Thermal energy storage strategies for effective closed greenhouse design

The closed greenhouse is an innovative concept in sustainable energy management. In principle, it is designed to maximize the utilization of solar energy through the seasonal storage. In a fully closed greenhouse, there is not any ventilation window. Therefore, the excess sensible and latent heat must be removed, and can be stored using seasonal and/or daily thermal storage technology. This stored excess heat can then be utilized later in order to satisfy the thermal load of the greenhouse. Thermal energy storage (TES) system should be designed based on the heating and cooling load in each specific case. Underground thermal energy storage (UTES) is most commonly chosen as seasonal storage. In addition, a stratified chilled water (SCW) storage or a phase change material (PCM) storage could be utilized as short term storage system in order to cover the daily demands and peak loads. In this paper, a qualitative economical assessment of the concept is presented. Here, a borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) system is considered as the seasonal storage, with a PCM or a SCW daily storage system to manage the peak load. A BTES primarily stores low temperature heat such that a heat pump would be needed to supply the heat at a suitable temperature.A theoretical model has been developed using TRNSYS to carry out the energy analysis. From the economical feasibility assessment, the results show that the concept has the potential of becoming cost effective. The major investment for the closed greenhouse concept could be paid within 7–8 years with the savings in auxiliary fossil fuel considering the seasonal TES systems. However, the payback time may be reduced to 5 years if the base load is chosen as the design load instead of the peak load. In this case, a short-term TES needs to be added in order to cover the hourly peak loads.

► An energy analysis in the greenhouse has been assessed using the TRNSYS tool.
► Three thermal energy storage systems have been studied in closed greenhouse concept.
► A sensitivity analysis has been considered in order to distinguish the main parameters in cost study.
► The peak load has the main impact on the Payback time.
► The SCW could be an economical option in closed greenhouse concept.