Dynamic energy balance model in a greenhouse with tomato cultivation: simulation, calibration and evaluation

Control of the environmental conditions inside a greenhouse is fundamental to obtain high yields and product quality. One of the tools to improve this control is the mathematical modeling of the system in question. Therefore, in this work a dynamic energy balance model was developed with the objective of predicting the air temperature inside a greenhouse. The model considers the process of plant transpiration, ventilation and condensation inside a greenhouse, outside climate conditions, crop characteristics (leaf area index, stomatal and aerodynamic resistance), cover properties and greenhouse characteristics. The information used was collected in a greenhouse located at the Universidad Autonoma Chapingo, Mexico (19° 29’ LN and 98° 53’ LW), with a polyethylene cover, natural ventilation and tomato cultivation. The model was calibrated in order to obtain optimal values for six parameters: infiltration coefficient, heat transfer coefficient through the cover, heat transfer coefficient through the soil, crop-specific transpiration and wind effect coefficient. After calibration, the efficiency of the model improved by 33.84 %. The performance of the model was quite acceptable when evaluated with another set of data.