"UK: "Replacement of screens with the latest material could be very cost effective"

UK screen installer CMW Horticulture recently held a seminar at their East Yorkshire base to inform top UK growers about recent advances in screen materials. Consultant Paul Arkesteijn of Svensson outlined a number of developments that have resulted in significant improvements in the performance of energy saving screens. Paul told the growers that improved light transmission of their latest materials means that growers are able to deploy their screens for more daylight hours, thereby reducing heat loss and energy costs.

Svensson have a wide range of new energy saving screen materials. Those with light transmission equivalent to glass are ideal when summer shading is not required, and others promote high levels of diffuse light to protect vulnerable crops from sun scorch.

For example XLS 10 REVOLUX, a very transparent screen, is ideal when summer shading is not required, and delivers 4% extra light. As a result, Dutch tomato growers are now able to deploy their screens for 149 daylight hours during the first 20 weeks of the crop. By comparison, crops like peppers which benefit from the shading provided by diffuse screen materials may have screens closed for as much as 311 hours in the first 20 weeks. ‘There is a screen material which gives the optimum balance between energy saving, light transmission and shading for every crop’, said Paul.

However, improvements in the performance of modern screen materials also highlight a need for maintenance or even replacement of old screens. CMW Director Ian Metcalfe: ‘Screens wear and get soiled over time, and this has a dramatic effect on their performance. We often see screens that are no longer delivering the energy saving that they should. Heavily soiled screens are just not suitable for daylight deployment, so in some cases replacement with the latest material could be very cost effective.’

Delegate Tim Pratt of UK energy specialists FEC did some on the spot calculations using basic assumptions and realistic energy prices: ‘Growers who replace worn out screens with one of these improved new materials could see a 4 to 5 year return on their investment on energy savings alone.’ CMW believe that when light losses of as much as 1½% each year to due ageing are taken into account, yield increases when new material is installed are bound to reduce the payback time further.

For more information:
CMW Horticulture Ltd
Ian Metcalfe
Tel: +44 01430 422222
Email: [email protected]
www.cmwhorticulture.co.uk