AN AIR-INFLATED-TUBE ENERGY SCREEN FOR GREENHOUSES^*

A 19.2 m by 30 m air-inflated-tube energy screen was designed and built at IMAG to achieve a 50 percent energy saving at night in glasshouses.
The tubes were mechanically deflated during the day and collected together to minimize daytime shading.
Three comparative day tests of energy consumption with and without the screen ranged from 21.1 percent to 58.9 percent energy saving with an average saving of 35 percent.
It was concluded that significant heat loss may have resulted from air convection past the unsealed perimeter of the screen since the percent savings was inversely proportional to the heat use.

III International Symposium on Energy in Protected Cultivation

T.H. Short, J. Huizing, J.J. Breuer

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1984.148.59