Project Overview
Commodities
Practices
- Crop Production: greenhouses
- Education and Training: demonstration
- Energy: byproduct utilization, energy conservation/efficiency, energy use, renewable energy, solar energy
- Sustainable Communities: employment opportunities, sustainability measures
Proposal summary:
The objective of this one year research project is to test and measure the energy impact of
capturing excess daytime heat within a greenhouse and transferring it through an air-to-water
exchanger to then store the thermal energy in water. Solar collectors will also be implemented to
boost the heat that is stored. This same system will provide cooling during the day and heating at
night for the greenhouse. The stored heat will be used to help reduce costly energy consumption
that negatively impacts the environment and decreases farm profitability. The design for this
system will be open sourced and the monthly data will be graphed out over the year and shared
on our website and social media. We will also present the findings as an article through the
National Young Farmers Coalition, an organization with over 130,000 young farmers and
supporters.
Project objectives from proposal:
1. To research the process of capturing daytime air heat of a greenhouse and exchanging and
storing it into water.
2. To research the effects of solar hot water collectors in combination with the heat
exchanger to increase the temperature of water storage.
3. To research the effectiveness of using the stored heat in water as a heat source during the
night.
4. To visualize the system with sensors and data logging technology.
5. To publish findings of this research and encourage its adoption.