002: Cannabis Cultivation Methodology

The Pros and Cons of Indoor Grow vs. Greenhouse Grow

When you’re looking to start up your cannabis cultivation facilities, one of the first questions you should ask is the kind of operation you are looking to build. The decision between an indoor grow and a greenhouse grow isn’t as simple as you might think: depending on your business model, there are good reasons for both.

This blog considers the benefits and drawbacks to both indoor grow facilities and greenhouse grow facilities, and why a business owner might choose either. Growers should consider the costs associated with building a facility compared with both short- and long-term goals.

Indoor Grow vs. Greenhouse Grow Quality

Among industry experts, the question of cannabis quality is a topic of fierce debate. Some growers believe that greenhouse facilities, drawing directly from the sun rather than from artificial lighting, is the best way to grow cannabis. While direct sunlight provides more lumens than indoor lighting, advances in grow technology are bridging this gap.

Others prefer the level of control that an indoor grow provides, and argue that it makes for a more consistent product. In an indoor facility, the environment is much easier to manipulate, allowing businesses a greater degree of control over the genetics, growing conditions, and traits. For growers looking to provide cannabis with specific traits, indoor grows tend to provide the greatest degree of consistency.

Indoor grow evangelists suggest that having complete control over their environment provides the highest quality of cannabis. However, greenhouse grow operations have begun leveraging many of the same tools that indoor grow facilities have. Hybrid greenhouses, a newer type of facility that leverage both the advantages of indoor grows and greenhouse grows, have been gaining in popularity for this reason.

Selling Price of Cannabis

While the quality of cannabis grown in indoor grow facilities tends to be higher than those in greenhouse facilities, the price per pound of both remains largely the same. This means that despite the fact that indoor grow facilities tend to produce flowers with higher levels of cannabinoids, the end result essentially costs the same as a greenhouse grow.

If price is negligible, does quality matter? Many large-scale growers prioritize quantity over quality, yet as the market grows, prioritizing a higher degree of quality may benefit your business in the long term as the market grows more saturated.

Marketing should also be considered as a factor. The way cannabis is grown can impact the ways that they are sold. Much in the way many prefer organic food over GMOs, many customers prefer cannabis that is grown through direct sunlight rather than that which is grown indoors. Given that greenhouse grows are much more environmentally friendly, this can play a large factor in the sale of your product.

Production Costs

Greenhouse facilities rely on environmental factors like sunlight to grow their products – while humidity may be controlled more carefully than an outdoor grow, not having to use artificial lighting can provide immense savings. On average, it costs about $100-200 less per pound for cannabis grown in a greenhouse facility versus that of an indoor grow facility.

Given that the wholesale price difference in cannabis between indoor grow facilities and greenhouse facilities is essentially negligible, this can often be the determining factor between what kind of facility a business chooses to go with. For growers who are environmentally conscious, the carbon footprint of an indoor grow tends to be much higher.

Seasonal Impact and Environment

While greenhouse grow facilities tend to be less expensive to operate, they are also dependent on the environment they are grown out of. Because greenhouse facilities rely on natural lighting to grow their product, operations may be limited by certain seasons, which limits the number of harvests compared to indoor grows.

Further, traditional greenhouse facilities may be equally as expensive as indoor grows in some regions that are looking to control humidity. Heat dispersion in colder environments can also add expenses to cultivators, as doing this in a greenhouse can be cost-prohibitive.

Hybrid Grow Structures: Linking Indoor Grow and Greenhouse Grow Operations

An indoor grow facility provides the highest degree of control, and can grow year-round. Conversely, operations tend to be far more expensive, and the selling price difference between indoor grows and greenhouses is negligible. Yet full control over the environment allows cannabis to be grown practically anywhere.

Greenhouse grow facilities rely on natural sunlight, limiting where these operations can be built and produce fewer yields per year. But operating expenses are significantly cheaper for those who can leverage this.

There are good arguments for using either type of grow house, but a third option is becoming increasingly popular: the hybrid greenhouse. A hybrid grow takes the best features of both kinds of operations, not only providing businesses with high performance, but decreased operations expenses over time thanks to highly insulated materials, geothermal energy, reduced ventilation, and cutting-edge lighting technologies.

Ceres Sunchamber™: Hybrid Grow in Action

The Ceres Sunchamber™ reduces or eliminates many of the problems that traditional greenhouse grow operations contend with by incorporating the best design practices with environmental controls that allows for year-round even in climates that would normally disallow for effective greenhouse growth. It pairs precision control with energy efficiency.

A “specialized sunlit environment” uses passive solar design principles, resulting in 50-80% more sunlight in the winter months. Glazing materials are chosen to transmit the full light spectrum, maximizing light most responsible for plant growth and minimizing pest pressure. It is less expensive than a traditional indoor grow, and operating expenses shrink with each passing year.

Ceres Greenhouse Solutions is a trusted partner of MerJ Architecture, bringing the same level of innovation and imagination that we bring to our own projects. If you’re looking to build a facility of your own, MerJ Architecture can help. Contact us today for more information.