly greenhouse energy consumption was obtained by summing up the energy consumption calculated at each 10-min time step. The difference in predicted and measured energy consumption may be due to thermal mass or heat-storage effects of the greenhouse components, especially the floor and soil beneath, which the model neglected. Figure 5 also shows the measured and computer-calculated hourly energy consumption, and measured inside air temperatures for the test greenhouse with closed shutters during a cold night. The much lower greenhouse energy consumption with closed shutters is apparent by comparing the data in Figs. 4 and 5. For example, from Figs. 4 and 5, at about 44 C temperature difference between greenhouse inside and outdoor temperatures, the measured energy consumption was 60 and 123 M J / h for closed and open shutter conditions, respectively.

Simulated results for the greenhouse designs

The computer model was further used to evaluate the heating requirements and effectiveness of permanent and movable external thermal insulation for

23

~
o o o o o o o

66-0
460.0
o o

219

20

o o oo
~ ~ ~ Oooo~

, ~ ~ ~"~'/
o o

o o o I

o MEASURED GREENHOUSE INSIDE AIR TEMPERATURE MEASURED GREENHOUSE ENERGY CONSUMPTION PREDICTED GREENHOUSE ENERGY CONSUMPTION

150.~. 0
~j
uJ ,

I(] -2C

'

'

l&,O. 0

X '4 X X X X X X X X X

X MEASURED OUTDOOR AIR TEMPERATURE

NOTE

X X X X X

AVERAGE W I N D SPEED : 12km/h x ARCH SHUTTERS (EXTERNAL INSULATION) ELC6ED

30

i'9

2'o

2'i

2~

2'3 ~'~ o~ o~ LOCAL TIME - HOURS

o'3 o~, o's o'6 o~

o~

Fig. 5. Night-time measured and predicted greenhouse energy consumption as a function of measured greenhouse inside air and outdoor temperatures with closed arch shutters (external insulation) - 5 and 6 December 1980. Average wind speed= 12 kin/h; arch shutters (External insulation) closed (up).

each of the greenhouse designs shown in Fig. 1. The computer model assumed that the total effective plant surface area intercepting transmitted solar energy is equivalent to the amount of floor area occupied by plants (i.e. 70% ). The solar absorptance of both plants and floor was taken as 0.8 (Takakura et al., 1971). In the operation of the greenhouse, the model assumed that the greenhouses were maintained at 21C day-time and 15C night-time inside air temperatures. These inside air temperatures correspond to the normal range of temperatures in greenhouses. The movable external thermal insulation (shutters) was assumed drawn over the greenhouse transparent structural cover at sunset ( closed condition), and let down at sunrise (open condition ). Figure 6 shows the computer-simulated monthly average daily heat demand or heating requirements in fall, winter and spring months for various greenhouse designs (EC1 to EC10) located in Saskatoon, Canada. For all the greenhouses the highest heating requirements are in January and February, the coldest months in Saskatoon. The greenhouses (EC1 and EC2) that have the greatest percentage of permanent insulation on the structural cover have the least daily heating requirements. The monthly daily heating requirements

220

/*.0- EC6rEE?

-0

EC~----#,.-----~'%~
z 3-0

ECI0

3.0-

.~ h

2.0-

.~ 2.o

g
0.8- ~

g
S 0 N D J F M k M
O.g

MONTH

MONTH

Fig. 6. Average monthly daily heat demand by the ten energy conserving greenhouses maintained at 21 C and 15.5 C daytime and night-time greenhouse air temperature, respectively, and located in Saskatoon.

shown in Fig. 6 indicate the amount of heat energy to be supplied by solar energy and auxiliary heating unit to maintain the greenhouse at the specified day-time and night-time temperatures. The contribution of solar energy to the daily heating requirement for each greenhouse design is expressed by a factor
25~ NOTE D-A'~-IMEGREENHOUSE TEMP=21C / ] 2.0~1 NIGHT-TIMEG R E E N H O U S ETEHP=15C //
2"5

7'0

2 1-s

//
~
MONTH
E C 4

! 8

ECs

z 1"0 u_

No, s

<~ 0-s

x ~ ~ "
oo ~ ~ ~

EC6

J' ~ MONTH

Fig. 7. Monthly daily fraction of solar energy contribution to total monthly daily heating requirements for various greenhouse designs for Saskatoon location. Daytime greenhouse temperature = 21 C; night-time greenhouse temperature = 15 C.

221

commonly called 'fraction solar', FS. The greenhouse daily fraction solar, FS, is given by:
FS-QLT

where Qu represents the greenhouse daily solar gain and QLT the greenhouse daily heating requirement. The monthly daily fraction solar for each greenhouse design is shown in Fig. 7. The model assumed that any excess solar energy collected during the day is stored for later use at night. The effect of greenhouse shape and geometry on heating requirements is noted in Fig. 6 by comparing heating requirements for hoop and tunnel-type greenhouses. The heating requirements are generally higher in hoop greenhouses. In addition, by increasing the height of the half-hoop greenhouse from 3.5 m (for ECg) to 5.2 m (for EC,0) or 48% increase, resulted in about 12% increase in daily heating requirements in February in Saskatoon. The corresponding increase in solar gain due to the increased height is 47%. The actual increase in heating requirement is 43 MJ/day, while the corresponding increase in solar gain is 1300 MJ/day, a definite advantage of 866 MJ/day. The effectiveness of permanent and movable external thermal insulation for each of the greenhouse designs was evaluated by a factor called 'energy conservation factor', ECF. The ECF is a fractional or percent reduction in greenhouse monthly or daily or hourly heating requirement due to thermal insulations on greenhouse structural cover. If QLTn is total daily heating requirement for a greenhouse without permanent and movable external thermal insulation, and QLT is daily heating requirement for a greenhouse with both permanent and night-time movable external thermal insulation, then
ECF -- QLTn -- QLT QLTn (8 )

The greenhouse computer model was used to determine the ECF for each of the ten greenhouse designs (EC, to EClo) as shown in Fig. 8 for the months of September to May (excluding summer months when greenhouse heating is not required). The ECF is a function of outdoor temperature. The lower the outdoor temperature the higher the ECF and the more effective is the applied thermal insulation. In Fig. 8 the values of the ECF for all ten greenhouse designs are seen to be higher in colder winter months than in warmer spring and fall months. The full-hoop and gable-roof greenhouse (EC4 and EC6) have the least ECF as these greenhouses have the least permanent insulation. ECF is also affected by day-length, since short day-length increases the period of application of nighttime movable thermal insulation. The effectiveness of movable external night-time thermal insulation alone was evaluated by a similar energy conservation factor, ECF*. T h e ECF* is a

222
0 -60ECF BASED ON 21C DAYTIME AND O-SSEC2 0-507 Eel 15-5C NIGHT-TIME GREENHOUSE AIR TEMPERATURE

~_~o-4sz 0-40

oB
9

8
>-

o-3s
THE

~. 0-30

0.25

LOSSES FOR A GREENHOUSEWITH PERMANENT AND MOVABLE EXTERNAL INSULATION C O M P A R E D TO ANOTHER UNINSULATED 0CT NOV. DEC. JA~N FEB MONTH MAR APRIL MAY

- - EE3 --ECsor EE7 -EE4 or EC 6

0.20-

SEPT.

Fig. 8. Energy conservation factor (EOF) for the ten new and conventional greenhouse designs for Saskatoon location. ECF based on 21 C day-time and 15 C night-time greenhouse air temperature. The ECF curves indicate the reduction in daily heat losses for a greenhouse with permanent and movable external insulation compared to another uninsulated.

fractional or percent reduction in greenhouse heating requirements due to nighttime movable external thermal insulation or shutters only, and is calculated from equation (8) by considering the night-time daily heating requirements of a greenhouse with both permanent and night-time movable external insulation, and another with only permanent insulations. The higher the ECF* shown in Fig. 9, the more effective is the night-time movable external thermal insulation. The effectiveness (ECF*) of night-time movable external thermal insulation is higher for the greenhouses with less-permanent thermal insulations. The effect of outdoor temperatures on energy savings due to movable external night-time thermal insulation is shown in Fig. 10. From Figs. 9 and 10, the effectiveness (ECF*) of night-time movable external shutters increases with lower outside air temperatures. At low outdoor temperatures the effect of thermal radiation heat loss becomes more significant under open cover, and energy savings due to night-time thermal insulations can always be improved by increasing the conductive thermal resistance of insulation materials, but the thickness of thermal insulation material to be used is limited by economic considerations.

223
0-60-[

ECF ~ BASEDON 15-5C NIGHT-TIME GREENHOUSE AIR TEMPERATURE

0"551
I 0-50-

EC 3 to EC7

./

---....

F-

-~ o-40 l.l_ ~ o-35t~ z

~ o-3o.
>t.u

EC I or EC 2

z 0.25,

WITH PERMANENT AND MOVABLEEXTERNAL INSULATIONS COMPAREDTOANOTHERWITH. ONLY PERMANENT INSULATIONS 0CT NOV DEC JAN MONTH

0"20 SEPT

FEB

. . . . MAR

APRIL MAY

Fig. 9. Energy conservation factor (ECF) for the ten new and conventional greenhouse designs for Saskatoon location. ECF* based on 15.5C night-time greenhouse aire temperature. The ECF* curves indicate the reduction in night-time heat losses for a greenhouse with permanent and movable external insulations compared to another with only permanent insulations.
60

'

50

"-~> ~*0u.a

GREENHOUSE AIR TEMPERATURE = 15.5C

30 -20

-10

10

20

OUTDOOR TEMPERATURE E

Fig. i0. Effect of outside air temperature on the energy savings due to night-time external thermal insulation for the east-west oriented hoop greenhouse (ECT). Greenhouse air temperature = 15.5 C.

224

CONCLUSIONS Thermal insulation application on appropriate locations in greenhouses can be used to reduce day-time and night-time heat losses. The amount of greenhouse external surfaces ( especially north roof and walls) that can be permanently insulated without significant reduction in greenhouse useful solar gain is generally higher in east-west oriented greenhouses than in north-south oriented greenhouses. The effectiveness of movable external night shutters increases with shorter daylengths and lower outdoor temperatures. The computer model presented is adequate for estimating heating requirements in greenhouses, and can be used as a management tool in greenhouse operation. The greenhouse energy requirements predicted by the model compared favourably with measured experimental data for a test greenhouse. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This investigation was made possible by the research funds provided by the Canada Department of supply and services, and Agriculture Canada, and financial support from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. APPENDIX
Sensible heat and moisture flow due to ventilation

The ventilation sensible heat is:

Qcv=PoYvCpa(T, -To)
where from Townsend et al. (1978):
VvVg ( a + b W + c ( T i - T o ) ) 3600

(A1)

(A2)

where a, b and c are empirical constants. Also, the ventilation moisture loss or gain is:
M,, = YvPi( Wi - Wo)

(A3)

225

Convective-conductive heat and mass transfer

The sensible heat transfer from the inside air to the inner cover (Qc~c), inside air to floor surface (Qcaf), and inside air to plant canopy ( Qcap ) were calculated using functional equations of the form:

Qc = hA TD

( A4 )

where h represents heat transfer coefficient, A heat transfer area, and TD temperature difference. The convective heat transfer coefficients from the inside air to inner cover, plant canopy, and floor were calculated from Seginer and Livne (1978), correlation equations as given in Arinze (1981) and Arinze et al. (1984). The convective heat transfer coefficient for the air space between covers, hco, and the wind-induced heat transfer coefficient, hw, for a circular greenhouse cover, were calculated, respectively, from Kreith (1973), and Igbal and Khatry (1976), correlation equations as: hco = 0.82 ( T c i
-

To) 1/3

(A5a) (A5b)

hw =9.91 (Uo) '67s

The wind-induced heat transfer coefficient, hw, for flat surfaces was obtained from Duffle and Beckman (1980) as: hw = 5 . 7 + 3 . 8 Uo (A5c)

The overall thermal resistance, Re, for the structural cover is therefore, given by:

R~= I~+Rs+ 1--~hco hw

(A5d)

where Rs is the thermal resistance of insulation material placed in-between covers. Since the cover materials are very thin their thermal resistances are negligible. A typical evapotranspiration and solar radiation correlation equation from Campbell (1977) used in this study is given by:

Mp =npe( Ti +d)Qu, Mf=Afc( Ti +d) Qvr

(A6) (A7)

where c and d are empirical constants, Qu absorbed solar radiation, and A the absorbing surface area. Typical values of c and d from Campbell are 0.025/ C, and 3 C, respectively. Equations (A6) and (A7) were used to model evapotranspiration during the day. The correlation equations for calculating nighttime evapo-transpiration are given as (Chandra and Albright, 1980 ) :

226

Mp=ApPi( Wp- Wi) /Rp Mf=AfPi( Wf- Wi) /RF

(A8) (A9)

Campbell (1980) gives suitable expressions for obtaining plant and soil resistances (Rp and RF, respectively) to water vapour diffusion. The latent heat of vaporization of water at temperature T (K) is given by: ~ = 3 . 1 6 106- 2.41 103 T (A10)

From Campbell (1980) and ASHRAE (1977) the rate of inside air moisture loss by condensation is:

Me=AcriD( Wi- Wc)

(All)

where for small condensation rate, and for convective heat transfer coefficient from the inside air to the inner cover, h~: HD--

ha~ Le'67
Cpa

(t12)

The relations for calculatingthe humidityratios, Wi, Wp, and We, were also obtained from Campbell (1980).

Thermal radiation exchange

For a greenhouse enclosure having N isothermal opaque gray surfaces the net rate of heat loss by thermal radiation Qm for a typical surface, i, having an area, Ai, and surface temperature, Ti, is given by Kreith (1973):

QRi=Ai(Ji -Gi)
N

(A13)
i=1

=Ai[aeiT~- ( 1 - P i ) ~ JjFij]
where J~ and Ji are the radiosities of surfaces i and j, respectively, G~ is the irradiation of surface i; F~jthe view factor from surface i to surface j; ei longwave emissivity of surface i; Pi long-wave reflectivity of surface i; and a the Stefan-Boltzmann constant. Detailed methods of determining view factors for various surface configurations and combinations are presented in McAdam et al. (1971) and Kreith (1973). The equivalent sky temperature, Tsky, was calculated from outside air temperature as (Whillier, 1967) : Tsky= T o - 6 (A14)

The values of atmospheric emissivity were obtained from Swinbank (1963) and Campbell (1977) relationships.

227

Fig. 11. Hoop greenhouse structure.

Transmitted and absorbed solar radiation In the greenhouse solar gain computer subprogram the correlation equations used in separating monthly mean daily or daily horizontal total solar radiation (H) into direct and diffuse components as a function of montly daily or daily clearness index (K T) were obtained from Collares-Pereira and Rabl (1979) as presented in detail in Arinze (1981) and Arinze et al. (1982). In addition, from Collares-Pereira and Rabl correlation equations the hourly total and diffuse solar radiation values were calculated from monthly daily or daily values. To obtain approximately the solar energy collected by curved surfaces of a hoop (circular) greenhouse structure, the hoop section was divided into a number of equal segments (nine segments were used in this study), and the curved surface formed of each circular segment was approximated to a sloping flat surface as shown in Figs. 11 and 12. The equivalent values of total solar radiation on tilted surfaces were calculated from total horizontal solar radiation by applying appropriate tilt and view factors (Duffle and Beckman, 1980). The solar transmittance data for direct beam, sky diffuse, and ground-reflected diffuse radiation as a function of solar angle of incidence for a fibreglass-polyethylene cover were obtained from Godbey et al. (1979), Puri (1979) and Duffle and Beckman (1980), respectively. From Liu and Jordan {1960), the ground solar reflectance was taken as 0.2 for bare ground cover and 0.7 for ground with fresh snow cover.
[

_1

Fig. 12. Hoop sectiondividedinto n equalsegments.

228 T h e a m o u n t o f i n c i d e n t solar e n e r g y ( I ) t h a t is t r a n s m i t t e d t h r o u g h a greenh o u s e c o v e r a n d a b o r b e d p r i m a r i l y b y t h e g r e e n h o u s e floor or p l a n t s Qu, is given by: Qu = ~c~I (A15)

w h e r e c~ r e p r e s e n t s t h e s o l a r a b s o r p t a n c e of floor or p l a n t s , a n d r t h e solar t r a n s m i t t a n c e o f a g r e e n h o u s e t r a n s p a r e n t cover. B o t h g r e e n h o u s e floor ( s a n d or c r u s h e d s t o n e ) a n d p l a n t leaves h a v e s o l a r a b s o r p t a n c e v a l u e of a p p r o x i m a t e l y 0.8 ( T a k a k u r a et al., 1971; A S H R A E , 1985).

Auxiliary heat input

T h e r a t e o f h e a t i n p u t f r o m a n a u x i l i a r y h e a t i n g u n i t was o b t a i n e d b y m e a s u r i n g air flow r a t e a n d inlet a n d o u t l e t air t e m p e r a t u r e s across t h e h e a t e r . Thus:

Qn=MaCpa( Tao- T~i)

(A16)

REFERENCES Albright, L.D., Reins, R.G. and Anderson, S.E., 1978. Experimental results of solar heating a Brace Institute style greenhouse. In: K. Boer and G. Franta (Editors), Conf. Solar Energy for Heating Greenhouse and Greenhouse-Residential Combination, Fort Collins, CO. American Solar Energy Society, Vol. 2.1, pp. 78-94. Ansen, M.G., 1973. Heat radiation phenomena from a glasshouse crop canopy at night: a mathematical evaluation of the curtain effect. Inst. Note 35 DK2830, Research Institute for Glasshouse Crops, Virum, Denmark. Ansen, M.G., 1975. The influence of conductive sensible heat transfer on the greenhouse and curtain effect. Acta Hortic., 51: 29-35. Arinze, E.A., 1981. Simulation and experimental evaluation of solar assisted energy conserving greenhouse. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sask., 282 pp. Arinze, E.A., Schoenau, G.J. and Besant, R.W., 1982. Simulation studies on the effect of greenhouse shape and geometry, orientation, location and weather, and thermal insulation on greenhouse solar gain. ASAE Pap. 82-4565. Arinze, E.A., Schoenau, G.J. and Besant, R.W., 1984. A dynamic thermal performance simulation model of an energy conserving greenhouse with thermal storage. Trans. ASAE, 27: 508-519. ASHRAE, 1985. ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, New York. Bergsteinson, J.L. and Calvert, J.G., 1979. Saskatoon climatological reference station annual summary. Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon, Sask. Campbell, G.S., 1977. An Introduction to Environmental Biophysics. Springer, New York. Chandra, P. and Albright, L.D., 1980. Analytical determination of the effect on greenhouse heating requirements of using night curtains. Trans. ASAE, 23: 994-1000. Collares-Pereira, N. and Rabl, A., 1979. The average distribution of solar radiation - correlations between diffuse and hemispherical and between daily and hourly insolation values. Sol. Energy J., 22(2): 155-164. Duffle, J. and Beckman, W., 1980. Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes. Wiley, New York.

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Farrel, J.J.,Albright, L.D. and Donohoe, A.J., 1980. Highly insulativethermal curtain for greenhouses. A S A E Pap. 80-5431. Godbey, L.C., Bond, T.E. and Zoning, H.F., 1979. Transmission of solar and long-wave length energy by materials used as covers for solarcollectors.Sol. Energy J., 22 (5). Igbal, M. and Khatry, A.K., 1976. Wind coefficientsfrom long semi-circular greenhouse. Trans. ASAE, 19: 911-914. Kreith, F., 1973. Principles of Heat Transfer. Internation Educational Publications, New York. Liu, B.Y.H. and Jordan, R.C., 1960. The interrelationshipand characteristicdistributionof direct,diffuseand total solar radiation.Sol. Energy J., 4 (3). McAdam, D.M., Khartry, A.K. and Igbal,M., 1971. Configuration factorsfor greenhouses. Trans. ASAE, 14: 1068-1072. Meats, D.R., Roberts, W.J. and Simpkins, J.G., 1980. The Rutgers system for solar heating of commercial greenhouses. In: Proc. 31st Annual International Solar Energy Society, Phoenix, AZ, pp. 155-171. Puri, V.M., 1979. Transmittance of diffuse solar radiation through parallelregions. Sol. Energy J.,22 (2): 183-185. Rebuk, S.N., Aldrich, R.A. and White, J.W., 1977. Internal curtains for energy conservation in greenhouses. Trans. ASAE, 20: 732-734. Seginer, I.and Livne, A., 1978. Effect of ceilingheight on the power requirement of forced ventilation in greenhouse: a computational study. I B M IsraelScientificCenter, Haifa. Severns, S.H. and Felows, J.R., 1958. Air conditioning and refrigeration.Wiley, New York. Simpkins, J.C.,Meats, D.R. and Roberts, W.J., 1976. Reducing heat lossesin polyethylene covered greenhouses. Trans. ASAE, 19: 714-719. Swinbank, W.C., 1963. Long-wave radiation from clear skies.Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 89: 89-94. Takakura, T., Jordan, K.A. and Boyd, L.L., 1971. Dynamic simulation of plant growth and environment in the greenhouse. Trans. ASAE, 14: 964-971. Townsend, J.S.,Britton, M.G. and Refig-ur-Rehman, M., 1978. Infiltrationand exfiltrationrates in plastic-coveredgreenhouses. Pap. 78-409, Canadian Society of AgriculturalEngineers, Ridgeton, Ont. Whillier,A., 1967. Low temperature engineering applicationsof solarenergy. A S H R A E J., 10 (6). NOTATIONS

A
a

b Cp
C

d E-W
ECF FE

G H

surface area (m 2) constant defined in the text constant defined in the text specificheat of a greenhouse component (kg- i oC- ~) constant defined in the text constant defined in the text east-west orientation energy conservation factor heat loss coefficientper unit length of exposed greenhouse edge (W/m) long-wave (thermal) irradiationof greenhouse component ( W / m 2) monthly mean daily or daily terrestrialtotalsolar radiation on a horizontal surface
( M J / m 2) mass transfer coefficient (W m - 2 oC - 1 ) convective heat transfer coefficient (W m - 2oC - ' ) long-wave (thermal) radiosity of a greenhouse component ( W / m 2) monthly average daily or daily clearness index

H~
h J

K~

230

Le M M~ Mr M,, M.
N-S
P

PE Q
QL Qc

QC~,I QC.p QC, Q,.,

Q. Q.
QI,, QR,, Qu

QU~.i QU,, QUI,

R R~ Rp, Rr T

T.,. T.,,
T,i

T, T, T,, T. T. U,, Y.,

W

w, w,,
2

Pi

Lewis number for water vapour (=0.89) mass flow or moisture flow to or from inside air (kg/s) moisture flow due to condensation on inner structural cover (kg/s) moisture flow due to soil evaporation (kg/s) moisture flow due to passive or active ventilation with outdoor air (kg/s) moisture flow due to plant evapotranspiration (kg/s) north-south orientation density of a greenhouse component (kg/m 3) exposed floor edge of a greenhouse (m) heat flow to or from a greenhouse component (W) total greenhouse heat losses (W) sensible heat flow (W) convective heat transfer from inside air to inner greenhouse cover (W) convective heat transfer from inside air to the greenhouse floor (W) convective heat transfer from the inside air to plant canopy (W) total heat loss through the structural cover (W) total heat loss through the floor (W) floor edge and corner heat loss (W) heat loss due to passive (infiltration) or active ventilation (W) heat input to the inside air from auxiliary heating unit (W) greenhouse daily heating requirement (MJ/day) net long-wave (thermal) radiation of a greenhouse component from other greenhouse surfaces and the sky (W) net thermal radiation for the floor and plant canopy, respectively (W) total solar radiation transmitted and absorbed by greenhouse components (W) total solar radiation absorbed by the inner cover (W) total solar radiation absorbed by the floor and plant canopy, respectively (W) thermal resistance of a greenhouse component ( m 2) overall thermal resistance of structural cover (m ~ C W - ' ) thermal resistance of arch shutter insulation (m ~ C W - ' ) plant and soil resistance to water vapour diffusion respectively (s/m) temperature of a greenhouse component ( C, K) air inlet/outlet temperature for the auxiliary heater ( C, K) inner cover temperature ( C, K) inside air temperature ( C, K) floor temperature ( C, K) outdoor air temperature ( C, K) mean temperature of the plant canopy ( C, K) deep ground temperature (assumed constant) ( C, K) wind speed (km/h or m/s) volumetric air flow rate by passive or forced ventilation (m'~/s or m3/h) humidity ratio (kg/kg dry air) humidity ratio of inside air (kg/kg dry air) humidity ratio of outdoor air ( kg/kg dry air) latent heat of vaporization of water at the temperature of a greenhouse component (J/kg) long-wave emissivity long-wave (thermal) refiectivity of a greenhouse component long-wave reflectivity

231

Abbreviations
a c

ci
co

f g i
0

p
S

inside air structural cover inner cover outer cover floor or soil layer greenhouse inside air or inlet outdoor air or outlet plant canopy saturation, night-shutter