As the cannabis industry is expanding, the importance of controlling the indoor climate has been increasing as well. “As cannabis is becoming legal in more states and countries, we’ve seen an influx of new producers which has caused the competition to go up,” explains Josh Spalding, Sales Engineer, Quest. “Good environmental control is the key to staying ahead of the game because it ensures that you can consistently produce a quality product.” Quest is a US-based company that offers a wide range of environmental control equipment.
Indoor and hybrid greenhouse environments experience extreme heat and moisture loads along with external elements such as airborne dirt, pests, and mold spores. An unstable indoor climate can result in poor plant health which leaves them susceptible to pests or diseases such as powdery mildew and bud rot. These issues can result in losing an entire harvest. Having a properly sized dehumidification system acts as a safeguard against these problems and mitigates the risks they pose to a facility, Spalding explains.
Josh Spalding
Energy efficiency
The entire cultivation process is very energy intensive and the equipment which cools, heats, or dehumidifies the space is a large part of this consumption. As more legalization occurs, Quest is observing local governments begin to implement stricter energy efficiency codes around climate control equipment.
“This illustrates the importance of growers taking energy efficiency into consideration when choosing their dehumidification products,” says Josh Spalding. “Quest recognizes this need and has developed the most efficient dehumidifiers in the industry.”
Industry growth and competition
“The demand for our dehumidifiers has been rapidly increasing, as the industry is getting more competitive and developing more advanced growing techniques,” says Josh Spalding. “We can trace our first sale to a cannabis customer back to 2006. After that, we really started to explore what our products could do for this market.” Since then, cannabis has become one of the largest segments of their business.
Beyond efficiency, Quest has strived to provide reliable equipment that is backed by excellent customer service. “In the early days of indoor growing, many cannabis growers were utilizing affordably made equipment that wasn’t efficient or reliable. Plants are growing 24/7 every day of the year so it is imperative that the equipment works. Otherwise, a cultivator could face an expensive product loss as a consequence. We recognized not only the need for efficiency, but also the need for industrial grade equipment that could do the job well. In addition, we provide not only consultation to our customers before a purchase, but also provide fast, quality service once they have the equipment installed to ensure they can keep their operation running at maximum efficiency,” says Josh Spalding.
Plan ahead
Spalding mentions that cultivators designing a new facility oftentimes leave the dehumidification as one of the last steps. “Generally, they take a ‘one step at a time’ approach. They start with the building design, then move on to the lights, then the irrigation, etc. The final step is often determining how much dehumidification is needed. However, sometimes there is little to no room left and it is difficult to find space for the dehumidifiers. As soon as you begin to plan a facility, I recommend bringing us into the conversation and taking an integrated design approach to ensure we maximize the effectiveness of your climate control system - it’s never too early to reach out to us.”
For more information:
Quest
Josh Spalding
jspalding@questclimate.com
www.questclimate.com