Monitor and Control Energy Use to Improve Your Bottom Line
Indoor CEA farms hold the unique advantage of being able to stagger production cycles or even reverse light/dark periods to avoid costly peak usage hours. Even greenhouses that require sunlight can manage peak loads, thanks to new technology from the horticulture and renewable energy markets. Seasoned growers will share their tips for crop scheduling and for reducing lighting energy through smart controls. Greenhouse shade and thermal curtains will be discussed for their ability to lessen cooling load in daytime and heating loads at night. Participants in this seminar will learn how to prepare for outages, from where they can borrow free energy monitoring tools, and the selection, installation and maintenance of energy-saving equipment. Experts on on-site renewable systems will discuss the pros and cons of solar and battery storage systems. Incentive programs and the role of established industrial park sites and energy brokers will be discussed.
Topical areas include:
Energy Monitoring Tool Lending Programs
Staggering crop schedules to reduce peak load
Climate control systems programming for efficiency
On-site solar systems
On-site battery storage systems
Planning for outages
Utility incentives
Selection, maintenance and troubleshooting of on-site renewables
Energy brokers
Learning Objectives:
Understand when energy is most expensive and how to avoid these periods
Understand concepts of using climate control to improve efficiency
Learn to assess the renewable energy sources and their incentive programs
Learn effective planning for utility interconnections and outages
Target audience:
Cultivators
Operations & Facility Staff
Design & Construction Partners
Property Owners
Utility & Government Representatives
| Funded with support from: |  |
| California Efficient Yields PG&E Workshop 4: Managing Peak Loads and Renewables in CEA (8.8 MB) | Download | ||
As Engineering & Operations Manager at RII, Carmen managing activities related to PowerScore expansion and development, coordinating logistics associated with Technical Advisory Council activities, and technical activities of the team.
Carmen has a mechanical engineering degree from Rochester Institute of Technology. While climbing wind turbines in the mountains of Vermont, she got her certification as a passive house consultant and further cultivated her passion for resource efficiency in the built environment, leading her to RII.
