Study of Solar Energy Storage System Ability for Greenhouse Heating

The present work was devoted to a study of a solar heating system for an agricultural greenhouse located at Chenchou in the governorate of Gabes in southern Tunisia. The studied system consists of 40 thermal solar panels and a
$25\mathrm{m}^{3}$
heating tank. The water heated by the panels during the day is stored in the tank and used to heat a
$300\mathrm{m}^{2}$
greenhouse at night. In this study, we are interested in the prototype's ability to meet the greenhouse's thermal requirements at night. As a first step, we studied the temperature variation; ambient, basin and pilot greenhouse. Experimental results show the effectiveness of storing solar thermal energy for use as a source of greenhouse heating at night. The adopted heating process can be a solution in the absence of any other heating source. It has the advantage that it can be dismantled, transported and its durability. Secondly, we studied the variation of solar flux; heat gains and losses; net heat lost and received by the greenhouse. During the night, the heat gain decreases under the effect of the heating system.