Several South African growers have visited a solar energy project in Kenya by invitation of Certhon. At Stokman Rozen Kenya Ltd., a solar energy station running successfully since 2010, water gets heated to heat the greenhouse.
Due to the low temperatures at night, it’s strictly needed to heat the greenhouse. Before 2010, only kerosene was used therefor. Currently, Stokman uses the ‘free energy’ of sunlight, which warms the water up. This hot water is stored in a completely isolated heat storage tank. With this heat, the greenhouse gets warmed up at night.
“Our customer has been satisfied for the past years and not least because of the saving of kerosene,” says export manager Rob de Wit. “Earlier, Stokman sometimes used 1400 litres of kerosene a night! Currently, he uses a maximum of 400 litres. A confirmation of the saving of 1000 litres per night! According to Stokman Rozen Kenya Ltd. the period of return on investment for this project is two years!”
De Wit explains that it’s necessary to heat greenhouses at night in several places in South Africa, in order to reduce diseases and increase production. “The South African growers were impressed by the simplicity and robustness of the system, which is nearly free of maintenance.”
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