Crop production and quality in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) facilities is dependent on the performance of the HVAC systems to maintain target environmental conditions. Growing crops in greenhouses involves using HVAC equipment to minimize pest, disease, mold, and fungus issues and maximize consistent yields. The crops you grow - food, floriculture, or cannabis - and your greenhouse location and construction influence your environmental control strategies. Understand the process application for your HVAC systems to choose efficient products, reduce energy use and operating costs for resilient greenhouses, and maximize incentives from your local utilities and efficiency programs.
Topical areas include:
How CEA Crops Use Air and Moisture
Benefits of High-Performance HVAC Systems for Greenhouses
CEA HVAC System Types
Optimizing HVAC System Design
Maximizing Financial Incentives for CEA HVAC Equipment
Energy Loads and Equipment Sizing
HVAC Best Practices for Greenhouses
Controls & Automation in Greenhouse Cultivation
Commissioning CEA HVAC Systems
Benchmarking HVAC System KPIs
Target audience:
Cultivators
Operations & Facility Staff
Design & Construction Partners
Property Owners
Utility & Government Representatives
| Funded with support from: |  |
Keith Coursin is the president of Desert Aire LLC, a Milwaukee-based manufacturer of integrated environmental control systems including GrowAire™ Systems for the cannabis cultivation industry. In addition to his duties at Desert Aire, Mr. Coursin served in 2009 as chairman of the board of directors of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). He has also served on numerous AHRI committees. Mr. Coursin is also a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Keith Coursin’s efforts to drive market-based solutions that promote resource efficiency include development of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Model Aquatic Health Code as well as ANSI/ACCA standards detailed in the CDC’s HVAC Design for Swimming Pools & Spas (Manual SPS).
Rob has over 30 years of experience in plant growth facility management, plant research and commercial production. At Purdue University, he brought online and managed a computer- controlled 40,000 ft 2 research facility, made up of 25 greenhouses and over 60 growth chambers and grow rooms. He was responsible for hundreds of CEA studies involving flowering, food and medicinal species. He served on design teams for greenhouse projects and one of the first automated machine-vision phenotyping centers in the country. In his consulting role, he supported major hydroponic produce growers AeroFarms and Bright Farms; Big Ag companies Dow AgroSciences, Novozymes and Indigo Ag; and several cannabis operations including Clade9. He wrote cultivation plans for cannabis licenses awarded in Missouri and West Virginia.
Rob’s protocols for optimizing greenhouse production have been downloaded over 70,000 times in 104 countries. He participated in the publication, A Practical Guide to Containment: Plant Biosafety in Research Greenhouses, recognized throughout the world as a primary resource for safe production of genetically modified crops. In 2016, he was a member of the International Committee for Controlled Environment Guidelines that published Guidelines for Measuring and Reporting Environmental Parameters for Experiments in Greenhouse Facilities, the seminal document of quality assurance protocols for plant science research.
In his free time, Rob enjoys gardening, growing microgreens under LEDs, baking and winning croquet matches against his three grown children.
