Greenhouse as a source of energy

It is hot in the Netherlands! In Europe it has been over 40 degrees and in the Netherlands we have experienced temperatures of 37 degrees. These are extreme temperatures for the time of the year. Not the kind of weather a flower appreciates. Some flowers have a hard time and the greenhouses are overheated. We wanted to know what actually happens with that heat of the greenhouses. FloraPodium searched for answers and ended up with Ter Laak Orchids and Porta Nova.

In the Westland of the Netherlands, many innovative projects have already been realized concerning the use of surplus greenhouse heat. There is a residential area that uses solar heat from a greenhouse through an underground energy storage. These are often Semi-closed greenhouses. In a semi-closed greenhouse, solar heat is removed by cooling. The heat is stored in an open aquifer in the soil, also called Warmth Cold Storage, from 20 to 200 meters deep. In the winter, this heat is used to heat up the greenhouse. Only some greenhouses produce so much heat that they can heat entire residential areas in the winter. These are initiatives that you see more often in the vegetable’s greenhouses.

We would also like to tell you the story of Ter Laak Orchids, which uses light as a focal point to heat water. As a child we have all played with a magnifying glass in the sun. Then you created a focal point to, for example, burn your name in a piece of wood. The daylight greenhouse utilizes the same principle. Through special lenses in the roof of the greenhouse, the excess sunlight is centered on a tube with running water. The water is now heated and stored. This heat can be used directly or at a later time to heat the greenhouse. By using this system, Ter Laak can save 45-50% energy, without compromising plant quality.

Finally, we have a Example of the company Porta Nova. The new location of Porta Nova enables a hugh step towards energy-neutral cultivation. Heat is extracted from this greenhouse in the summer and stored in the ground. In the winter, this heat is used to keep the greenhouse at the required temperature. Hereby saving a lot of energy. Due to the heat extraction in the summer, they realize lower greenhouse temperatures in that period. In this way all the excess solar heat of the summer is used to heat the greenhouse in the winter. In that case, burning fossil fuels such as gas is no longer necessary to heat the greenhouse. There is even a huge surplus of heat that could be used to heat up to 3,000 homes.

These are all great examples that show the innovative nature of entrepreneurs in the Netherlands. They show how you can use heat for new, sustainable purposes.