003: Why Should I Consider a Hybrid Greenhouse Grow?
In our last blog, we considered the pros and cons of indoor grow facilities versus greenhouse grow facilities, but a third option has become increasingly popular as well: hybrid greenhouse grow facilities. A hybrid grow resolves many of the issues that have become apparent in current grow house facilities – it is the next frontier in sustainable, high-efficiency architectural design.
Image Credit: Ceres
What is a Hybrid Greenhouse Grow?
A hybrid greenhouse grow is the link between indoor grow’s high degree of control and a traditional greenhouse grow’s low operation cost. More, it does what both of these do with a higher degree of efficiency thanks to its design around the environment.
Greenhouse grows are a cost-conscious, environmentally sound design for cannabis cultivation. The biggest problem that facilities have to deal with is their reliance on natural light. In sunnier climates, this is rarely an issue – greenhouse grow facilities can leverage these conditions to produce high results at low cost. But in some climates, particularly those that are subject to dark daylight hours and snowfall, traditional greenhouse grows might see less harvests throughout the year.
Indoor grow facilities are designed specifically to leverage climate controlling technology to maintain ideal conditions for cannabis growth. These facilities can be built virtually anywhere, but as they do not rely on external conditions, they carry enormous expenses and a large carbon footprint. Traditional greenhouses can save between 50-90% on energy costs compared to an indoor growroom.
Hybrid greenhouse grows use a mixture of environmental factors and technology to promote maximum efficiency at minimal operating costs. Because these environments are fully sealed, they are protected from contaminants like hemp pollen that can dramatically decrease the value of cannabis, while providing an ideal growing environment throughout the year.
Ceres: A Pioneer in Innovative Greenhouse Design
Our partner, Ceres Greenhouse Solutions, leverages cutting-edge materials and technology to create an ideal growing environment for cannabis while mitigating the costs that are typically associated with similar facilities. Their hybrid greenhouses can be built in virtually any climate, and provides long-term gains with easy options for expansion. What makes their cannabis facility design different?
EcoLoop™
Ceres’ EcoLoop™ uses geothermal energy transfer to replace both the traditional HVAC system and dehumidifying systems, saving more than 60% on energy costs that a traditional greenhouse grow has to manage. The EcoLoop™ is built out of two components: a ground source heat pump and a ground loop.
While greenhouses can get incredibly hot (up to 180 degrees Fahrenheit), the earth tends to remain at a steady temperature. Heat can be transferred from the greenhouse into heat pumps that pump fluid underground to wick moisture and heat out of the air. During the winter, this process is essentially reversed. Phase change is when a material changes from a gas to liquid or liquid to solid, etc., not just for transfer of energy as is the case with GSHP’s; this allows heat to be stored like a battery and work through the day and night, relying on natural systems to regulate heat and humidity.
Because the EcoLoop™ is installed underneath the growhouse, it results in substantially less infrastructure overhead, and allows a larger amount of light to reach growing plants.
Phase change is when a material changes from a gas to liquid or liquid to solid, etc., not just for transfer of energy as is the case with GSHP’s
SunSense™
Ceres’ SunSense™ Controller is a temperature and humidity regulating system designed around the EcoLoop™ system. It automatically regulates ideal growing conditions (VPD) with minimal energy input.
SunSense™ is a predictive controller: it analyzes weather forecast conditions and makes determinations around the environment based on this information. It is also an enthalpy-based controller – rather than simply changing the temperature of a room to create an ideal cannabis growth environment, it can activate a fogging system to adjust the thermodynamics of the room.
Rather than having to manually adjust conditions of a grow house, SunSense™ is able to use predictive measures to create and sustain a perfect growth environment.
Sunchamber™
The Sunchamber™ is a completely sealed greenhouse facility equipped with Ceres’ cutting-edge technology and design. With the inclusion of both the EcoLoop™ and SunSense™, the Sunchamber™ offers astounding benefits to cannabis growth operations.
· Passive solar design principles are used to determine site of building
· Maximizes light harvesting results in 90% light transmission and 50-80% more sunlight in winter months compared to traditional greenhouse grows.
· Glazing materials are selected to transmit full light spectrum, including UV light responsible for maximum plant growth and deterring pest pressure.
· Roof pitch optimizes solar exposure and reduces solar gain
The Case for Hybrid Greenhouse Grows
A hybrid greenhouse grow hits the sweet spot between capital expenses and operation expenses: while it is more expensive to build than a traditional greenhouse, your savings will increase the longer that you operate it.
Energy consumption (x1000kWh/yr)
Thanks to predictive technologies and innovations in greenhouse design, cannabis facilities design is at the dawn of a new era. Is your business primed and ready for the future? At MerJ Architecture, we are proudly partnered with Ceres in the design of cannabis grow house facilities, and implement their technology into our own architecture.
How can we help your business become a leader in a growing industry? Contact us today to learn more about our services.