Greenhouse cooling using a rainwater basin under the greenhouse

The objective of the study was to determine the technical and economical aspects of additional applications for a rainwater basin installed under a greenhouse. The installation for cooling the greenhouse can be placed under the greenhouse. Part of the installation consists of a short-term heat store needed to lower the flow capacity of the aquifer during cooling of the greenhouse. By increasing the depth of the buffer by 13 cm, sufficient space is created to compensate for the short-term buffer. The air treatment can also be placed under the greenhouse. The option to use a cooled water layer in the basin as a heat exchanger is also investigated. The calculations are performed with computational fluid dynamics. It is concluded that the air had to be distributed with air ducts in order to obtain a good distribution. Using a water layer in the basin as a heat exchanger is less efficient and cost effective than a convectional heat exchanger. The advantage of placing the installation under the greenhouse is that the air ducts can be smaller compared to placing the installation in the corridor and ground area is saved for crop production.