Objective
To demonstrate the energy saving potential of low temperature solar heat storage for greenhouse heating.
The results demonstrated the feasibility of heat storage on Serrolithe. Annual energy savings of +/- 30% (about 7 l of fuel per m2 of greenhouse) were obtained in the equipped greenhouse in comparison with the control greenhouse which corresponds to 0.45 l of fuel per Kg of Serrolithe installed. The saving has no homogeneous value during the year and means seasonable variations; it reaches 31% in Autumn and 61% in Spring but only 3% in Winter.
Storage of heat in "serrolithe", as in this experiment, has a series of advantages over other methods of storing heat:
(i) the heat storage requires only a tenth or a twentieth as much space as systems using the sensible heat of water or solid substrates such as bricks or pebbles and is therefore easier to install in greenhouses, requires less investment and allows a better heat exchange with the air;
(ii) the mixture offers good physical and chemical stability properties.
Like other solar-energy-based systems, the performance of "serrolithe" heat storing depends on climatic factors (incident solar radiation and temperature). Very often, therefore back-up heating is still needed, as in this application for growing tropical ornamental plants.
Making allowance for the experimental nature of the method of preparing the "serrolithe" and for installation of the heat exchanger, the payback time for this demonstration project will be an estimated 45 years, calculated as follows;
Investment : Lit 16 200 000 for "serrolithe" production and installation
Average savings : Lit 360 000 per year for a 185 m2 greenhouse.
Despite the substantial (30%) savings achieved, the initial investment ("seerolithe", heat exchanger and control devices) added to the cost of a conventional heating system is still too high for the unit to be profitable, in the current climate of falling fuel prices.
Other horticultural or floricultural applications as a substitute for conventional systems could be contemplated.
No adverse effects were observed on the ornamental plants grown.
Two identical heated greenhouses, of 185 m2 equipped for floriculture, were constructed in order to compare their energy requirements. One is heated by a conventional burner, the other by integrated solar heat accumulators and a conventional burner.
The solar heat accumulator is made of an eutectic mixture derived from calcium chloride called 'Chliarolithe' and later 'Serrolithe', which is a phase changing material with low melting point (21 deg.C).
Serrolithe has a heat capacity of 135 KJ/Kg (37.5 kWh/t) which is released during melting which happens between 19 deg.C and 23 deg.C. Solar energy is accumulated during daylight hours on 2800 Kg of Serrolithe, by air forced circulation and released to the greenhouse during the hours of darkness.
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Coordinator
57013 Rossignano Solvay Livorno
Italy
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