Evaluation of an Adapted Greenhouse Cooling System with Pre-Chamber and Inflatable Air Ducts for Semi-Arid Regions in Warm Conditions
The growing needs for fruit and vegetable production, together with the current climate change situation, make agriculture under plastic and greenhouse cooling indispensable. The most commonly used approaches are natural ventilation, shading and fan-pad systems. To foster a climate that allows forpl...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-05-01
|
| Series: | Agronomy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/5/752 |
| _version_ | 1797567207378518016 |
|---|---|
| author | José M. Cámara-Zapata Jorge Antonio Sánchez-Molina Hui Wang Angel Carreño-Ortega Francisco Rodríguez |
| author_facet | José M. Cámara-Zapata Jorge Antonio Sánchez-Molina Hui Wang Angel Carreño-Ortega Francisco Rodríguez |
| author_sort | José M. Cámara-Zapata |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The growing needs for fruit and vegetable production, together with the current climate change situation, make agriculture under plastic and greenhouse cooling indispensable. The most commonly used approaches are natural ventilation, shading and fan-pad systems. To foster a climate that allows forplant production under cover in extreme conditions, a novel fan-pad system has been devised that incorporates a pre-chamber and an air distribution system using air ducts running alongside the crop rows. The system has been tested in a greenhouse in Almeria (Spain) during the daytime in August, when the weather was hotter. Tests were also carried out in combination with natural ventilation and shading. The results indicate that the fan-pad system was efficient under extreme weather conditions and that it avoided creating horizontal thermal gradients. By determining the theoretical value of the air temperature leaving the pad, we were able to estimate the evaporative cooling potential of the fan-pad system as a function of the outdoor climate. Under extreme conditions, the fan-pad system’s efficiency decreased along with increased air temperature and, above all, the increased relative humidity of the outside air. When the outdoor climate is warm and humid, natural ventilation may be the most efficient temperature control method. If the outdoor climate is warm and dry, the evaporative pad is more effective, especially when combined with shading. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:38:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-207d3b42cf3b4a2daec06fb1775f8a5d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:38:23Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-207d3b42cf3b4a2daec06fb1775f8a5d2023-11-20T01:28:27ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952020-05-0110575210.3390/agronomy10050752Evaluation of an Adapted Greenhouse Cooling System with Pre-Chamber and Inflatable Air Ducts for Semi-Arid Regions in Warm ConditionsJosé M. Cámara-Zapata0Jorge Antonio Sánchez-Molina1Hui Wang2Angel Carreño-Ortega3Francisco Rodríguez4Water and Energy for Sustainable Agriculture Research Group, Department of Applied Physic, University Miguel Hernández, 03202 Elche, SpainThe Automatic Control, Robotics and Mechatronics Research Group, Department of Informatics, ceiA3, CIESOL, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, SpainInstitute of Plant and Environment Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, ChinaDepartment of Engineering, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, SpainThe Automatic Control, Robotics and Mechatronics Research Group, Department of Informatics, ceiA3, CIESOL, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, SpainThe growing needs for fruit and vegetable production, together with the current climate change situation, make agriculture under plastic and greenhouse cooling indispensable. The most commonly used approaches are natural ventilation, shading and fan-pad systems. To foster a climate that allows forplant production under cover in extreme conditions, a novel fan-pad system has been devised that incorporates a pre-chamber and an air distribution system using air ducts running alongside the crop rows. The system has been tested in a greenhouse in Almeria (Spain) during the daytime in August, when the weather was hotter. Tests were also carried out in combination with natural ventilation and shading. The results indicate that the fan-pad system was efficient under extreme weather conditions and that it avoided creating horizontal thermal gradients. By determining the theoretical value of the air temperature leaving the pad, we were able to estimate the evaporative cooling potential of the fan-pad system as a function of the outdoor climate. Under extreme conditions, the fan-pad system’s efficiency decreased along with increased air temperature and, above all, the increased relative humidity of the outside air. When the outdoor climate is warm and humid, natural ventilation may be the most efficient temperature control method. If the outdoor climate is warm and dry, the evaporative pad is more effective, especially when combined with shading.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/5/752evaporative coolingnatural ventilationshadingresilience to climate changehigh temperature crop production |
| spellingShingle | José M. Cámara-Zapata Jorge Antonio Sánchez-Molina Hui Wang Angel Carreño-Ortega Francisco Rodríguez Evaluation of an Adapted Greenhouse Cooling System with Pre-Chamber and Inflatable Air Ducts for Semi-Arid Regions in Warm Conditions Agronomy evaporative cooling natural ventilation shading resilience to climate change high temperature crop production |
| title | Evaluation of an Adapted Greenhouse Cooling System with Pre-Chamber and Inflatable Air Ducts for Semi-Arid Regions in Warm Conditions |
| title_full | Evaluation of an Adapted Greenhouse Cooling System with Pre-Chamber and Inflatable Air Ducts for Semi-Arid Regions in Warm Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of an Adapted Greenhouse Cooling System with Pre-Chamber and Inflatable Air Ducts for Semi-Arid Regions in Warm Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of an Adapted Greenhouse Cooling System with Pre-Chamber and Inflatable Air Ducts for Semi-Arid Regions in Warm Conditions |
| title_short | Evaluation of an Adapted Greenhouse Cooling System with Pre-Chamber and Inflatable Air Ducts for Semi-Arid Regions in Warm Conditions |
| title_sort | evaluation of an adapted greenhouse cooling system with pre chamber and inflatable air ducts for semi arid regions in warm conditions |
| topic | evaporative cooling natural ventilation shading resilience to climate change high temperature crop production |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/5/752 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT josemcamarazapata evaluationofanadaptedgreenhousecoolingsystemwithprechamberandinflatableairductsforsemiaridregionsinwarmconditions AT jorgeantoniosanchezmolina evaluationofanadaptedgreenhousecoolingsystemwithprechamberandinflatableairductsforsemiaridregionsinwarmconditions AT huiwang evaluationofanadaptedgreenhousecoolingsystemwithprechamberandinflatableairductsforsemiaridregionsinwarmconditions AT angelcarrenoortega evaluationofanadaptedgreenhousecoolingsystemwithprechamberandinflatableairductsforsemiaridregionsinwarmconditions AT franciscorodriguez evaluationofanadaptedgreenhousecoolingsystemwithprechamberandinflatableairductsforsemiaridregionsinwarmconditions |