Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society ISSN:1598-6411(Print) 2508-3562(Online) 한국태양에너지학회 논문집

Through active cooling, smart farms equipped with environmental control systems can overcome the limitations of existing greenhouses that are closed due to heat damage in summer. The control system can extend the crop harvest period by maintaining growth temperature and maintain fixed crop quality throughout the year. Accordingly, there is an increasing need for a cooling performance analysis model for smart farm cooling system applications. Therefore, in this study, a cooling package applicable to greenhouses was proposed, and the energy consumption of the cooling package was analyzed using EnergyPlus. Through consideration and analysis of previous studies, three cooling packages, which included natural ventilation and shading – basic cooling methods – were set up. A greenhouse energy model was developed for a smart farm in Naju. Prior to modeling the cooling packages, the predicted temperature and relative humidity performance of the greenhouse model was verified based on 24-hour measurement data from 9/16 to 9/17 for greenhouses without cooling. The greenhouse model showed performance that satisfied the recommended error value of MBE = -5.8, -6.3% and Cv(RMSE) = 8.7, 8.9% at the dry bulb temperature and relative humidity, respectively. On the basis of the verified model, plant evapotranspiration was simulated using the Stanghellini model, and cooling performance was analyzed using the three cooling package models. Package 1 showed an energy consumption of 20 W/m², which is advantageous in terms of energy cost, but cannot maintain an appropriate growth environment. Packages 2 and 3 were found to be disadvantageous in terms of energy cost because of their relatively high energy consumption, but could be advantageous in maintaining growth temperature.