It is well-known that running a cannabis cultivation is very cost-intensive. Cannabis is way less forgiving than most ‘traditional’ crops such as tomatoes or peppers. “Operating costs for a cannabis greenhouse can be 4 or 5 times higher than for a tomato greenhouse,” says Vincent Stauffer with Hortinergy. “Consequentially, investment increases as well. Cooling and lighting costs are the biggest expenses, and of course these depend on the external climate conditions. When the climate is hot and dry, it is always possible to cool the grow down with fog or pad & fan, but in wet and hot conditions cooling and dehumidification get quite expensive and complex. This is the situation in which a greenhouse might get more expensive to operate than an indoor facility, as the latter is easier to cool down since you don’t have to deal with solar radiation.”
Simulating variables
That’s why Hortinergy has developed a software that supports growers, consultants and greenhouse builders in driving the energy operating cost down, thus increasing the overall efficiency of the cultivation by simulating climate and energy consumption of greenhouse project. “Hortinergy provides a software that simulates all the variables that factor into a cannabis greenhouse for any project all over the world,” Vincent explains. “In cannabis, Hortinergy simulates crop transpiration, lighting, temperature, and climate setting. Additionally, the software goes deeper into the energy demand, and accurately calculates how much energy a given setting consumes.”
Indeed, the software allows to compare different greenhouse settings, models, equipment and lighting systems to find the best design for given external climate conditions. “It allows you to model the energy consumption based on the type of greenhouse and the equipment. In the software, you have to insert the info about the greenhouse, including the location and the crop you are growing. “Then, the software gives you the report with the data about the whole year, providing a simulation of how a given greenhouse setting equipped with certain equipment performs in a specific scenario,” Vincent continues. “On top of this, you can run the simulation with different settings, and eventually com pare all the scenarios with each other on both a technical and economic level. It is very useful during the design process or to assess feasibility of new equipment”
Increasing greenhouse trend
It goes without saying that such a technology can provide growers in the process of designing and setting up their cannabis greenhouse a huge peace of mind. “This is especially important as of now, since we have been witnessing a growing greenhouse trend in the industry, with an increasing number of growers recognizing the quality of cannabis greenhouse growing,” Vincent points out. “Generally speaking, greenhouse are cheaper to operate than indoor facilities, but the former can quickly become quite costly if all the variables are not taken deeply into consideration. Thanks to the Hortinergy software, you can do that, and be sure during the design process that your greenhouse is well poised to be efficient and thus profitable.”
