In the West of Netherlands in the heat of the flowering zone, a revolutionary greenhouse is being established and is taking its final shape. This greenhouse is equipped with modern heating and cooling technology, environmental care work, and groundwater aquifers for the cultivation of orchard soon.
The establishment of this orchid is legendary work and is most famous among the top flowers of the world for its elegance and beauty. Its looks are good like that of wine, but its establishment and development are taking a long time, but once it will reach to its full bloom, it will enchant the admiration for a period of many months.
For centuries, the concept of tropical orchid was only for the royal orchids and courts but suddenly, at the ending years of the 20th century, the transition of royal orchid was made possible for everyday life. Due to modern cultivation and growing techniques, the production is made more sparked and feasible in a fashion to show off no abating sign.
Quickly the Dutch became dominant leaders in the world of production of exotic flowers as they had expertise in the cultivation and impressive skills for infrastructure. The Netherlands is a well-known country for the cultivation of flowers, particularly a hub for flower growing Aalsmeer that is a well-known town located in the south of renowned city Amsterdam.
One of the important enterprises in the city of glass is standing out from the rest and is just not for its customized size. Handels-kwekerij Van der Weijden that is equipped with the growing surface of about 90,000 square meters is the largest growing orchard. But its association with the greenhouse is quite spectacular due to its revolutionary control system about climate.
Van der Weijden who is well known as the first orchid grower applied the concept of closed greenhouse system and this concept was then patented by the Frans van Zaal Totaal Techniek. The managing director named Lennard van der Weijden did many improvements in this system and his grandfather has already established a company in 1948. This statement was given by the Handels-kwekerij Van der Weijden while he was concentrating on the concept of orchid especially on the most popular Phalaenopsis variety since the year 1971.
He said that the past few years were of major expansion for the business. Due to the ever increased demands of their flowers, much extra space is a requirement. Because of this reason an excellent opportunity was created for the implementation of the latest technologies for controlling the climate. They are aware of a new technology that is employing groundwater for the storage of cold or heat, which is much beneficial for cutting the gas expenses for the heating system, with the provision of the most stable environment in the greenhouse system.
Traditionally, in the Netherlands, the gas is used for heating the greenhouses and a significant amount of gas is used for this purpose. Although good reserves of natural gas are present in the Netherlands, the burning of fossils is getting unpopular from the perspectives of environmental quality due to the release of carbon dioxide gas during the burning process. Therefore, the burning of fuel is an exciting prospect.
The closed greenhouse systems of Frans van Zaal are mainly focused to achieve this aim but they are also intended to store the excessive heat of summer that can be used in the winter conditions and thus it will be directly helpful for cutting the expenses associated with the use of energy for the heating system.
Investment of No Gas Heating System Always Pays Off
The commercial director of Frans and Zaal, Gerard Peek, has introduced the long duration and customized Lennard van der Weijden to the main idea. He said that they have installed a new system whose results are extremely promising. But fairly, this system is expensive for installing in the already existing greenhouses as there is a proper need for the radical rearrangement of the interior. Due to the instalment of this system in the existing greenhouses, the additional cost is dispensed.
The rows of budding orchids are endless in the new greenhouse of Van der Weijden’s. Literally, the peek is having the entire system of heat exchange under his feet. The cooling and heating system is comprising of various rows consisting of ventilators and convectors whose entire length can be stretched to a length of about 180 m. It is covered with a double setup of metal grids like that of catwalks.
Van der Weijden is well known for its growing innovations and he is eager enough for the embracement of this concept and certainly, it is also paying off. On the other hand, the investment is also high but there is a huge expectation for earning back in a maximum of about eight years. He said that that they are running of this concept for less than a year but it seems like the payment is already less for this energy system as compare to the predicted amount. Due to the capability and efficiency of this system, more than a million cubic gas is saved in one year. Resultantly, the carbon dioxide emissions of about 2 million kg per year are reduced. Anyone who sincerely cares about the clean up of the environment can rely on this system.
Peek also said that there are some more advantages of this system for controlling the climate in greenhouse conditions. Traditionally, in the greenhouses, the concept of climate control was only for the winters but just like central heating that is commonly used at the homes the opening of gas burners is possible for starting the dropping off of the temperature. Many opportunities have been created due to this development and it favors the cultivation of crops throughout the year. Later, the system can also be used for cooling in the summer. This system ensures much control of the climate in the summer conditions. But obviously, for both systems, the cost of energy is always associated. Even a better system has been developed by the utilization of groundwater as energy buffers where there is the distribution of cooling and heating in a much efficient way throughout the greenhouse system.
Smaller Ventilators
In the old greenhouse systems, huge air exchangers for heat are offered which are supplied with many fans that are hanging on the outside of ceilings. A drawback of this system is that there is droning and irritating noise and sometimes it may not be efficient enough for heating the top layers of air. Additionally, they are also casting the shadows on the crops that are an unwanted aspect of this system.
To overcome this situation a new system is installed at the rooting level. For this purpose, various smaller ventilators are used for producing cold or hot air. In this system, the air is conditioned at the plant level. The old heat exchanging units were using nine watts per square meter, but the new system is only using one watt per square meter. It is one of the various aspects of energy saving in the closed concept of the greenhouse system.
The network of air and heat exchanges is a major component of the marvellous system produced by the alpha Laval’s and it has been acquired recently by the Dutch company Helpman. This company is selling many kinds of heat exchanging units for greenhouses and is significantly having good relationships with the leading companies. When the concept of a controlled greenhouse system becomes feasible then many companies have started working together for the development of an efficient practical system.
The project of Van der Weijden has involved the installation of the closed system of greenhouse in the brand-new place of about 1500 square meters, along with the refurbishing of about 22,000 square meters in the existing greenhouses that have been running since 2007.
For the management of greenhouses, many kinds of systems are available including the automated processes and for the transportation of plants. Many systems are under construction and they are expected to reach the maximum potential this year. Once the management in the greenhouses system is the company is hopeful for delivering its 75,000 orchids of higher quality in Europe.
Van der Weijden said that he is much glad to announce that productivity is significantly growing at a faster rate.
Favorable Aspects of Greenhouse
Traditionally, in the Netherlands, the greenhouses are heated by using the gas boilers, and if somehow the temperature is getting too high then it can be regulated just by opening the windows. In the past years, the buzzword has been used in the horticultural system for closed greenhouse systems.
The new concept is focused on using groundwater as a system for heat buffering. In the summer season, there is much focus on the harvesting of heat by using the heat exchangers and then this harvested heat can be used for heating the groundwater. After heating, there is pumping of groundwater back to the aquifers where there is retention of heat. In the winter conditions, there is pumping of water back to the surface that is then used for heating the greenhouses. In this way, the greenhouses can retain much more heat as compared to the gas system and is efficient enough for bringing the right temperature. This system entirely governs the climate of the greenhouse.
The placement of this system is in the rows at the rooting level and is between the growing tables. The ventilators can blow the cold or warm air for about 6 meters to plant roots. This system ensures the precise control of the climate of the greenhouse and guarantees the best quality orchids. Due to the closed windows, the chances of airborne diseases are reduced so the use of herbicides is virtually eliminated. Due to the use of this efficient system, the use of gas boilers has been eliminated. Because of the efficiency of this system, the surplus amount of energy is yielded and finally, the best greenhouse effect is generated that is helpful for the growth of plants.