Greenhouse & Agriculture

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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.

Each Karibu Greenhouse Thermal Panel contains about 250 btu’s of thermal storage potential. 

Therefore, a box of (x10) panels is equal to:

• 2,500 btu’s
• ~725 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 40 PCM Panels, the same amount of energy could be stored. However, the PCM in the Panels ensures this energy is concentrated at a much narrower range. Helping keep greenhouse and grow-houses closer to target temperature.

Furthermore, the 1″ thick profile of the Panels 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.