Climate-adaptive energy strategies for sustainable greenhouse systems : a Köppen-based systematic review

Abstract

Greenhouses are essential for enhancing crop yields and enabling year-round production, but their high energy intensity and climate-sensitive demand challenge sustainability. To address the lack of climate-stratified evidence, we conduct a systematic review of climate-adaptive energy approaches for greenhouse systems structured by the Köppen climate classification (KCC). We searched the Web of Science (2019–2024) using Topic “greenhouse”, limiting to articles and refining by the “Citation Topic Micro: Greenhouse” filter; 276 records were identified and 268 articles were retained after title and abstract screening. The evidence is organized into four domains: (1) microclimate modeling and decision-support tools, (2) passive design and device-assisted enhancements, (3) active operational optimization, and (4) renewable energy integration. Results reveal climate-specific patterns: cold and arid regions most consistently benefit from insulation, thermal screens, phase-change storage, and solar–thermal-assisted heating; temperate and tropical climates increasingly adopt advanced control, including model predictive control and data-driven/learning-based controllers, to coordinate multi-variable microclimate-energy trade-offs. Renewable integration is expanding across zones, yet harmonized techno-economic and life-cycle assessments remain limited. This KCC-based synthesis supports region-specific design and operation decisions and highlights priorities for future research and deployment.

HIGHLIGHTS • Climate-based framework for greenhouse energy. • Köppen classification applied to greenhouse sustainability. • Passive, active, and renewable approaches systematically reviewed. • Climate-specific energy patterns identified across global zones. • Guidance for sustainable, low-carbon greenhouse production.