Crop production and quality in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) greenhouses 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 lighting 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 your local utilities and efficiency programs: |  |
 |
 |
| Michigan Efficient Yields: Greenhouse Optimization - Aligning Your Systems with Your Surroundings (29.4 MB) | Download |
Rob Hanifin is a climate consultant with Ludvig Svensson’s American subsidiary. He focuses on technical support to greenhouse growers in using their curtains to help optimize their greenhouse climate. He also provides service and guidance to growers as part of Svensson’s Climate House offerings. Rob joined Svensson in January 2017, when he was based in Oregon. He moved to Michigan in 2019, and is now better positioned to support growers throughout the Midwest US and Ontario, as well as provide support for Svensson’s sales team. Overall, Rob has over ten years experience in CEA.
As Technical Manager for the DLC’s Horticultural Lighting Program, Kasey Holland leads all strategic planning, direction and development of the DLC’s Horticultural Lighting Technical Requirements. After studying and working as a graduate student research assistant at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s (RPI) Lighting Research Center, Kasey’s desire to work for a mission-driven organization and interest in product development led him to join the DLC where he informs quality of light topics for the DLC’s Solid-State Lighting Program focusing primarily on spectral quality considerations. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from Stephen F. Austin State University and earned a Master’s in Lighting at RPI and is a member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers’ ES-310 Ag Lighting Group and the Illuminating Engineering Society’s Horticulture Lighting and Color committees.
Gretchen is a professional engineer who has spent the past five years optimizing controlled environment agriculture operations for resource efficiency and productivity. Schimelpfenig earned a B.S. in Architectural Engineering from the University of Wyoming and an M.S. in Civil Engineering, Sustainable Design & Construction with a concentration in energy from Stanford University. Her diverse professional experience includes time spent commissioning commercial buildings, designing utility energy efficiency programs, and helping businesses like the University of Vermont and the City of Burlington benchmark their resource consumption. She specializes in analyzing the operation of building systems for cultivation facilities and helps the members of RII’s Utility Working Group reach cultivators with their financial incentives and technical assistance.
She has consulted across the U.S. on efficiency program design for controlled environment agriculture (CEA), and has published papers on benchmarking and high-performance technologies with ACEEE, ASABE, and USGBC. Gretchen has presented at conferences for industry organizations including ACEEE, AESP, ASHRAE, EUCI, MEEA, and IES.
She works directly with the DesignLights Consortium to increase the adoption of third-party certification of horticultural building systems. Gretchen also represents RII on several industry committees developing standards for CEA including the ASABE PAFS-30 (Plant Systems Group), ES-300 (Electrical Utilization & Energy Group), and ES-310 (Agricultural Lighting Group), ASHRAE Technical Committee 2.2 (Plant and Animal Environments), ASTM Committee D37 on Cannabis, IES Horticultural Lighting Subcommittee, and Task Group 1 of the UL 3600 Scorecard for Measuring and Reporting Circular Economy Aspects of Products, Sites and Organizations.
Gretchen raises houseplants and cats in her Vermont farmhouse and enjoys foraging for ramps, fiddleheads, and mushrooms when she isn’t skiing, biking, or knitting.
