About ClimaGreen

The aim of the current multidisciplinary research project is to control and optimize the growing conditions of agricultural products, to minimize the energy consumption and to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.

The ClimaGreen project carried out the installation and testing of a prototype in the research greenhouse of USAMV Bucharest. Thus, a new concept of integrating heat pumps in order to reduce conventional energy consumption to ensure the functional facilities of the greenhouse was tested and implemented.

The aim of the project was to increase the productivity of plants by optimizing environmental conditions in the greenhouse throughout the year. Moreover, the project has contributed to increasing sustainability by reducing energy consumption. Finally, the information obtained was widely disseminated to potential users, namely research students, farmers, professional associations and relevant ministries.

The ClimaGreen project contributed to the energy efficient use of the research greenhouse, while also improving the productivity of vegetable crops and greenhouse plants in general, in the conditions of Romania. The increase in energy efficiency was achieved by studying the possibilities of storing the thermal energy accumulated during summer for the purpose of its use in cold periods.

Temperature control in the greenhouse is absolutely necessary for achieving increased productivity. Other environmental conditions are equally influential, with relative humidity and CO2 concentration being two of the most important.

The strategic partnership between USAMV and SINTEF is a good opportunity for the exchange of doctoral and master students, to prepare them in an environment of high scientific quality.

ClimaGreen

Energy-efficient climate control of a greenhouse for increased productivity

In Romania, outdoor agricultural production is much more common compared to the use of greenhouses.

For the USAMV greenhouse, the regional climatic conditions represent an impediment in optimizing the environmental factors. This is mainly due to the high temperatures in the summer.

Data collected in the research greenhouse shows inside temperatures of over 65°C at an outside temperature of 35°C. For tomatoes, yield decreseases significantly given these conditions. Controlling the temperature inside the greenhouse is therefore a must for obtaining a high productivity. Other environmental conditions are just as influential, the relative humidity and CO2 concentration being two of the most important ones. With the current greenhouse technology, both are severely suboptimal during the summer.