Abstract:
Provided is a greenhouse including transparent solar batteries disposed on an outer wall of the greenhouse. Since the transparent solar batteries are disposed on an outer wall of the greenhouse, the greenhouse may generate pollution-free energy while allowing greenhouse cultivation.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a greenhouse using a solar battery. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Conventional greenhouses are made of glass or vinyl through which light transmits, and plants are cultivated therein. That is, the greenhouse, which is configured so that the green house is exposed to lots of sunlight, only receives the sunlight passively, and does not actively generate energy by using the sunlight. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present invention provides a greenhouse capable of generating pollution-free energy and cultivating plants therein by using a solar battery. 
         [0006]    According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a greenhouse using a solar battery, the greenhouse including: amorphous silicon solar batteries or dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) arranged in an array; and an outer wall formed by arranging the solar batteries with predetermined intervals therebetween. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of general solar batteries; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a diagram showing an outer wall of a greenhouse having solar batteries, according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  are front views of the greenhouse shown in  FIG. 2 , according to other embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a diagram showing solar cells for adjusting a light transmittance of the greenhouse; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a diagram showing a solar battery including a hot-wire on a surface thereof, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a diagram showing general solar batteries. 
         [0015]    In  FIG. 1 , a solar battery located on the left side of the drawing is an amorphous silicon solar battery in which a plurality of solar cells  110  are arranged on a substrate  100  in an array. A solar battery located on the right side of the drawing is a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) in which a solar cell  130  is disposed on a substrate  120 . In the DSC, the solar cell  130  may have a size corresponding to that of the substrate  120 . Embodiments of the present invention may use various types of solar batteries that have been developed so far, as well as the general solar batteries shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a diagram showing an outer wall of a greenhouse having solar batteries  200 , according to an embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 3  are front views of the greenhouse shown in  FIG. 2 , according to other embodiments of the present invention,  FIG. 4  is a diagram showing solar cells  402  and  412  for adjusting a light transmittance of the greenhouse, and  FIG. 5  shows an example of a solar battery  500  including a hot-wire  510  on a surface thereof, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIGS. 2 through 5 . 
         [0017]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the outer wall of the greenhouse is surrounded by the solar batteries  200 . That is, conventional greenhouses are formed of glass or vinyl; however, the greenhouse of the present embodiment is surrounded by the solar batteries  200  that are transparent. According to other embodiments of the present invention, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the greenhouse may be formed of a plurality of flat solar batteries  300  which are connected to each other and attached to the outer wall of the greenhouse without bending the solar batteries  300 , or may be formed of bendable solar batteries  310  that are formed correspondingly on the outer wall of the greenhouse. That is, when the amorphous silicon solar battery or the DSC shown in  FIG. 1  includes a bendable substrate, a greenhouse of rounded shape may be formed. 
         [0018]    The solar batteries  200  may surround the entire portion of the greenhouse as shown in  FIG. 2 . Otherwise, the solar batteries  200  may be arranged in an array and conventional materials (for example, glass, vinyl, and transparent plastic) may be connected between the solar batteries  200 . 
         [0019]    Cultivating conditions may vary depending on plants being cultivated in the greenhouse, and thus, the solar batteries  200  that have a light transmittance suitable for the kind of plant being cultivated in the greenhouse may be used. In order to adjust the light transmittance to be suitable for the plants being cultivated in the greenhouse, the solar batteries  200  on the greenhouse may be arranged in a double-layered structure as shown in  FIG. 4 . For example, in order to reduce the light transmittance, the solar cells  402  and  412  of two solar batteries  400  and  410  are arranged alternately, and in order to increase the light transmittance, the solar cells  402  and  412  respectively of solar batteries  400  and  410  are disposed to overlap each other. Therefore, an intensity of the light transmitted by the solar batteries  400  and  410  may be adjusted. 
         [0020]    On the other hand, when heavy snow falls in the winter, the weight applied to the greenhouse increases and the greenhouse may collapse. In order to prevent the greenhouse from collapsing, the strength of the greenhouse structure needs to be increased. In addition, it may be inconvenient to clean the snow piled up on the solar batteries  400  and  410 . Therefore, the solar battery  500  may include the hot-wire  510  on a surface thereof so as to melt the snow that falls on the surface thereof when it snows, and to prevent the snow from piling. Sensing of the snow may be performed using various sensors, as well as by a human being. In addition, the energy supplied to the hot-wire  510  may be generated and accumulated by the solar battery  500 . 
         [0021]    In  FIG. 5 , the solar battery  500  includes the hot-wire  510 , but the present embodiment is not limited thereto, and thus, a material which generates heat on receiving energy may be coated on the surface of the solar battery  500  so that the heat may be generated from the entire surface of the solar battery  500  so that the snow may be melted efficiently. For example, a transparent plate having a heat generating function by using a carbon nano-tube (CNT) may be disposed on the surface of the solar battery  500 . 
         [0022]    According to a greenhouse of the present invention, plants are cultivated in the greenhouse, and moreover, pollution-free energy may be generated by solar batteries disposed on the outer wall of the greenhouse. 
         [0023]    While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.