Ins and outs of new greenhouse D.C. van Geest

Another Havecon greenhouse equipped with the latest technologies of Stolze Installatietechniek. In a short time a new greenhouse of 19,000 m² was built at the existing location of D.C. van Geest Potplanten at the Galgeweg in 's-Gravenzande. The plans were made at the beginning of 2017 and construction started in August. Now, almost half a year later, part of the greenhouse has already been taken into use and it is expected that the entire greenhouse will be full of Phalaenopsis plants by the end of the year. The new greenhouse is used for the propagation of the plants.

Sustainability is of paramount importance at D.C. van Geest and we are working on the organic cultivation of Phalaenopsis. The new greenhouse is full of technical innovations to be able to grow here as sustainably as possible.

For example, use is made of the SDM (Stolze Cloth Measurement) system. The screen cloths are measured by means of a measurement on the shaft of the motor. But the position of the canvas is not always the same as the position of the axle. That is why Stolze designed a digital screen distance measurement (SDM), mounted on the screen itself. As a result, the climate computer knows exactly which position the fabric has and the gaps of the screen fabric can be adjusted very accurately.

For D.C. van Geest, Stolze has developed a customized water technical installation that is centrally controlled with the Priva Connext computer. By working with a main and subsystem it is possible to water more efficiently and faster. Instead of one main pipe, two pipes are used in this system. A pipeline for irrigation water and a pipeline for the outflower. Because there are two pipes, casting can be completed more quickly. This ensures shorter drying time and energy savings. The installed Priva Vialux ensures maximum reuse of the drain water.

The high-pressure spray for the various nurseries with one unit is also centrally controlled from the new greenhouse. The completely stainless steel Danfoss pumps are designed in such a way that the moving parts are lubricated by their own water, an oil lubrication is therefore not necessary. All parts are designed to provide a long service life with consistently high efficiency, which requires a minimum of service.

For the assimilation lighting, Hortilux 1.000 Watt / 400V luminaires were chosen. With the help of the Hortisense Hortilux dashboard, D.C. van Geest has an overview of the lighting of all nurseries at a glance. By means of PAR light sensors in the greenhouse, the amount of light shining on the crop in one day is measured. This data is used to calculate how much is to be illuminated. With these insights much more efficient lighting can be highlighted, leading to substantial energy savings.