Journal of Agriculture
and Environmental Sciences

Overview of Heating Greenhouses with Renewable Energy Sources a Case Study in Crete- Greece
John Vourdoubas

Abstract
Heating greenhouses results in higher productivity and better quality of the produced crops mainly in Northern climates. Apart of conventional fuels already used for heating them, renewable energy sources are expected to play an important role in the near future. Among them solar energy, geothermal energy and biomass have been used in various greenhouses all over the world. A successful operation of a greenhouse cultivated with flowers during 2012-2014 in Crete-Greece heated with olive kernel wood proves that this solid fuel is a cheap energy source which can cover all the heating needs of the greenhouse lowering at the same time its CO2 emissions due to energy use. Olive kernel wood is an endogenous, renewable and CO2 neutral energy source in areas where olive trees grow. Additional installation of a Photovoltaic system in the greenhouse already heated with solid biomass in Crete will result in zeroing its CO2 emissions due to energy use in it. Since the heat demand in the greenhouse is much higher than the electricity demand, replacement of fossil fuel with a renewable fuel results in significant decrease of CO2 emissions due to energy use.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jaes.v4n1a9