As a result of the energy crises of the 1970s, greenhouse cultivation has developed rapidly in the countries on the Mediterranean coast. In order to achieve the expected quality production and productivity, greenhouses should be heated when outside temperature falls below 12 o C. In Turkey, small scale family businesses implement very simple heating methods to protect plants from frost, rather than provide regular heating of greenhouses. The modern greenhouses that have been installed in recent

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... years are equipped with hot water tube heating systems. In addition to affecting production costs in a significant way, heating greenhouses has negative influence on the environment due to carbon emissions of the selected fuel type. The fuel to be used in heating greenhouses should be both cost effective and environment friendly with the lowest level of carbon emissions. This study aims to determine the amount of heating energy required for different inside temperature values desired in plastic greenhouses with different specifications, under Mediterranean climate conditions, to estimate the amounts of coal, natural gas, diesel fuel and fuel oil to be used in heating and to calculate the annual fuel costs and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions for each fuel type. The study has shown that the most convenient fuel to meet the annual heat requirements of greenhouses is natural gas. The relative change in the cost of natural gas, diesel fuel and fuel oil has been calculated as an increase of 13%, 73% and 59% respectively. The annual CO 2 emission of natural gas has been determined to be 50%, 29% and 30% lower than that of coal, diesel fuel and fuel oil respectively.