Renewable Energy Driven Sustainable Greenhouse: An Overview

With the rapidly growing population, greenhouses have the potential to meet the increasing demand for food while reducing environmental degradation and required resources. Greenhouses increase yield production by providing optimum conditions such as temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration, and required lighting. However, providing these inputs is energy-intensive, especially in arid climates where the external environment is unsuitable for crop production. Therefore, different passive and non-passive technologies, such as shading, fluid roof covers, natural ventilation, evaporative cooling, and active mechanical cooling systems, have been utilized to control the greenhouse microclimate. For the irrigation of crops, technologies with high efficiency, such as hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics, are typically used. However, the successful application of greenhouse technologies to maintain the desired conditions depends on the location, season, cultivated crop, and available resources. Active mechanical cooling systems have superior performance compared to the other technologies in terms of cooling and heating; however, they have a high capital and operational cost. Therefore, sustainable technologies with renewable energy sources can be integrated with greenhouses to reduce operating costs. Furthermore, humidification-dehumidification of the ambient air has the potential to provide cooling and water for irrigation in regions with a scarcity of freshwater. Similarly, solar energy has been used to operate greenhouses using photovoltaic panels and thermal energy collectors. Moreover, a hybrid combination of different sustainable technologies, such as solar and wind, has been applied to operate greenhouse without utilizing fossil fuels. This chapter provides an overview of the requirements, possible technologies, and methods for sustainable greenhouses.