Solar Aquaponics
Designing a 100% Solar
Aquaponics Greenhouse
Dan Chiras, Ph.D.
Director, The Evergreen
Institute
Gerald, MO 63037
www.evergreeninstitute.org
Topics
Creating a 100% solar operation
Efficiency First!
Solar electricity – lighting, water pumps,
and aeration
Not resistive heating!
Solar thermal – heating water
Passive solar heating and cooling
Understanding
Solar Energy
The Sun
Earth orbits around the sun
Completing its path every
365 days
Earth’s orbit is elliptical
Distance from the Sun
varies
Earth is closest to the Sun
during the winter
Farthest from the Sun in
the summer
Understanding Solar Energy
From Jim Dunlop, Photovoltaic Systems, ATP
From Jim Dunlop, Photovoltaic Systems, ATP
From Jim Dunlop, Photovoltaic Systems, ATP
The Sun’s Path
Position of the Sun changes during the year
As a result of the changing relationship
between the Earth and the Sun
Sun “carves” a high path across the summer
sky
Reaches its highest point on June 21
June 21 = longest day of the year
Aka the Summer Solstice
Sun carves a low path across the sky on
December 21
Shortest day of the year
Winter Solstice
Solar Window
Solar Electricity
Solar Electricity -- Photovoltaics
Photo = sunlight
Voltaics = electricity
PV cells, modules, and array
How to go solar
Lots of options
Easiest of all
Install a PV system on
your home
Simply plug in
If aquaponics system is
on its own meter
Can install a PV system
to supply it
Wire it into the panel
Add batteries for
backup
Types of Systems
Grid Connected
Grid-Connected with Battery Backup
Off-grid or Stand Alone
Grid-Connected PV
System
When the grid goes down
so does your system!
Grid-tied with battery backup
Off-Grid or Stand Alone
Mounting options
Ground
Building—typically roof
Courtesy Rochester Solar Technologies
Orientation of Solar Modules
For maximum output
Solar modules should be
perpendicular to the sun
from sunrise to sunset
This is possible with a
tracker
For fixed array, array
should be pointed true
south
Not magnetic south
True south and magnetic south rarely
coincide
Dedicated PV System for Aquaponics
PV Modules Inverter
Charge Controller
Air Pump
Water Pump
Battery Lights
Will this work?
45-watt system
Need to purchas
battery and 300-
inverter
How to Size a System
Determine the size of the PV system
Add up wattages of pumps
Multiply each one by hours in use per day
To determine watt-hours
Convert to kWh per day
Air pump -- 20 watts
Water pump -- 40 watts
Both run 24 hours per day
How to Size a System
Total = 60 watts
60 watts x 24 hours per day
1,440 watt-hours per day
1000 watt-hours = 1 kWh
1.44 kWh per day
Multiply by 365 for annual use
1.44 x 365 = 526 kWh per year
How to Size a System
1 kW system in Colorado
5.7 peak sun hours per day
X 365 days
X 0.78 efficiency factor
5.7 x 365 = 2080
2080 x 0.78 = 1,622 kWh per year
Unshaded array
Orientation -- true south
How to Size a System
526 divided by 1,622 = about a 0.32 kW system
A 320-watt system for air and water pumps
Most modules these days around 250 to 260
watts
So may need 2 modules
Cost about $1/watt or $250 each
Harbor freight 45-watt array is not going to
suffice
Then you need to size the battery to hold
electricity
Why?
Night time function
Power outages
How to Size a System
Size battery bank for three days of battery-only
operation
60 watts x 24 hours = 1.44 kWh per day
3 x 1.44 = 4.32 kWh
Can’t discharge batteries more than 50%
Need to double battery size
Need 8.64 kWh of storage
Four large solar batteries
Cost of $400 each
Heating Water in Aquaponics
Heating water can be a huge challenge
Resistive heaters consume lots of electricity
Water heater element – 4,500 watts to 5,500
watts
Run 4,500 watt heater
8 hours a day in cold weather
36 kWh per day – roughly $3.60 per day per
heating element
Won’t need that year round
But maybe for three to six months
Advice
Move South!
Heating Water in Aquaponics
Smaller system
Tank heater – 400 watts
8 hours a day
3.2 kWh per day per heater
May not need that much electricity year
round
If you did, you’d need 1,168 kWh per year
You’d require a 0.7 kW system
Small solar system (approximately 1 kW)
on your house would power your heater
and your pumps
Heating Water in Aquaponics
Suggestions
For existing systems
Improve efficiency – reduce the loss of heat from tanks
and grow beds
New systems – build them right!
Insulate tanks and grow beds
Insulate pipes, especially if they run through a concrete
slab
Starting new: Build a superefficient greenhouse that is
thermally stable and hence provides most of the heat for
the water!
Provide heat via a solar hot water or solar thermal
system
Types of DSHW Systems
Two types of systems -- active and passive
Components – solar collector and storage
tank
Often linked to conventional storage water
heater or on-demand (tankless) water heater
Solar Batch Water Heater
Integrated collector-storage
system
Passive system – no
pumps, operates on line
pressure
Open
system
Progressive Tube Solar Water Heater
30, 40, and 60 gallon
capacity
Progressive Tube Solar Water Heater
Provide 100% of hot water on sunny days
Preheat water on cloudy days
Reduce fuel use and utility bill
Fairly inexpensive
Fairly easy to install
No pumps
No electricity
No sensors or costly controls
Little or no maintenance
Heavy – be sure roof can support load
Progressive Tube Solar Water Heater
Suitable for use in warm,
sunny climates
Not suitable for cold
climates
Can also use for domestic
hot water
Active Systems -- Pump-
Circulation systems
Pump-Circulation systems
Separate storage and collection
Collector on the roof
Storage tank located inside the house
Advantage: reduces heat loss from storage tank at
night
Two common options
drainback (water = heat exchange fluid)
glycol (propylene glycol = heat exchange fluid)
Solar Hot Water
Drainback System
Active system --
pump driven
Heat exchange fluid
= water
Closed system
Designed for areas
where freezing
occurs
Courtesy of Home Power Magazine
Solar Hot Water Design Ideas
Backup
heating
element
Solar Collector Solar hot water Controller
storage tank
Pump Temp.
sensor
Fish Tank
Heat
Exchanger
Solar Greenhouse
Passive Solar Heating and Cooling
Proper orientation and design of greenhouse
Cooler in the summer
Warmer in the winter
Design all wrong
Most greenhouses are spacious, uninsulated
Too much volume
No thermal mass
Wide temperature swings year round
Vent heat even in the winter
Lots of energy to heat and cool them
Passive Solar Heating and Cooling
We tend to use technology developed in Holland
Large greenhouses
Massive volume
Single-pane glass
Burn lots of wood, natural gas, coal, or oil to heat
Then vent and cool in the summer
Amount of fuel needed
Exceeds amount needed to transport equivalent
amount of produce from regions where it’s in
season
Design Like a Solar Home
Design to capture winter sun
Plenty of sun in summer
Orient greenhouse on an east-west axis
No glass on north side
Minimize or eliminate glazing on east and
west sides
Insulate north side
Better yet, earth shelter and insulate on north
side
Provide thermal mass
Double-pane glass or double plastic
How do we solve these issues?
In winter, store excess heat during day
rather than vent
Use stored heat at night in winter
Produce heat
Passively
May also supplement with solar thermal
system
Store summer heat for use in winter
Tricky but can be done
How do we solve these issues?
Even larger challenge
Store summer heat
For use in winter
Tricky but can be done
Underground storage
Sand beds
Water storage tanks
Ground beneath or around the greenhouse
Draw that heat off during the winter
How do we solve these issues?
Sound impossible?
Consider the Chinese Greenhouse
Passive solar greenhouses in China
No supplemental lighting
Little or no supplemental heating
Produce vegetables through Fall, Winter, and
Spring
How do we solve these issues?
Chinese greenhouse
Developed in mid-1980s
Highly evolved
technology
In 2000, covered 650,000
acres
No current estimate
Virtually unknown in
North America
Secrets of Success of Chinese Solar
Greenhouses
Long axis oriented East-West
Not North-South
Low-profile greenhouse
Minimize surface area for
winter heat loss
30 to 46 feet wide
Not all glass design
Thick insulated back wall
and partial roof
Back wall contains thermal
mass
Secrets of Success
Large interior thermal mass
Conventional greenhouse = soil, floors, and
back walls
In aquaponics systems – floors, back wall, and
water
Solar Window
Design Features
Arched struts (beams)
Up to 12 meters (39.6 feet)
Single layer of plastic
Could be improved by applying a double
layer
Thermal blanket to insulate at night
Temperature Inside and Outside Chinese
Greenhouse in Shenyang, China Temperatures were
10 to 15oC (18-27oF)
warmer
Temperature inside and outside a Chinese Style
Greenhouse in Manitoba, Canada Temperatures were 10 to
30oC (54oF) warmer
Design for heat retention
You wouldn’t live in a greenhouse
Because of wide temperature swings
So how can our plants and fish?
Redesign – Chinese Style
Create heat storage for winter day-night
cycling
Underground heat storage for summer to
winter heat storage
Surplus summer heat pumped underground
Released in winter
Design for heat retention
Also earth shelter greenhouse
Keep it cooler in the summer and
Warmer in the winter
Or consider
Hoop houses over grow beds
Underground heat storage
Solar thermal heat storage
For Additional Information
For Additional Information
For Additional Information
Let the Sun Shine in!
Dan Chiras, Ph.D.
The Evergreen Institute
www.evergreeninstitute.org
[email protected] (720) 273-9556
