THERMAL MANAGEMENT AND ENERGY HARVESTING IN A SOLAR GEOTHERMAL GREENHOUSE FOR IMPROVED PLANT PRODUCTION

This project covers agriculturally-related manufacturing technology, energy efficiency, and alternative and renewable energy. Solar energy harvesting and thermal management with a passive bi-directional geothermal system will significantly improve the energy efficiency of the system with the ultimate goal of a net-zero energy farm by using solar and geothermal energy. The 8-month Phase I Program will focus on the design and laboratory test of the solar geothermal components, and assessment of the technical and economic feasibility of the greenhouse technology. A successful Phase I will lead to a scalable BIPVT-geothermal greenhouse prototype for field testing in Phase II.In Phase I, we will achieve the following two technical objectives:(1) Fabricate a small laboratory-scale prototype with all components for material characterization and operational testing, system integration, and demonstration.(2) Design an actual greenhouse for field testing in Phase II and predict the performance from the component test results for benefit-cost analysis of the greenhouse system.