IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v15y2025i17p1867-d1738894.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

CFD Analysis of Irradiance and Its Distribution in a Photovoltaic Greenhouse

Author

Listed:
  • Meir Teitel

    (Institute of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, The Volcani Institute, Agricultural Research Organization, HaMaccabim Road 68, P.O. Box 15159, Rishon LeZion 7505101, Israel)

  • Shay Ozer

    (Institute of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, The Volcani Institute, Agricultural Research Organization, HaMaccabim Road 68, P.O. Box 15159, Rishon LeZion 7505101, Israel)

  • Helena Vitoshkin

    (Institute of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, The Volcani Institute, Agricultural Research Organization, HaMaccabim Road 68, P.O. Box 15159, Rishon LeZion 7505101, Israel)

Abstract

The integration of photovoltaic (PV) panels in greenhouses enables dual land use, combining crop production with electricity generation. However, PV installations can reduce both the intensity and uniformity of light at the canopy level, potentially affecting crop growth. This study employed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to evaluate the effects of different layouts of commercial-size thin PV modules—both opaque and semi-transparent—installed at gutter height in greenhouses on irradiance and, in particular, on its distribution within the greenhouse. Achieving a homogeneous distribution of light is critical for effective plant growth beneath photovoltaic systems. The influence of greenhouse size and roof shape on the intensity and uniformity of visible radiation was investigated as well. The results showed that during winter (21 December), irradiance in a mono-span tunnel greenhouse was 4–6% higher than in a multi-span large structure; in summer (21 June), this difference increased to 10–13%. Among the opaque PV layouts tested, the north–south (NS) straight-line arrangement provided the most uniform light distribution, outperforming the checkerboard and east–west (EW) layouts. The EW straight-line layout was the least effective regarding light uniformity. Roof shape (arched vs. pitched) had minimal impact on radiation distribution. Semi-transparent PV modules consistently resulted in 17% higher irradiance and more uniform light distribution than opaque ones. These findings can inform efficient PV deployment strategies in greenhouses to enhance both energy yield and crop productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Meir Teitel & Shay Ozer & Helena Vitoshkin, 2025. "CFD Analysis of Irradiance and Its Distribution in a Photovoltaic Greenhouse," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-20, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:17:p:1867-:d:1738894
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/17/1867/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/17/1867/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cossu, Marco & Murgia, Lelia & Ledda, Luigi & Deligios, Paola A. & Sirigu, Antonella & Chessa, Francesco & Pazzona, Antonio, 2014. "Solar radiation distribution inside a greenhouse with south-oriented photovoltaic roofs and effects on crop productivity," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 89-100.
    2. Torrente, Cristóbal J. & Reca, Juan & López-Luque, Rafael & Martínez, Juan & Casares, Francisco J., 2024. "Simulation model to analyze the spatial distribution of solar radiation in agrivoltaic Mediterranean greenhouses and its effect on crop water needs," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 353(PA).
    3. Trypanagnostopoulos, G. & Kavga, A. & Souliotis, Μ. & Tripanagnostopoulos, Y., 2017. "Greenhouse performance results for roof installed photovoltaics," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 724-731.
    4. Marucci, Alvaro & Cappuccini, Andrea, 2016. "Dynamic photovoltaic greenhouse: Energy efficiency in clear sky conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 362-376.
    5. Simona Moretti & Alvaro Marucci, 2019. "A Photovoltaic Greenhouse with Variable Shading for the Optimization of Agricultural and Energy Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-15, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ghaffarpour, Zahra & Fakhroleslam, Mohammad & Amidpour, Majid, 2024. "Calculation of energy consumption, tomato yield, and electricity generation in a PV-integrated greenhouse with different solar panels configuration," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    2. Carlos Toledo & Alessandra Scognamiglio, 2021. "Agrivoltaic Systems Design and Assessment: A Critical Review, and a Descriptive Model towards a Sustainable Landscape Vision (Three-Dimensional Agrivoltaic Patterns)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-38, June.
    3. Hassanien, Reda Hassanien Emam & Li, Ming & Yin, Fang, 2018. "The integration of semi-transparent photovoltaics on greenhouse roof for energy and plant production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 377-388.
    4. La Notte, Luca & Giordano, Lorena & Calabrò, Emanuele & Bedini, Roberto & Colla, Giuseppe & Puglisi, Giovanni & Reale, Andrea, 2020. "Hybrid and organic photovoltaics for greenhouse applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    5. Cossu, Marco & Cossu, Andrea & Deligios, Paola A. & Ledda, Luigi & Li, Zhi & Fatnassi, Hicham & Poncet, Christine & Yano, Akira, 2018. "Assessment and comparison of the solar radiation distribution inside the main commercial photovoltaic greenhouse types in Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 822-834.
    6. Li, Zhi & Yano, Akira & Yoshioka, Hidekazu, 2020. "Feasibility study of a blind-type photovoltaic roof-shade system designed for simultaneous production of crops and electricity in a greenhouse," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    7. Zhi Li & Akira Yano & Marco Cossu & Hidekazu Yoshioka & Ichiro Kita & Yasuomi Ibaraki, 2018. "Electrical Energy Producing Greenhouse Shading System with a Semi-Transparent Photovoltaic Blind Based on Micro-Spherical Solar Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-23, June.
    8. Achour, Yasmine & Ouammi, Ahmed & Zejli, Driss, 2021. "Technological progresses in modern sustainable greenhouses cultivation as the path towards precision agriculture," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    9. Yao, Haoyi & Liang, Jingkang & Wang, Yunfeng & Li, Ming & Fan, Fangling & Ma, Xun & Xiao, Xin, 2025. "The influence of photovoltaic modules on the greenhouse micro-environment - A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    10. Jing, Rui & He, Yang & He, Jijiang & Liu, Yang & Yang, Shoubing, 2022. "Global sensitivity based prioritizing the parametric uncertainties in economic analysis when co-locating photovoltaic with agriculture and aquaculture in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 1048-1059.
    11. Yano, Akira & Cossu, Marco, 2019. "Energy sustainable greenhouse crop cultivation using photovoltaic technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 116-137.
    12. El Kolaly, Wael & Ma, Wenhui & Li, Ming & Darwesh, Mohammed, 2020. "The investigation of energy production and mushroom yield in greenhouse production based on mono photovoltaic cells effect," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 506-518.
    13. Gao, Yuan & Dong, Jianfei & Isabella, Olindo & Santbergen, Rudi & Tan, Hairen & Zeman, Miro & Zhang, Guoqi, 2019. "Modeling and analyses of energy performances of photovoltaic greenhouses with sun-tracking functionality," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 424-442.
    14. Moreno, A. & Chemisana, D. & Fernández, E.F., 2025. "Energy performance and crop yield production of a semitransparent photovoltaic greenhouse," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 382(C).
    15. Barkat Rabbi & Zhong-Hua Chen & Subbu Sethuvenkatraman, 2019. "Protected Cropping in Warm Climates: A Review of Humidity Control and Cooling Methods," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-24, July.
    16. Hanrieder, Natalie & Kujawa, Anna & Seychelles, Ana Bendejacq & Blanco, Manuel & Carballo, José & Wilbert, Stefan, 2024. "Estimation of maximum photovoltaic cover ratios in greenhouses based on global irradiance data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 365(C).
    17. Alinejad, T. & Yaghoubi, M. & Vadiee, A., 2020. "Thermo-environomic assessment of an integrated greenhouse with an adjustable solar photovoltaic blind system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 1-13.
    18. Rabhy, Omar O. & Adam, I.G. & Elsayed Youssef, M. & Rashad, A.B. & Hassan, Gasser E., 2019. "Numerical and experimental analyses of a transparent solar distiller for an agricultural greenhouse," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    19. Simona Moretti & Alvaro Marucci, 2019. "A Photovoltaic Greenhouse with Passive Variation in Shading by Fixed Horizontal PV Panels," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-18, August.
    20. Raúl Aroca-Delgado & José Pérez-Alonso & Ángel Jesús Callejón-Ferre & Borja Velázquez-Martí, 2018. "Compatibility between Crops and Solar Panels: An Overview from Shading Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-19, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:17:p:1867-:d:1738894. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.