Abstract
This study was conducted to provide design data for deciding covering method in double layers greenhouse. The variation of photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) and heat flow in air inflated and conventional double layers greenhouse was analyzed. The PPF of air inflated double covering greenhouse was less than that of conventional greenhouse during summer season because the more PPF comes into conventional greenhouse through roof vent which was rolled up for ventilation. The air inflated double layers covering greenhouse was superior to conventional type in the aspect of controlling inside temperature down owing to lower irradiation. The PPF of air inflated greenhouse was greater than that of conventional greenhouse during winter season because the transmittance of conventional greenhouse decreased by dust collected on inside plastic film nearly closed for insulation. Considering the PPF not sufficient for tomato growing in winter, the air inflated double covering system with the greater transmittance was better than conventional covering system. When the inside air of air inflated greenhouse was injected into space between the double layers of covering, the PPF of air inflated greenhouse was much less than the conventional greenhouse because the transmittance of air inflated double covering decreased due to condensation of highly humidified inside air. It was concluded that the more dried outside air should be used for inflating double layers covering. The heat insulation performance of air inflated double covering system was superior to conventional double covering system when comparing the overall heat transfer coefficients for each covering method. However the differences among the overall heat transfer coefficients depending on difference between inside and outside temperatures of greenhouse were great, it is necessary to conduct additional experiment for investigating the overall heat transfer coefficient to design the double layers covering.