Guelph ON , 10 April 2025 – warmth expiration is a significant problem for nursery agriculturist during the winter months . Plants transpire during photosynthesis , cause humidness build - up in the greenhouse , so vent are open to take in cold , juiceless atmosphere , resulting in heat loss .
This has led Flowers Canada ( Ontario ) Inc. to set in motion a research project to evaluate different solutions to scale down greenhouse vim intake .
“ Dehumidification come up time and fourth dimension again as a solution for the sector , ” says Dr. Jeanine West , the organization ’s Environmental Specialist . “ With most growers heat their nursery with natural gas , a technology that cut down fossil fuel consumption could be really worthful . ”
The research team includes West , Dr. Jingjing Han of FCO , and Dr. Ann Huber with Soil Resource Group .
With funding from the Greenhouse Renewable Energy Technologies ( GRET ) inquiry and development first step , four different engineering are being test at three dissimilar facilities for their potential drop to cut fogey fuel use of goods and services – and by extension , greenhouse gas emission – during the peak greenhouse use period of fall through other springiness .
These include a mechanically skillful dehumidification system , a liquid desiccant dehumidifier that runs humid air past a brine result to engross the moisture and then stir up the seawater to renew it , and a heat recovery air interchange ventilation system that is located outside the nursery and warms up the cool , dry atmosphere as it embark the installation .
A flush greenhouse is fly all three organization in adjacent zone , and a newly construct herb greenhouse is essay mechanical and fluent desiccant dehumidification in side by side zone alongside a similarly - sized controller zone . Both locations are in the Niagara area .
The fourth applied science is called State Point Liquid Desiccant , a prototype that combines the liquid desiccant approach with heat energy rally into a single system . It ’s currently being trialed in a love apple production facility in Leamington , where some half the glasshouse is running the new arrangement and the other one-half is serving as a control zone .
grant to West , researcher also installed panoptic monitoring equipment that assess everything from how often the volcano are opened to how much electricity each dehumidification system habituate and how much moisture is extracted from the air .
Data collection is still underway - although one site has been in place since last declension , the two others were n’t up and black market until spring 2019 – so conclusive results will not be uncommitted until afterward this winter .
However , early results show that dehumidification is an effective way of combat humidness in a greenhouse surround , especially compared to the traditional method acting of but start the vents , while also decreasing vigour use and glasshouse gas emission .
“ The technologies demonstrated in this labor encourage Energy Department saving and lessen fossil fuel use by minimizing the amount of discharge required by greenhouses to manage humidity – that ’s because the heat generated by the steam boiler is not fall back , ” sound out West .
Optimal carrying out of these type of systems is seen once all-night temperature shed below 10C. Every greenhouse and every crop is unlike , though , so there is no single root that will work equally well for all agriculturalist .
“ To save energy , you have to reckon the whole mental process at your facility – how you apply a dehumidification system matter in damage of the benefit you will see , ” she say , contribute trials starting this crepuscle will centre on optimizing the equipment for the best benefits for agriculturist .
Although the research is still ongoing , West encourage agriculturist to consider the follow primal takeaways from the body of work to appointment :
circuit of the pilot burner facilities are be after for other winter .
For more information : Laura Feil , Agricultural Adaptation CouncilE[email protected]T : 519 - 822 - 7554 , ext 629
