PVT Clean Energy’s technology is a bi-directional heating and cooling system for greenhouses that is based on harvesting solar and geothermal energies via extracting heat from both an agrivoltaic (AV) panel and a geothermal well and transferring it back to the greenhouse when it is needed, which can replace inefficient conventional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units.
With a return on investment (ROI) of 5 years and a reduction in heating and electricity costs to 10%, this technology will enhance energy sustainability and resiliency for indoor farming by seasonal heat storage, and can be used to replace the forced air systems which are very common in the U.S. yet inefficient and mostly run on fossil fuels. Solar energy harvesting and thermal management with a passive bi-directional geothermal system will significantly improve the energy efficiency of the system with the ultimate goal of a net-zero energy farm. The sensing and control system will integrate the components into a smart greenhouse system with real-time energy usage control for high energy efficiency.
