Research Notes- Ritesh

Solar Energy:

"Solar energy which is commonly known as sunlight is converted to thermal energy or what is better known as heat. Simply put a greenhouse takes the sun’s rays and heats them up. Greenhouses filter the sunlight through the walls and ceiling, normally made of glass or polycarbonate, which then heats up the air that is trapped inside" [11].

Where to Build the Greenhouse   

Positioning the greenhouse in a sunny area. Avoid shady areas and areas with minimal sunlight. [11]

Greenhouse Tips: 

In the winter, the Greenhouse may need more heat to sustain plant life. A heating device is helpful for a situation as such.
Cleaning the greenhouse is important as well because dirt/debris can block sunlight.
Need to set up a good ventilation design for the greenhouse for air to circulate normally as well.
An irrigation system is useful for the greenhouse as it can avoid manual watering. Note "discuss with irrigation group" 
For the materials of the greenhouse, pick one that will absorb the most sunlight in addition to the solar panels that will be installed.

"Dont's"

1. Leave a large airway open for pests to enter
2. Position near absolute "shade"
3. Irrigate through a complex mechanism [11]
4. automate the watering system for a long period of time
5. store energy directly in greenhouse, "upper bound"

Temperature

It depends on the size of the greenhouse and what seedlings are to be grown inside. Stakeholder stated that a variety of seedlings would be kept inside for growth so the average temperature according to WVU is around 60F on a winters night. The greenhouse should mimic the natural ideal temperature for growing plants which is around 60-70. It falls into this 10 degree range because of the diversity of the plants where kale seedlings grow at a higher temperature than some plant such as cabbage.

Ventilation 

Research has shown that in order for the unit to function efficiently, there needs to be ventilation for air to travel inwards. Plants need the Co2 particles found in air to undergo chemical processes [16], and with no ventilation, they might start to die off. Figure 1 shows one way for ventilation.

         Figure 1


There can be a fan attached to any remote part of the greenhouse to let air pass in. Another reason why a fan is ideal for a greenhouse is that in the hot summertime, it can cool down the air inside, possibly preventing  the swelling up of plants.

Drip Irrigation
 Very efficient, can save up to 70% water nowadays [17]. Costs less, and is the most economical irrigation system for greenhouses today. To summarize it, the plants roots are targeted by water from a point source, and they get soaked. This alleviates the problem caused by regular watering of water having to travel through many layers of dirt/soil to reach the roots. Micro sprinklers can be used for the drip irrigation as they spread out water over a large distance.
"Talk to the irrigation team and setup ideal parameters for greenhouse irrigation" 


Curtains

What?
"Greenhouse curtain systems are called shades, screens, and even blankets" [15] They can be made from different types of material, and can have different uses.

Why?
They provide heat retention, so at night heat is still circulating in the greenhouse. The best type for this is called a Blackout system [15]. It is where the fabric used in trapping the heat has dual purposes. One is to incorporate aluminum in the fabric to reflect heat back into the greenhouse, and the other is that it traps air in the fabric and the solid surface of the greenhouse, resulting in more heat being controlled [15].
The color does not matter as much, as the material used to make the curtains.
To add to this, the curtains can be used in the daytime as well, on hot days to prevent the temperature inside the greenhouse from rising too high.

Summary
Adding a curtain to the greenhouse will be very beneficial, but the only drawback is that a person has to come in at night and put the curtains down, since the lack of an automated one.