Investigation of the energetic performance of an attached solar greenhouse through monitoring and simulation

• Published in: Energy for sustainable development Vol. 53; pp. 15 - 29
• Main Authors: Asa'd, Osama, Ugursal, V. Ismet, Ben-Abdallah, Noureddine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.12.2019
• Subjects: Attached greenhouse; Energy modelling; Rock-bed thermal storage; TRNSYS; Rock-bed thermal storage; Attached greenhouse; TRNSYS; Energy modelling
• ISSN: 0973-0826
• DOI: 10.1016/j.esd.2019.09.001

This research work was conducted to investigate the energetic performance of an attached solar greenhouse connected to a rock-bed thermal storage and located in Joliette near Montreal through monitoring and simulation using the TRNSYS software. The TRNSYS model was validated by comparing the measured greenhouse indoor temperatures and rock-bed outlet temperatures to the predicted ones for three periods. The validation results showed a good agreement between the measured and predicted temperatures. A parametric study using the validated TRNSYS model was conducted to investigate the effects of the heating and cooling set point temperatures, rock-bed air flow rate, cover materials, mechanical outside air ventilation, and rock-bed thermal storage size on the greenhouse indoor temperature in order to improve the overall design. The parametric study results showed that the rock-bed air flow rate and the U-value of the greenhouse cover material have the most significant effect on the greenhouse indoor temperature. •The energetic performance of an attached solar greenhouse connected to a rock-bed thermal storage was investigated.•The attached greenhouse was instrumented and monitored for a year.•The attached greenhouse was modelled in TRNSYS and the model was validated using measured data.•Parametric studies were conducted to assess the impact of various design parameters to understand and improve performance.