Prototype design of a solar greenhouse incorporating clean energy manufacturing concept

Abstract

This paper discusses an educational effort that incorporates green energy manufacturing concepts for the prototype design of a solar greenhouse in a senior design project. The goal of the senior design project was to provide the design of a greenhouse module integrated with renewable energy as an initial stepping stone for the future construction of manufacturing plants in industry. The renewable energy integrator component in the project seeks to explore the technology of renewable and eco-friendly sources of electricity on a large scale. In addition to researching the subject, a prototype of greenhouse has been built for future students to learn green energy manufacturing as part of engineering and technology programs. Through this project, students learned how to provide a green design method for evaluating the characteristics of clean energy manufacturing. The students incorporated real-world experience with innovative design with the reduction of energy waste and use of renewable energy, as well as incorporating green manufacturing. For the sake of comparisons for green energy manufacturing, experiments were conducted, including sensor monitoring and process control. A concluding section discusses the student learning experiences during this project. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2014.