They definitely don’t capture the headlines in the same way as vertical farms, but greenhouses still play a vital role in global food production. Having helped to cultivate indoor crops for thousands of years, it’s safe to say this age-old growing technique will be around for a few years yet. Thanks to advances in technology, the humble glasshouse can now be transformed into a precisely-controlled growing environment that farmers can rely on to achieve improved yields and profits.
The six innovations
- Intelligent automation: automated irrigation systems, pH sensors and climate control software can all be used to solve common problems faced by indoor farmers, such as disease prevention and pest management.
- Self-sufficient water systems: when it comes to water usage, most glasshouses can become self-sufficient if the right rainwater harvesting system is put in place.
- Optimised lighting levels: light is obviously the most critical component for indoor growing, but most commercial greenhouses rely solely on sunlight to maintain the right environment.
- Cooling technology: although this technology is used more sparingly by greenhouse growers, some do employ innovative cooling systems to achieve optimum air and circulation levels – creating the perfect growing environment for their produce.
- Strategic shading: commercial glasshouses can now create the perfect growing environment with a series of strategically-placed flame retardant screens to provide UV and thermal shading. Depending on the crop being grown, this could save up to 60% in energy consumption.
- Combined Heat & Power (CHP) systems: the heat which is generated onsite can be converted into energy to sell off, store or use to power the technology inside the glasshouse – through a specially-built Combined Heat & Power (CHP) system.
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