Netherlands: Measuring gas makes savings in energy and CO2 possible

Last year EMS, along with Sercom, won the Horti Fair Innovation Award with their Air Monitoring System, in which the MACView-Greenhouse Gas Analyser, a measuring system for harmful gases and CO2, is used. How are the company and the installation doing a year later?

Pollutants can end up in the greenhouse for various reasons. During cultivation a small amount of gas or a short exposure may have no (visible) effect, but prolonged exposure will damage the crop. This is where the MACView-Greenhouse Gas Analyser comes in. The extremely sensitive instrument measures the concentration of CO2, but also the concentrations of harmful gases NO, NO2, C2H4, and CO at the ppb level. Even if the CHP plant and the boiler are properly maintained, these measurements can be necessary. 

"People are often blindsided by CHP plants and boiler emissions, and fail to consider other sources," says Gertjan Bosman on the IHTF. "The cultivation can also be damaged by erroneous gases coming into the greenhouse in a different way." Causes can be diverse: defects, but also motorways and chimneys, pulse fog and leaks.

In addition, the Gas Analyzer also measures the CO2 level in the greenhouse. The computer isn’t used to prevent damage, but to control the climate. Bosman: "It lets you also save on energy and CO2." The Gas Analyser is connected to the climate computer and adjusts several factors based on the measurements.

The installations are offered for sale in Netherlands (CMO possible) but are also marketed via a lease-purchase model. “By renting is for 40 weeks, the grower becomes the owner," says Bosman.