Integration of Geothermal Heating Technologies into Agricultural Structures: A Smart Greenhouse Approach

The increasing global population, the impacts of climate change, and the rising energy costs are making it increasingly difficult to ensure sustainability in agricultural production systems. In particular, the greenhouse sector, despite offering significant advantages for year-round production, constitutes an energy-intensive production model due to its high heating requirements. The current heating systems based on fossil fuels lead to both increased production costs and higher carbon emissions. In this context, ensuring energy management in greenhouses through renewable sources has become a strategic necessity in terms of economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. The main objective of this study is to examine the potential use of geothermal energy resources in agricultural structures, particularly in smart greenhouse systems, from engineering, environmental, and economic perspectives. Within the scope of this study, the design principles of geothermal heating systems, their energy efficiency potential, heat transfer mechanisms, and integration processes with smart control systems (IoT sensors, automation, and artificial intelligence algorithms) were evaluated. In addition, comparative analyses were conducted based on Turkey’s geothermal resource potential, application examples, and energy economy indicators. The significance of this study lies in the fact that renewable energy-based smart greenhouse applications enhance energy security in agricultural production, reduce carbon emissions, and ensure production continuity. The utilization of geothermal energy as a constant, domestic, and low-emission resource in the agricultural sector directly aligns with the goals of sustainable production. The literature review indicates that studies focusing on the integration of geothermal heating technologies with smart control infrastructures, particularly within the context of Turkey, remain limited. Existing research largely remains confined to energy analysis, while comprehensive engineering approaches that simultaneously address digital automation, system modeling, environmental impact, and policy interaction have not been sufficiently developed. This study aims to fill this gap by presenting a multidisciplinary assessment framework for the integration of geothermal energy and smart greenhouse technologies. In this review, studies published in international scientific databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, ResearchGate, MDPI, IEEE, and Google Scholar were examined to comprehensively analyze the integration of geothermal heating technologies into agricultural structures and their adaptation processes within the context of smart greenhouse systems.