Optimized Design of Irrigation Water-Heating System and Its Effect on Lettuce Cultivation in a Chinese Solar Greenhouse

Abstract

In cold regions, the low irrigation water temperature is an important factor of low-temperature stress for greenhouse crops. In this paper, an irrigation water-heating system (IWHS) is proposed to increase the water temperature by utilizing the excess heat in the solar greenhouse. The heat-collection capacity of the system was analyzed by screening the IWHS process parameters in a Chinese solar greenhouse, and a warm-water irrigation experiment for lettuce was conducted. The results demonstrated that the water temperature increased with the increase in wind speed, and the increase in daily average water temperature reached the maximum value of 8.6 °C at 4.5 m/s wind speed. When the heat exchanger was installed at a height of 3.0 m, the collector capacity increased by 17.8% and 6.0% compared with the heating capacity at 0 m and 1.5 m, respectively, and the operation termination water temperature was 22.0–32.2 °C and its coefficient of performance (COP) was optimal. Surface darkening of the heat exchanger did not affect the heat-collection capacity of the system. Using the IWHS effectively improved the temperature of lettuce irrigation water in the Chinese solar greenhouse. The increased frequency of warm-water irrigation significantly promoted lettuce growth and increased the average yield per plant by 15.9%. Therefore, IWHS effectively increased the irrigation water temperature in a Chinese solar greenhouse in winter. Improving the system would enhance its economic and application value.