It is possible to reduce energy costs in greenhouses to the benefit of both the environment and the greenhouse owner. Read more about the use of dynamic climate control system in nurseries.
Challenge
The energy costs of the greenhouse industry are very high at present. Consequently, the industry has a keen financial interest in the development of methods to reduce the energy consumption in greenhouses – to the benefit of the environment. To ensure that the energy reduction does not compromise the plant quality, new technical solutions must be developed as well as an increased understanding of plant physiology. AgroTech has come far. We have already come up with and implemented a solution for the Danish nursery “Gartneriet Hjortebjerg”. The solution is a dynamic climate control system with optimised utilisation of the natural light. This solution cuts the greenhouse energy consumption by 30 %. At the same time, the dynamic environment has also proven to provide good plant growth conditions. We are now taking the next step towards developing an energy producing greenhouse.
Tasks
AgroTech manages two large projects: ”Væksthus 2017” (Greenhouse 2017) and ”Intelligent energihåndtering i væksthuse”, a project on intelligent management of energy in greenhouses. These two projects are carried out in co-operation with the horticultural industry and other technological service company in Denmark. As a part of the projects, AgroTech recommends that nurseries establish underground energy storage in the long term, where excess summer energy can be stored and reused in the winter period. It is expected that the underground energy storage will result in an energy saving of more than 60 %.
Development perspectives
The purpose of the projects is to develop and test new and existing technologies which can be put into practice quickly. Among others, the projects focus on underground storage of excess energy, dynamic climate control, light-emitting diodes to promote plant growth and a number of other technologies that can contribute to a more energy-efficient operation. The aim is to make greenhouses sustainable in the future.
For further information about the two projects please visit www.ghc2017.dk
