How are your curtains?
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
Written by Morris Brink 
In the January 2009 issue of GPN, Kurt Parbst (President of LS USA Svensson) wrote an article called “Measuring for Curtains”. He parallels that while the new US president is measuring for new curtains in the White House, it might be a good time to be looking at your greenhouse to see how you can improve your growing environment and conserve energy. In that vein, TrueLeaf can help you.
Parbst says, “In plant production, that comes via automating labor-intensive processes and reducing the cost of space heating. Once you have identified the space that must be heated, investments should be considered for making heating economically efficient.” We agree 100%. One of the best ways to heat your plants is using bottom heat, the reason for the creation of the company called BioTherm almost 30 years ago. BioTherm tubing, now called MicroClimate tubing, has hot water running though it to provide the ideal root temperature for your plants.
After all, happy plants make happy growers, which make happy customers! And the result is more profits, hopefully.
There are many different ways to heat your plants. TrueLeaf Technologies prides itself in taking a systems approach for each of its customers, no matter what their size. By looking at a structure and the needs of the grower, the perfect growing environment can be created for the plants. What kind of heat do the plants need; do they need lights; what is the best way to irrigate them and what will the fuel sources be are some of the questions that need to be answered.
Today there are many fuels you can choose to produce your heat and, as Parbst said, there are “federal monies available, as well as state and utility-based programs. Some utilities are giving rebates of 20 to 25 percent and financing the investment on the monthly energy bill without finance charges.” This makes retrofitting existing energy eating structures into more efficient ones feasible to many growers. With the additional available funding, we have seen the payback period decrease to just a few years.
Parbst also said, “‘have you conducted an energy analysis to identify opportunities to reduce energy use?’ Once you know where the bulk of the energy is being allocated, you will know where to focus (your) efforts.” Trueleaf Technologies has been completing Energy Assessments to growers around the Nation. An Energy Assessment will show a grower benchmarks of where they are today and how best to unlock hidden profit dollars in their operation. The trained assessor not only looks at the heating components of the greenhouse, but all components including glazing, controls, irrigation, fertigation and labor.
Are you considering upgrading your heating system or do you want to know how efficient your current operation is? If so, don’t hesitate to call us now.
To read the article by Parbst in the January GPN issue, please click here: