The study was conducted on behalf of a Dutch innovation program that seeks to encourage sustainable energy use in greenhouse horticulture.
The calculated energy consumption at Gardener's Pride was 37.8 m3/m2/year between December 1, 2016 and December 1, 2017. At Greenco it was 25.4 m3/m2/year for the same period. The higher energy consumption at Gardener's Pride could be because of the following reasons:
- Sunstream is a variety that is generatively controlled;
- Gardener's Pride did not dare maintain such a high relative humidity due to the lack of a working VJ system and
- Gardener's Pride did not employ screens as much.
When using Ventilation Jets, the growers were able to keep the blackout screen (almost) 100% closed when lighting was on. However, during certain periods both growers decided to decrease the use of the Ventilation Jet system. They suspected that the air movement caused by the recirculation fan sometimes caused an excessively generative crop reaction. At Gardener's Pride, it turned out that less than 3% of the air blown in by the VJ leaked from the greenhouse through the small opening in the center aisle. It can therefore be concluded that this gap is not necessary.
Read more about the study here.
For more information:
Kas Als Energiebron
www.kasalsenergiebron.nl