Patent ID: 8745919

Claim:
A photovoltaic greenhouse comprising: a frame structure including a plurality of upstanding walls; a roof structure supported by the frame structure; and a plurality of photovoltaic cells installed in the roof structure or walls, wherein the photovoltaic cells convert solar energy into electricity by absorbing a predefined wavelength band of electromagnetic energy in the solar energy, wherein the photovoltaic cells have different predefined infrared transmissivity properties to transmit infrared energy through each photovoltaic cell from outside the greenhouse to inside the greenhouse based on the respective photovoltaic cell's predefined infrared transmissivity property, wherein the photovoltaic cells are distributed in the roof structure or walls in a pattern to heat ground locations within the frame structure to different temperatures in response to the infrared energy transmitted through the photovoltaic cells, and wherein the photovoltaic cells are distributed such that a photovoltaic cell having a relatively high infrared transmissivity property is surrounded by a plurality of photovoltaic cells each having relatively low infrared transmissivity properties.