REDUCING CO2EMISSIONS IN GREENHOUSES REGARDING HEAT EFFICIENCY INCREASE.

Heat requirements in greenhouses change according to the climate of the region, type of plant cultivated in the greenhouse and the technical equipment of the greenhouse. In Antalya, a city in West Mediterranean Region of Turkey where there is intensive green housing, heat requirement of a single pane PE covered 2400 m2greenhouse (AH/AG=1.57) with temperature 17/18oC night/day throughout the production period is 156.6 kWh m-2 a-1. In a greenhouse of the same size, in which technical precautions are taken to increase heat efficiency, heat energy requirement can be reduced to 68.4 kWh m-2 a-1. Reducing heat energy requirement also reduces CO2emissions into the atmosphere. When thermal curtains are used for heat conservation in greenhouses, it is possible to achieve a heat saving of 30-45% depending on the texture quality of the thermal curtain, number of curtain panes and insulation. In the case that covering surfaces with heat losses are covered with multi-pane covering materials, energy saving rates can reach as high as 55%. However, multi-pane covering materials may lead to photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) losses and thus a decrease in efficiency. This study aims to estimate heat savings in different combinations of covering materials as well as CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.