!

Design Project Report

On

Modeling and Simulation Of Hybrid Solar Heating System

for greenhouse applications
using Matlab/Simulink

Submitted To
Prof. Sathans
Electrical Department

Submitted By
Nishant Dhanendra(1120041)
Mayank Awasthi(1120061)
Ayush Malik(1120066)
Minhaj Khurshid(1120107)
Section: E-7
Department of Electrical Engineering
National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra
2015

1. Introduction
Globally, solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems use high efficiency solar collectors to
produce hot water throughout the year in buildings or other edifices .For solar energy
applications, thermal storage systems are vital components due to the intermittent nature of
this energy source. However, energy losses, low storage efficiencies, and construction
maintenance expenses significantly increase the total cost of solar systems . Heating
greenhouses during nights and cold days has a significant effect on the quality and the
cultivation time of products. In a greenhouse, maintaining ideal ambient temperature requires
large amounts of thermal energy and this is generally supplied by fossil fuels . There are
alternative greenhouse heating systems as rock bed storage, phase change material storage,
and water storage. Some other systems as ground air collector (GAC), north wall storage and
movable insulation are also used for increasing greenhouse air temperature .Due to increasing
prices utilization of only fossil fuel are becoming expensive but it is still necessary to utilize
fossil fuels at least as an auxiliary heating source, considering the possibility of the complete
destruction of plants and crops in case of any energy deficiency .As other alternatives, some
farmers use renewable energy sources like solar assisted ground source heat pumps ,
geothermal heating systems, solar panels and biomass derived fuels for greenhouse heating
due to high fossil fuel prices. However, geothermal and biomass assisted greenhouse heating
are more site specific solutions compared to solar based systems. Reduction in fossil fuel
consumption via utilization of solar energy can help to tackle climate change due to reduction
in greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce the impact of energy utilization on the environment.
The most commonly used solar systems are the conventional flat plate collectors (FPCs),
however, payback period of these systems are considerably long when used for greenhouse
heating; also the seasonal storage of solar energy is somewhat inadequate compared to daily
storage . In the last couple of decades, due to high efficiency and anti-freezing properties,
evacuated tube solar collector (ETC) has become the most popular design for solar water
heating, and currently has more than 80% share in solar water heating market .It has been
reported that, glass evacuated tube solar collectors have better thermal efficiencies at higher
temperatures compared to the conventional flat plate solar collectors and they are suitable for
applications above 80 C . Evacuated tube solar collectors collect both direct and diffuse
radiation like flat plate collectors and they also have higher efficiencies at low incidence
angles .
In this study, integration of a solar collector heating system consisting of evacuated tube solar
collectors with thermal storage, control and piping units to greenhouses which already have
fossil fuel heating systems is analyzed and discussed in detail. The overall schematic of the
system is shown in Fig. 1. In the existing (former) system, temperature of water in a small
tank is controlled by a fossil fuel heater. Water from this tank circulates through the
greenhouse and heats the air inside, as to keep the internal temperature of the greenhouse
higher than the reference value. In order to use solar assisted heating, a large storage tank
should be installed for efficient utilization of the energy of water absorbed from the sun and
to use it for heating during nights, because the energy loss from the system is largest when
there is no sunlight. The proposed hybrid system contains three main control units. First one
controls the water temperature in the storage tank, which will be heated via solar collectors.
The second control will be between the auxiliary (fossil fuel) heater and the storage tank. The
1

auxiliary heater will work to keep the water temperature in the storage unit at a minimum
reference point with hysteresis control. The third control unit will direct the circulation of the
water from the storage unit via the existing radiator system in order to hold the greenhouse
temperature at a reference point.
To analyze the aforementioned system, mathematical models are developed for the water
storage tank and for the greenhouse, which incorporates with the water storage tank. The
coupled models are solved by a software developed in Matlab/Simulink platform. As a case
study, the feasibility of integrating a solar collector heating system for different sizes, to a
greenhouse located in Turkey has been investigated using the developed software.

2. Mathematical Model
For the system, a simplified model is constructed, excluding canopy and soil energy balance,
and the effects of humidity, water vapor and plants. The controlled state variables of the
model are the internal air temperature of the greenhouse (Tgr), the storage water temperature
(Tst), and the uncontrolled ones are circulating water temperatures between solar collectors
and the storage unit.
The following assumptions are made in developing the greenhouse model:
i. Air temperature inside the greenhouse is uniform.
ii. Greenhouse roof is horizontal.
iii. Effect of the humidity and latent heat of the water vapor are ignored.
iv. Greenhouse assumed to be empty from plants.
v. All radiative heat transfers except solar radiation are neglected.
In Sections 2.1 and 2.2, energy balance inside the greenhouse, energy balance for the storage
unit are formulated. In Section 2.3, the meteorological parameters such as global radiations
for greenhouse walls and for the tilted solar collectors, and estimation of the hourly ambient
temperature are discussed.
2.1 Energy Balance Inside Greenhouse
Energy balance inside the greenhouse can be constructed as shown in the following equation:
Tgr = ((qgr_in + qsolar - qconv,cond - qvent)/(Cair airVgr))dt+Tgr0
where qgr_in is the rate of energy required to keep the greenhouse temperature at desired
value, qconv,cond is the convective and conductive heat transfer rate, qsolar is the solar radiation
heat transfer rate, qvent is the heat loss due to ventilation. Vgr is the volume of the
greenhouse, Tgr is the temperature of the greenhouse, Cair is the specific heat of air and air is
the density of air.
The solar radiation rate can be expressed as shown in the following equation:
2

qsolar = ( * *Ai*Si)
where Ai is the surface area of the greenhouse walls on east, west, south and north directions
and the greenhouse roof, while Si is the corresponding solar radiation. is the constant of the
proportion of solar radiation absorbed by the greenhouse and is the transmittance of
greenhouse cover to direct solar radiation.
The convective conductive heat transfer rate can be expressed as in the following equation:

equation(3)
where Ugr is the overall heat transfer coefficient through the greenhouse walls, Agr is the
total greenhouse cover area, Tamb is the ambient temperature. Ugr represents heat losses due
to various modes of heat transfer including conduction, convection, radiation, and infiltration.
In the literature different values of Ugr are suggested based on analytic and experimental
data, for example, reported Ugr values for a single polyethylene sheet (0.2 mm thick) cover
vary from 3.4 to 7.14 W/m2-C . For simplicity only convective and conductive components
of Ugr is considered, heat losses due to radiation is neglected and losses due to natural
ventilation is considered separately. Heat transfer due to greenhouse floor is also neglected.
The Ugr value can be calculated as shown in the following equation:
equation(4)
Ugr=[1/ho+Lc/kc+1/hi]^(1)
where hi, ho are convective heat transfer coefficients for the inside and outside of the
greenhouse cover.
The ventilation losses can be calculated as shown in the following equation:
equation(5)
q vent=airCairVgrACH(TgrTamb)
where ACH is the number of air exchanges per hour. During simulation, steady natural
ventilation is considered for days and nights.

2.2 Energy Balance Inside Storage Tank

The governing differential equation inside the storage unit can be expressed as shown in the
following equation:

equation(6)
CwwVstdTstdt=q col+q auxq loss,stq loss,pipeq gr,in
3

where q col is the gain rate from the solar collector system, q aux is gain rate from the
auxiliary fuel based heating system, q loss,st is the conductive and convective heat loss for
storage system, q loss,pipe is the conductive and convective heat loss for piping system, Tst is
the temperature of the storage water, Cw is the specific heat constant for water, w is density
of water and Vst is the volume of the water storage tank.
Solar collector gain rate can be calculated using Eqs. (7), (8) and (9):

equation(7)
q col=RtotAcc

in which, Rtot is the total irradiation on the tilted surface, Ac is the collector net area and, c
is efficiency of the collector given by the estimation given in the following equation:
equation(8)
c=0a(TmTamb)Rtotb(TmTambRtot)2

where 0, a, and b are constants which are evaluated either analytically or experimentally.
Typical correlations determined by manufacturers or testing authorities used for heat pipe
collector systems are listed in Ref. [14]. Tm is the circulating water mean temperature
between solar collectors and the storage unit, approximated as in the following equation:
equation(9)
Tm=1/3Tin+2/3Tout

where Tin and Tout are solar collectors inlet and outlet temperatures respectively. These
temperatures can be updated in every time step using mass flow in the following equation:
equation(10)
q = Cw(ToutTin)

in which, is the mass flow rate and is the gain from solar collectors. Heat loss from storage
tank can be calculated by the following equation:
equation(11)

where Lst,1, Lst,2, and Lst,3 are the width of each layer of the storage tank while kst,1, kst,2,
and kst,3 are the respective thermal conductivities of each layer. Heat transfer in the piping
system can be calculated by Eq. (12) for intake and return pipes separately. The mean, inlet
and outlet temperatures can be calculated using Eqs. (9) and (10) in a similar way, where this
time, values are inlet and outlet pipes loss rate.
equation(12)

in Eq. (12), Lpipe is the total pipe length, R1, R2 are the inner and outer tube radii and R3 is
the overall radius of the pipe with insulation. hi and ho are the convective heat transfer
coefficients of inner and outer sides of the pipe, where hi is calculated by Nusselt number
correlations .
Auxiliary burner heat input is generated using a hysteresis control block to heat the storage
water when needed. The lower limit of the water temperature is selected according to existing
installations requirements.

2.3 Calculation Of Radiation

Some terms related to calculation of radiation are:
a.)Solar Constant:- It is the rate at which energy reaches the earth surface from the sun ,
usually taken to be 1360 watts per square metre.
b.)Albedo:- It is the reflecting power of a surface. It is also known as reflection coefficient. It
is the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it.Albedo
depends on the frequency of radiation.When quoted unqualified, it usually refers to some
appropriate average across the spectrum of visible light.In general it depends on the
directional distribution of incident radiation. Albedo of earth varies locally across the surface
because of different geological and environmental features.
5

c.)Transmittance:- It denotes the effectiveness of a surface in transmitting radiant energy. It

is the fraction of incident electromagnetic power that is transmitted through a sample.
d.)Absorptivity:- Absorptivity of a material is given by:
A = -log T, where T is the transmittance of that material.
The term absorption refers to physical process of absorbing light. so Absorptivity measures
attenuation of transmitted radiant power. However attenuation can also be caused by
reflection, scattering and other physical process. Absorptivity is a dimensionless quantity.
e.) Zenith Angle:- It is the angle measured from directly overhead to the geometric centre of
sun's disc. The solar zenith angle is estimated using results from spherical trigonometry by
cos z = sin()* sin(L)+ cos()*cos(L)*cos()
where = declination of sun
L = Latitude
= hour angle
sunset and sunrise occur when zenith angle is about 90 degree.(when upper limb of sun
appears to be on horizon)
f.) Direct Solar Radiation: It denotes the solar radiation travelling on a straight line from the
sun down to the surface of the earth. It has a definite direction. Shadows are produced only
when direct radiations are blocked.
g.) Diffused Radiation: It describes the sunlight that has been scattered by molecules and
particles in the atmosphere but that has still made it down to the surface of the earth. It
doesn't have a definite direction.
Calculating the amount of insolation on each wall and the
roof of the greenhouse, as well as the insolation on the solar collectors in each time step is
one of the major functions of the simulation. The insolation on a surface depends on several
factors such as, location, orientation, slope of the surface, time, and transmittance of the
atmosphere. The total incident radiation on a tilted surface which is the sum of beam, diffuse,
and reflected components is calculated Using Liu and Jordans isotropic model.

Liu and Jordans isotropic model:- For numerous applications, particularly those
involving flat-plate collectors and passive solar systems, it is necessary to know both
the direct and diffuse component of the incident solar intensity. Considerable
information is available about the total solar radiation on a horizontal surface. This
information can be used to estimate the relative amounts of direct and diffuse solar
radiation in a statistically significant manner by utilizing the procedure developed by
Liu and Jordan. The empirical procedure of Liu and Jordan involves a one-parameter
correlation between the diffuse to global ratio and cloudiness index KT . From a
detailed statistical analysis, Liu and Jordan discovered that a firm relation ship existed
between KT and the diffuse fraction. Hay developed a sophisticated multi-parameter
6

that included regional data on cloud cover and surface albedo. However for simplicity
in our model we have preferred Liu and Jordan's model.
For a Tilted surface,
Rtot = Rbrb + Rd(1+cos()/2) + (Rb+Rd)()(1-cos()/2)
For a horizontal surface, it reduces to
Rtot = (Rb+Rd)
Where Rb = beam radiation on surface
Rd = diffuse radiation on surface
rb = beam radiation tilt factor
= Tilt Angle
= Albedo
Rb and Rd can be calculated by Liu and Jordan model as follows:
Rb = Sbo*( )m *cos(z)
Rd = Sbo*(1-( )m) *cos(z)*0.30
where Sbo = solar constant
= atmospheric transmittance
m = optical mass number, it is a function of atmospheric pressure
z = zenith angle
p a =10 1 .3e - a / 82 0 0 , ' a' is the el eva ti on o f site .
m = P a /(101.3*cos(z))
r b = c o s i / co s z
i = solar incident angle
z = zenith angle
w here i, the solar incident angle, can be calculated by using some geometrical correlations.
>>For south-faced tilted surfaces it can be calculated :
cos i = sin()* sin(L- )+ cos()*cos(L-)*cos()
where = declination of sun
L = Latitude
= hour angle
= surface inclination
7

>>while for horizontal surfaces , it reduces to zenith angle :

cos z = sin()* sin(L)+ cos()*cos(L)*cos()
>> for vertical surfaces :
cos i = -sin()* cos(L)*cos()+ cos()*sin(L)*cos()*cos()+cos()*sin()*sin()
where = azimuth angle.
is calculated with the well-known equation:
= 23.45 sin((360/365)*(286+j)
where J is the calendar day with J = 1 on January 1 and J = 365 on December 31 (or 366
during leap years). In order to calculate the heat gains and losses in each time step it is
essential to estimate the hourly ambient temperatures. The temperatures are calculated based
on previous monthly average values of maximum and minimum temperatures .

3. Software
Several tools (Matlab, C++, Dymola, Fortran) have been used for dynamic simulation of a
greenhouse with and without heating systems .The model studied is implemented in Matlab/
Simulink platform which is a flexible dynamic simulation environment for multi-domain
simulation and model-based design. Simulink facilitates users to form customised models by
combining groups of basic blocks and also enables incorporating hand-written code. Using
integrator blocks, solving the state variables in transient energy balance Equations is a
simple task with Simulink.
Tgr = ((qgr_in + qsolar - qconv,cond - qvent)/(Cair airVgr))dt+Tgr0
Tst= ((qcol + qaux - qloss,st - qloss,pipe -qgr_in)/(CwwVst))dt+Tst0
where Tgr0 and Tst0 are initial greenhouse and storage water temperatures respectively.
Related simulation parameters of each unit can be edited on the function block parameter
form, which can be activated by double clicking on the block of the unit.

4. Case study
The proposed hybrid heating system has been simulated for a greenhouse located in Turkey
based on recent monthly averaged meteorological data. The simulation has been conducted in
an annual period with 20 min time steps. Several simulations have been performed for
different sizes of collector area and storage size.. In the table, while the parameters tagged as
given refer to site specific parameters, assumed tagged ones are based on appropriate
assumptions and literature survey and selected refers to selected values by inspection and
observation of similar systems.
The effects of night curtain are considered in the simulation.
Greenhouse curtains are also called shades, screen and even blankets. They consist of
moveable pans of fabric or plastic film used to cover and uncover a greenhouse. Curtains are
8

used for heat retention purpose. Any interior curtain system can be used for heat retention at
night when the heating demand is greatest. The amount of heat retained and fuel saved varies
according to the type of material in curtain. Curtains save energy in three ways:

they trap an insulating layer of air

Reduce the volume that must be heated

they reflect back heat into the house

For simplification, the roof of greenhouse is considered as a horizontal surface, whose area is
equal to floor area when the night curtain is covered.
Air Exchange per Hour is assumed to be different for days and nights. To give a basic idea
for the feasibility, investment costs and net present values of 30 years operation and
discounted payback periods are calculated for several sizes of installation. In the calculation
of investment costs, several price quotations are used for solar collectors and storage tank.
The isolated storage tank prices are calculated according to area of the construction material
rather than the volume; where it costs approximately 112 /m2 for a modularly build one.
Installation costs are assumed to be linearly changing with installation size. Automation
system costs are assumed constant for each case in simulation. Coal price is taken 228.1 /
ton. The annual operation and maintenance cost for auxiliary heater is estimated to be 10% of
consumed coal per year and for solar investment a 200 maintenance cost for every 5 year is
assumed.

5. Results and discussion

Some important system performance parameters on the day of January 1st for two cases of
solar installation size are .Daily change of ambient temperature, greenhouse inside
temperature, and storage water temperature are shown. The ripples on greenhouse
temperatures are due to on/off hysteresis control of water pumping system.On the other hand
9

ripples on the storage water are due to on/off hysteresis control of auxiliary heater. Since the
major losses of greenhouse are caused from convection and conduction, variations of
greenhouse inside temperature affects the heat loss significantly, which is the reason of the
ripple on greenhouse loss flux. During the simulations, the optimal size for storage tank
differs for each case regarding different collector areas. When these two figures are
examined, it can be seen that, increasing collector area decreases fuel consumption, while on
the contrary, payback period increases. Lower storage unit volumes for particular collector
areas cause poor gains; also over increasing the volume does not provide further gain to the
system. Thus it can be stated that solar collector area and storage unit volume should be
consistent for an optimum gain. It can also be stated that in most cases of installation, net
present values are positive which implies that investment is profitable. The greenhouse
heating system is employed for 7 months in a year.Installing a solar heating system may
totally remove the auxiliary fuel needs for some months, but for the coldest months and for
cloudy and rainy days, fuel is necessary. If we aim to completely remove the auxiliary fuel
consumption, solar system size increases enormously. Expected investment costs, yearly fuel
savings and solar fractions are also shown in the table. When only payback period is
considered, it can be stated that, installing solar collectors only for heating purposes is not a
very effective solution due to the high payback periods. However, payback periods can be
decreased by utilising the same system proposed in this study also for cooling applications
with an additional investment of cooling equipment. The proposed hybrid system, the model
and the software can be further improved for cooling the greenhouse by adding an absorption
cooling system since very large amount of hot water suitable for absorption cooling can be
obtained from the solar system during hot months. Regardless of the payback period for all
cases, it is obvious that, CO2 and other harmful emissions are significantly lowered, which
will contribute to protection of the environment and preservation of natural resources.

6. Conclusion
A mathematical model has been developed to investigate the thermal behaviour of a
greenhouse heated by a hybrid solar collector system consisting of solar heat collector unit
and auxiliary fossil fuel heating unit. The model is implemented in Matlab/Simulink and a
case study has been performed for a greenhouse located in Turkey in order to search the
feasibility of modifying the existing heating system.
The results of simulation indicate that as per the net present value calculations, revising the
existing fossil fuel system with the proposed hybrid system seems economically feasible for
most cases, however it requires a slightly longer payback period than expected. Furthermore,
by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions significantly, such integration has a considerable
environmental impact. It is concluded that, the solar collector area and thermal storage
volume must be consistent for optimum gain. The developed dynamic simulation method can
further be used for designing heating systems for various solar greenhouses and optimising
the solar collector and thermal storage sizes.

10