Advanced applications of solar energy in agricultural greenhouses

Energy is the largest overhead cost in the production of agricultural greenhouse crops in temperate climates. Moreover, the initial cost of fossil fuels and traditional energy are dramatically increasing. The negative environmental impacts, limited sources of fossil fuels and a high consumption of energy and food have caused the increase in demand for solar energy as a green and sustainable choice. Therefore, this paper reviews the solar energy application technologies in the environmental control systems of greenhouses (cooling, heating and lighting) mainly the generated energy of photovoltaic (PV) and solar collectors, as well as the PV water pumping for irrigation. Furthermore, this paper briefly discusses the economic analyses and the challenges for this technology.