Co-simulating a greenhouse in a building to quantify co-benefits of different coupled configurations

Recent findings suggest that rooftop greenhouses could be more efficient when combined with waste streams in buildings, but there is a gap in quantification of the combined performance of building integrated greenhouses. This paper addresses this deficit for school buildings in London, UK, where urban agriculture is of increasing interest. A building energy simulation (BES) of an archetype school building is developed in EnergyPlus and co-simulated with a validated greenhouse energy simulator (GES). The performance of different greenhouse-building coupling configurations is evaluated to estimate the potential for crop growth, heat recovery and reduction in ventilation demand, through a sensitivity analysis and parametric study. Our results show that a 250m2 greenhouse on the top floor of the school could produce 6t lettuce with half the energy demand of the same standalone greenhouse. Trade-offs across increase in humidity, yields, and energy efficiency indicate the importance of modelling to ensure optimal designs.

Automated summary

This study focused on the combined performance of rooftop greenhouses integrated with buildings in school buildings in London. Through building energy simulation and greenhouse simulation, it was found that a 250m2 greenhouse on the top floor of the school could produce 6 tons of lettuce with half the energy demand, highlighting the importance of modeling for optimal designs.