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Energy Use Efficiency and Carbon Footprint of Greenhouse Hydroponic Cultivation Using Public Grid and PVs as Energy Providers

Author

Listed:
  • Georgios Liantas

    (Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, ELGO-DIMITRA, Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Ioanna Chatzigeorgiou

    (Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, ELGO-DIMITRA, Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
    Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Maria Ravani

    (Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, ELGO-DIMITRA, Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Athanasios Koukounaras

    (Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Georgios K. Ntinas

    (Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, ELGO-DIMITRA, Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece)

Abstract

As the greenhouse cultivation industry considers new ways to reduce energy demand and increase sustainable production, the global energy crisis constitutes a major issue. In this paper, two different energy sources for heating and cooling the root zone area of baby leafy vegetables grown in hydroponic tanks by resistors and chillers, respectively, were compared in order to fully cover power demand. The energy needs in the first case were met by the public electricity grid, while in the second case, the energy needs were covered by a photovoltaic system. The greenhouse was equipped with photovoltaic panels, an inverter, a charge controller and a storage system. The target-value of the root zone temperature was 22 °C. Data on solar radiation, root zone temperature, air temperature and humidity from the indoor and outdoor space of the greenhouse were recorded, and the energy production and carbon footprint for different seasons of the year were evaluated along with the crop yield. The results showed that the energy provided by solar panels was able to cover 58.0%, 83.3% and 9.6% of the energy for heating or cooling the root zone area during the spring, summer and winter periods, respectively. Regarding the carbon footprint of the energy used between the two systems, the system with the PV had a substantially lower value, which was calculated at 1.6 kg CO 2 -eq kg −1 , compared to 49.9 kg CO 2 -eq kg −1 for the system with PPG for the whole year.

Suggested Citation

  • Georgios Liantas & Ioanna Chatzigeorgiou & Maria Ravani & Athanasios Koukounaras & Georgios K. Ntinas, 2023. "Energy Use Efficiency and Carbon Footprint of Greenhouse Hydroponic Cultivation Using Public Grid and PVs as Energy Providers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:2:p:1024-:d:1026558
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chiara Terrosi & Sonia Cacini & Gianluca Burchi & Maurizio Cutini & Massimo Brambilla & Carlo Bisaglia & Daniele Massa & Marco Fedrizzi, 2020. "Evaluation of Compressor Heat Pump for Root Zone Heating as an Alternative Heating Source for Leafy Vegetable Cultivation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Panwar, N.L. & Kaushik, S.C. & Kothari, Surendra, 2011. "Solar greenhouse an option for renewable and sustainable farming," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 3934-3945.
    3. Djevic, M. & Dimitrijevic, A., 2009. "Energy consumption for different greenhouse constructions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(9), pages 1325-1331.
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