Greenhouse construction in Iceland requires a slightly different type of expertise, than greenhouse construction in the Netherlands. In Iceland, there is geothermal heat, which you can use in greenhouse construction.
The water boils upwards and is around 90 to 100 degrees Celsius. Geothermal heat like this is cleverly used in greenhouse construction. The heating system that is being placed consists of a variety of tubes that run throughout the greenhouse. A pump is connected to the water that boils up outside.
The greenhouse gets heated this way without the need for a boiler. A circular system is not used. Why? “There is plenty of warm water,” says Vincent van den Dool of T.C. v.d. Dool.
One of the projects in Iceland
T.C. v.d. Dool has built two small greenhouses in Iceland. “A shortage of warm water will not be happening any time soon. What is a challenge, however, is the short amount of daylight. With only 4 hours of light a day in winter, you will need to keep the lights on all winter long.” Despite that, they cultivate year-round in Iceland.
Smaller greenhouses
The greenhouses, made by T.C. v.d. Dool, are a lot smaller than the ones we are used to in the Netherlands, as Iceland doesn’t export. “When you export from an island, products quickly become more expensive. A small greenhouse provides enough for the growers, and they get paid a fair amount for their products.”
The project in Iceland, as seen from above
Icelandic standard
T.C. v.d. Dool has sold two projects in Iceland. The first project is currently running in Fludir, a small town in the southwestern region of Iceland. “We arranged 2150 m2 worth of expansion there. Soon, cucumbers will be placed in the greenhouse. The inside of the greenhouse is coated completely white. The greenhouse is designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 35.5 meters per second, which is a lot but is needed for the greenhouse to meet the Icelandic standard,” says Vincent.
The people of T.C. v.d. Dool remain in Iceland to continue with their next project. Flying back home is not an option because if they decide to return to Iceland from the Netherlands, they would have to stay in quarantine for at least six days. For this reason, they will remain in Iceland and start working on the second project in Varmalandi, which consists of a 1200 m2 expansion.
“In order to meet the Icelandic standard, the standard section size of the project is decreased by 3 meters. The roof consists of 75-centimeter wide glass panes. The greenhouse will be used for cucumber cultivation. We expect to finish the project at the beginning of October.”
For more information:
T.C. v.d. Dool
Vincent van den Dool
www.tcvddool.nl
info@tcvddool.nl