Assessment of year-round performance of SPVT greenhouse system with EAHE employing periodic thermal model

A greenhouse system provides a controlled indoor environment conducive to agriculture in adverse climatic conditions. The present work develops a periodic thermal model to assess the indoor thermal conditions in a greenhouse with a semi-transparent PV roof and EAHE system. The periodic model relies on heat balance equations of the greenhouse system and can holistically evaluate the system's thermal performance, including PV roof's electrical energy generation and optimum operating hours of EAHE across the year. The model is utilized to assess the annual performance of the greenhouse with a semi-transparent PV roof and EAHE systems in a hot and dry climate. The results demonstrate that EAHE integration with the greenhouse resulted in an increase of 9 degrees C in indoor air temperature on a harsh cold day and a decrease of 18 degrees C on a harsh hot day. However, there is a notable difference between the heating and cooling capacity of EAHE, mainly due to variations in optimum operational hours across seasons. For the considered climate, the heating capacity of the EAHE is 85 % less than the cooling capacity. Furthermore, the EAHE plays a crucial role in stabilizing greenhouse indoor air temperature, ultimately improving plant thermal comfort.