Greenhouses are typically constructed with glass, fiberglass, polycarbonate, acrylic panels, or polyethylene film. High-performance greenhouse coverings can maximize the amount of light that reaches plants and minimize energy costs by reducing operation of heating systems.

Presenters:

• Mohammad Shayestesh (AGC): High Performance Glass for Greenhouses
• Tim Shelford (Cornell University and Rutgers University): Sensing Lighting Where It Matters

Greenhouse construction affects crop yield and quality while offering energy efficiency and renewable energy benefits. Emerging technologies like agrivoltaic panels and energy curtains (climate screens) can enhance production and can be a sustainable solution for the prohibitive increasing energy costs in CEA.

• Marco Deleonardis (Freeman Herbs): Greenhouse Luminescent Photovoltaic Panels: A Sustainable Solution for the Increasing Energy Costs in CEA?
• Dr. Fadi Al-Daoud (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs): Effect of Light Abatement Curtains on the Greenhouse Environment

Energy curtains regulate temperature, manage light exposure, and provide energy savings for any size of greenhouse. Choose the right type of curtain, then operate energy curtains effectively with a strategy customized for your crop and location to achieve productivity and energy efficiency goals.

• Paul Arena (Svensson): Strategies for Maximizing Energy Efficiency and Crop Quality with Greenhouse Curtains
• Paul de Koning (Hoogendoorn): Achieving Perfect PAR

The types of greenhouse coverings and curtains used by growers affect the amount of light reaching the plant canopy. Employ the right type of supplemental light in the right amount at the right time with high-performance LED horticultural light fixtures and automated lighting controls and reap the benefits of lower energy costs.

• Bob Jones (Chef’s Garden): CEA at the Chef’s Garden
• Holly Counter Beaver (Finn and Roots): Operating a Deep Winter Greenhouse

There are more energy-efficient LED horticultural fixtures for commercial greenhouses on the market than ever before, and manufacturers offer a wide variety of light ‘recipes’ emphasizing different wavelengths of the light spectrum. Growers can use spectral treatments as part of an overall light management strategy to regulate plant development and quality characteristics.

• Sofia Carvalho (Plenty): Going Beyond Sunlight and the Solar Spectrum in CEA
• Colin Brice (Philips): Value Cases for Tailored LED Spectral Recipes

To maximize crop yield and quality, commercial specialty crop greenhouse growers can adapt operations using insights gained from researchers. Controlled experiments can uncover credible evidence of the ways spectral treatments impact food and floriculture crops.

• Neil Mattson (Cornell University): Sole Source vs Greenhouse Spectral Research
• Elsebeth Kolmos (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute): Measuring Plant Responses to Light Treatments