Horticultural Science and Technology 원예과학기술지 ISSN:1226-8763(Print) 2465-8588(Online)

To investigate a method for calculation of the heating load for environmental designs of horticultural facilities, measurements of total heating load, infiltration rate, and floor heat flux in a large-scale plastic greenhouse were analyzed comparatively with the calculation results. Effects of ground heat exchange and infiltration loss on the greenhouse heating load were examined. The ranges of the indoor and outdoor temperatures were 13.3 ± 1.2°C and -9.4～+7.2°C respectively during the experimental period. It was confirmed that the outdoor temperatures were valid in the range of the design temperatures for the greenhouse heating design in Korea. Average infiltration rate of the experimental greenhouse measured by a gas tracer method was 0.245 h-1. Applying a constant ventilation heat transfer coefficient to the covering area of the greenhouse was found to have a methodological problem in the case of various sizes of greenhouses. Thus, it was considered that the method of using the volume and the infiltration rate of greenhouses was reasonable for the infiltration loss. Floor heat flux measured in the center of the greenhouse tended to increase toward negative slightly according to the differences between indoor and outdoor temperature. By contrast, floor heat flux measured at the side of the greenhouse tended to increase greatly into plus according to the temperature differences. Based on the measured results, a new calculation method for ground heat exchange was developed by adopting the concept of heat loss through the perimeter of greenhouses. The developed method coincided closely with the experimental result. Average transmission heat loss was shown to be directly proportional to the differences between indoor and outdoor temperature, but the average overall heat transfer coefficient tended to decrease. Thus, in calculating the transmission heat loss, the overall heat transfer coefficient must be selected based on design conditions. The overall heat transfer coefficient of the experimental greenhouse averaged 2.73 W･m-2･C-1, which represents a 60% heat savings rate compared with plastic greenhouses with a single covering. The total heating load included, transmission heat loss of 84.7～95.4%, infiltration loss of 4.4～9.5%, and ground heat exchange of -0.2～+6.3%. The transmission heat loss accounted for larger proportions in groups with low differences between indoor and outdoor temperature, whereas infiltration heat loss played the larger role in groups with high temperature differences. Ground heat exchange could either heighten or lessen the heating load, depending on the difference between indoor and outdoor temperature. Therefore, the selection of a reference temperature difference is important. Since infiltration loss takes on greater importance than ground heat exchange, measures for lessening the infiltration loss are required to conserve energy.