Greenhouse

Passive Thermal Energy Storage [P-TES]™

Whether in a greenhouse or an indoor grow facility, managing both temperatures and energy usage represents one of the most extreme and toughest challenges. Yet these severe changing conditions represent an ideal opportunity for phase change materials.

Fore Energy uses PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS to absorb and release that thermal heat within your building naturally.

It works just like ice inside a cooler, but it freezes and melts at the temperature you need to sustain your facility. Tiles can be installed over walls inside greenhouses and grow rooms or can be used within our proprietary duct solution.

DURING DAYTIME: Tiles are used to absorb free heat from the sun in winter, or unwanted heat in summer as the PCM inside the tiles goes through a melting phase.

DURING NIGHTIME: Tiles are used to release this heat back to the facility to save energy in winter or can exhaust heat or recharge using fresh air or cheap cooling in summer.

Greenhouse Insulation & Design:

We typically recommend having as much insulation and energy efficiency in greenhouse design as possible, to increase the capability of PCM cycling. Hoop house / poly type greenhouses for instance, can sometimes be challenging to get enough heat in winter to melt PCM. They also suffer from significant heat loss compared to more passive solar greenhouse designs.

How Much PCM is Enough?

Many greenhouses suffer from significant heat loss in winter. PCM can be used to extend of improve the growing season or can be used to help reduce how much energy is using to maintain growing conditions.

Wall Applications:

A typical PCM tile contains 100 btu’s of thermal storage potential per square foot. Or 2,500 joules per m2.

Therefore, a case of (x10) tiles is equal to:

4,000 btu’s
4,200 kJ
1,172 Watthours

PCM vs Water Storage

Assuming a temperature difference (Delta-T) of 20ºC or 36ºF, a 55-gallon drum of water could store approximately 9,000 to 10,000 btu’s of thermal energy. However, this energy would not be concentrated at any one temperature and would instead be evenly distributed across all temperature ranges.

With just 24 PCM tiles, the same amount of energy could be stored. However, the PCM in the Tiles ensures this energy is concentrated at a much narrower range. Helping keep greenhouse and grow-houses closer to target temperature.

Furthermore, the 1/4″ thick profile of the Tiles helps significantly improve thermal conductivity compared to the slow process of extracting energy from a large water barrel.

The result? A more efficient storage solution that takes up ZERO growing floor space.

Greenhouse & Agriculture

Passive Thermal Energy Storage [P-TES]™

Wall Mount

Greenhouse Insulation & Design:

PCM Sizing Information

Greenhouse & Agriculture

Passive Thermal Energy Storage [P-TES]™

Wall Mount

Greenhouse Insulation & Design:

PCM Sizing Information

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