SolarEn
Energy
Solar
Applications
forAgriculture
N EW Y ORK S TATE
www.PowerNaturally.org
arming,particularlydairy
farming,canbeaveryenergy
intensiveindustry.Fortunately,
solarenergycansupplyand
supplementmanyfarmenergy
SpaceandWaterHeating
GreenhouseHeating
SolarElectric(Photovoltaic)Systems
11
AdditionalSourcesofInformation
requirements.Thefollowingis
abriefoverviewofsome
applicationsofsolarenergy
technologiesusedinagriculture.
Additionalsourcesareprovided
formorespecificinformation
aboutthesolarenergy
applicationshighlightedinthis
guide.TheNewYorkState
EnergyResearchand
DevelopmentAuthority
(NYSERDA)hasincentivesand
programsforsomesolar
electricapplications.
(www.PowerNaturally.org)
ThisdocumentwaspreparedusinginformationprovidedbytheU.S.
DepartmentofEnergysOfficeofEnergyEfficiencyandRenewable
EnergyConsumerEnergyInformationERECreferencebriefs
(www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/refbriefs/da1.htm)
Contents
SpaceandWaterHeating
LIVESTOCKANDDAIRYOPERATIONSOFTENHAVE
SUBSTANTIALAIRANDWATERHEATINGREQUIREMENTS.
SOLARAPPLICATIONS
Usingthesuntodrycropsandgrainisoneoftheoldestandmost
widelyusedapplicationsofsolarenergy.Thesimplestandleast
Manypigandpoultryfarmsraiseanimalsinenclosedbuildingstocontroltemperature
expensivetechniqueistoallowcropstodrynaturallyinthefield,
andairqualityinanefforttomaintainanimalhealthandgrowth.Thesefacilitiesneed
ortospreadgrainandfruitoutinthesunafterharvesting.The
toreplacetheindoorairregularlytoremovemoisture,toxicgases,odors,anddust.
disadvantageofthesemethodsisthatthecropsandgrainaresubject
Heatingthisair,whennecessary,requireslargeamountsofenergy. Withproper
todamagebybirds,rodents,wind,andrain,andcontaminationby
planninganddesign,solarairheaterscanbeincorporatedintofarmbuildingsto
windblowndustanddirt.Moresophisticatedsolardryerscan
preheatincomingfreshair.Thesesystemscanalsobeusedtosupplementnatural
ventilationlevelsduringsummermonths. Solarwaterheatingsystemscan
protectgrainandfruit,reducelosses,
dryfasterandmoreuniformly,and
produceabetterqualityproductthan
openairmethods.
providehotwater forpenorequipmentcleaningorforpreheatingwatergoinginto
aconventionalwaterheater.Visitwww.nrel.gov/clean_energy/farmer_solarwater.html
andwww.eere.energy.gov/RE/solar_hotwater.htmlformoreinformationonsolar
waterheatingandwww.agcom.perdue.edu/AgCom/pubs/AE/AE99.htmlfor
solarheatingsystems.
Commercialdairyfarmsuselarge
amountsofenergytoheatwater
thatisusedtocleanequipment.
Heatingwatercanaccountforupto
40% oftheenergy
usedonadairyfarm.
Solarwaterheatingsystemsmaybe
usedtosupplyallorpartofthese
hotwaterrequirements.
Thebasiccomponentsofasolardryerareanenclosureorshed,screened
dryingtraysorracks,andasolarcollector.Thesouthernsideofthe
enclosureitselfcanbeglazedtoallowsunlighttodrythematerial.The
collectorcanbeassimpleasaglazedboxwithadarkcoloredinteriorto
absorbthesolarenergythatheatsair.Theairheatedinthesolarcollector
movesupthroughthematerialbeingdriedeitherbynaturalconvectionor
forcedbyafan.Thesizeofthecollector,andrateofairflowneeded,depend
ontheamountofmaterialbeingdried,themoisturecontentofthematerial,
thehumidityintheair,andtheaverageamountofsolarradiationavailable
duringthedryingseason.
TherearerelativelyfewlargesolarcropdryersintheUnitedStates.Thisis
becausethecostofthesolarcollectorcanbehigh,anddryingratesarenot
ascontrollableastheyarewithnaturalgasorpropanepowereddryers.
Designingthecollectorforotherusesatothertimesoftheyear,such
asforheatingfarmbuildings,maymakeasolardryermorecost
effective.
Formoreinformationonsolarcropdrying,visit:www.fsec.ucf.eduand
www.oit.doe.gov/combustion/factsheets/freshway.pdf
GreenhouseHeating
ANOTHERAGRICULTURALAPPLICATIONOF
SOLARENERGYISGREENHOUSEHEATING.
Solarelectric,orphotovoltaic(PV),systems
Commercialgreenhousestypicallyrelyonthesuntosupply
theirlightingneeds,buttheyarenotdesignedtousethe
sunforheating.Instead,theyrelyongasoroilheatersto
convertsunlightdirectlyintoelectricity.
Theycanpoweranelectricalappliance
directlyorstoreenergyinabattery.
maintainthetemperaturesnecessarytogrowplantsinthe
coldermonths.Solargreenhouses,however,aredesignedto
utilizesolarenergyforbothheatingandlighting.
INAREASWITHNOUTILITYLINES,
PVSYSTEMSAREOFTENCHEAPER
ANDREQUIRELESSMAINTENANCE
thandieselgenerators,windturbines,or
batteriesalone.Andwhereutilitieschargefor
newlines,aPVgeneratingsystemisoftenmuch
Asolargreenhousehasthermalmasstocollectandstore
solarheatenergyandinsulationtoretainthisheatforuse
duringthenightandoncloudydays.Asolargreenhouseis
orientedtomaximizesouthernglazingexposure.Itsnorthern
sidehaslittleornoglazingandiswellinsulated.Toreduce
heatloss,theglazingitselfisalsomoreefficientthansingle
paneglass;variousproductsareavailablerangingfrom
doublepanetocellularglazing.
Asolargreenhousereducesthe
needforfossilfuelsforheating.
cheaperforthelandownerthanpayingforanew
line.Aremotelocationcanbeseveralmilesor
aslittleas50feetfromapowersource.
PVSYSTEMSAREVERYRELIABLE,ANDTHEY
PRODUCEPOWERINALLTYPESOFWEATHER.
Onpartlycloudydays,theycanproduceupto80percentoftheirpotential
energy.Evenonextremelyovercastdays,theymaystillproduceabout25
percentoftheirmaximumoutput.Weatherdamageisnogreaterproblemfor
PVsystemsthanforotherstructuresinruralareas.Designerstestpanelsfor
Agasoroilheatermayserveasabackupheater,orto
increasecarbondioxidelevelstoinducehigherplantgrowth.
hailimpact,highwind,andfreezethawcyclesrepresentingyearround
weatherconditions.
ForfurtherinformationonSolarGreenhousesvisit:
www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/factsheets/vg9.html
orhttp://attra.ncat.org/attrapub/solargh.html
6
SolarElectric(Photovoltaic)Systems
Solarpanelthattracksthesun
Solararray
WATERPUMPING
Photovoltaic(PV)waterpumpingsystemsmaybe
themostcosteffective
waterpumpingoption
PACKAGEDPVSYSTEMSORKITS
ARENOTDIFFICULTTOINSTALL.
Manufacturersprovideliterature
andtelephonesupportfordoit
yourselfers.Andforsystemswith
morecomplicatedcomponents,suchas
trackingmountsandinverterstoconvert
directcurrent(DC)toalternatingcurrent
(AC),professionalinstallationandservice
isoftenincludedinthepurchaseprice.
Visitwww.PowerNaturally.orgforalistof
PVinstallersparticipatinginNYSERDAs
programs.NABCEP.orghasalistof
nationallycertifiedPVinstallers.
MostPVmodulesnow
comewith2025year
warranties.
inlocationswherethereisnoexistingpower
line.Theyareexceptionallywellsuitedfor
grazingoperationstosupplywatertoremote
Waterpump
pastures.SimplePVpowersystemsrunpumps
directlywhenthesunisshining,sotheywork
hardestinthehotsummermonthswhenthey
areneededmost.Generally,batteriesarenot
BecausePVsystemshavenomovingparts,
maintenanceislimitedtovisualchecksand
servicingbatteries.Suppliersmayoffer
maintenanceagreementsforlargersystems
thathavetrackingmountsandenergy
necessarybecausethewaterisstoredintanks
orpumpedtofieldsandusedinthedaytime.
Largerpumpingsystemsmayincludebatteries,
inverters,andtrackingmountstofollow
thesun.
conversionequipment.
Whenproperlysizedandinstalled,PV
andasubmersiblepumpcanproduce750
waterpumpsareveryreliableandrequire
1000gallonsofwaterperdayfroma200
ThevoltagefromasinglePVmoduleis
littlemaintenance. Thesizeandcostofa
footdrilledwell.Theequipmentcostsabout
usuallylowandnothazardous.Systems
PVwaterpumpingsystemdependsonthe
$3000.Installationcostsareadditional.
withseveralmodulesandbatteriesmust
qualityofsolarenergyavailableatthesite,
includeoverloadprotectionandfusesto
thepumpingdepth,thewaterdemand,and
meetlocalelectricalcodes.NYSERDAhas
systempurchaseandinstallationcosts.
programstoassistwiththeinstallationof
Thereareseveralcompaniesthat
gridconnectedPVsystems.Formore
manufacturesystemsdesignedforpumping
informationcheckoutADetailedGuide
waterfromwells,ponds,orstreams.
toInstallingaSolarElectricSystem
AlthoughtodayspricesforPVpanelsmake
atwww.PowerNaturally.orgorcallusat
mostcropirrigationsystemstooexpensive,
1866NYSERDAandrequesttheguide.
PVsystemsareverycosteffectiveforremote
Besuretoalsovisit
livestockwatersupply,pondaeration,and
www.nrel.gov/clean_energy/farmer_pv.html
smallirrigationsystems.Forexample,a
PVSYSTEMSAREVERYSAFE.
Foranimalgrazingoperations,PVpowered
pumpscanofferthemosteconomicaland
lowestmaintenanceoptiontosupplywater
inremotepastures. Pumpsandcontrollers
specificallydesignedforPVhavebeenusedin
thewesternUnitedStatesforyearsandare
alsoproventoworkinNewYorkforseasonal
use.FormoreinformationonPVwater
pumping,visit:
http://attra.ncat.org/attrapub/pdf/solarlswater.pdf
orwww.usda.govandsearchfor
solarwaterpumping.
systemthatincludesa128wattPVarray
Thefollowingwebsitesaregoodsourcesofinformationabout
solarenergyandsolarenergyforagriculture.
LIGHTING
Evenwhenutilitypowerisavailablenearby,
bethecheapestoptionforoutbuildings.The
VENTILATION
costofatransformerandrunningwiresto
Certainagricultureenterprisessuch
wherethelightisneededcanaddup.
aschickenandturkeyfarmsmust
AsimplePVsystemcanoperatelowor
haveconstantventilationduringthe
highpressuresodiumlights,aswellas
hotsummermonths.Thebodyheat
fluorescentandincandescentbulbs.
fromthousandsofbirdsinclose
proximitytoeachothercanquickly
SMALLMOTORS
killthemifelectricityislost.Since
Electricmotorswithsmallpowerneedscan
itoperateswhenthesunmakesthe
beveryhandyinremoteareasorinplaces
airthewarmest,PVcanbeanideal
whererunninganelectricallineisa
powersourceinthisinstance. Ithas
problem.PVpoweredautomaticgate
extremelyhighvalue,sinceone
openersusea14by13PVpanelto
episodeofgridpowerloss,wherethe
chargethebattery.PVisalsousedtorun
PVtakesoverandsavesthebirds,
aerationfansingrainstoragebinsandto
couldpayforalargepartofthe
powerautomaticsupplementfeeders.
systemimmediately.Sinceanimal
losseswillbeavoided,insurance
companiesmaybewilling
toreducepremiums,
therebyhelpingtopayfor
thesystem.PVpowered
ventilationcanalsohelp
relievepeakpower
requirementsonthe
grid,andmakesuseof
directcurrent(DC)motors
ratherthanconversionto
alternatingcurrent(AC)
SOLARELECTRICPOWERASSOCIATION*
www.solarelectricpower.org
SOLARENERGYINDUSTRIESASSOCIATION*
www.seia.org
THESOURCEFORRENEWABLEENERGY
ONLINESOLARBUYERSGUIDEANDBUSINESSDIRECTORY*
www.energy.sourceguides.com
NORTHAMERICANBOARDOFCERTIFIEDENERGYPRACTITIONERS*
www.nabcep.org
AMERICANSOLARENERGYSOCIETY(ASES)
www.ases.org
FLORIDASOLARENERGYCENTER
www.fsec.ucf.edu
INTERSTATERENEWABLEENERGYCOUNCIL
www.irecusa.org
DSIRE
www.dsireusa.org
NATIONALRENEWABLEENERGYLABORATORY
www.nrel.gov/solar
CENTERFORRENEWABLEENERGYANDSUSTAINABLETECHNOLOGY
www.crest.org
U.S.DEPARTMENTOFENERGY
ENERGYEFFICIENCYANDRENEWABLEENERGY
www.eere.energy.gov
NORTHCAROLINASOLARCENTER
www.ncsc.ncsu.edu
APPROPRIATETECHNOLOGYTRANSFERFORRURALAREAS
www.attra.ncat.org
U.S.DEPARTMENTOFAGRICULTURE
www.usda.gov
FormoreinformationaboutNYSERDAsolarelectricenergyprograms,
whichrequiresacostly
inverter.
call1866NYSERDA
orvisitwww.PowerNaturally.org
*websitesprovidinglistsorlinkstoequipmentmanufacturers,
distributor,orinstallationandserviceproviders
10
11
AdditionalInformation
NEWYORKSTATESOLARENERGYINDUSTRIESASSOCIATION*
www.nyseia.org
usingPVtochargebatteriesforlightingmay