ABSTRACT
A greenhouse is essentially an enclosed structure, which traps the short wavelength (0.38–0.78 μm) solar radiation and stores the long wavelength (0.78–3 μm) thermal radiation to create favorable microclimate for higher productivity. Although this trapped thermal energy supplies heating during the day, at night the temperature falls to undesirable levels that can affect those plants sensitive to low temperature in the winter. Thus, this enclosure is known as controlled environment greenhouse. At the same time, due to greenhouse effect, the temperature of the air in a greenhouse is greater than that outside, and can be used to modify the microclimate for crop cultivation. The greenhouse climate may be used for crop drying, distillation, biogas plant heating, space conditioning, and aquaculture.
