Finnish grower recoups the energy stored in excess humidity
Finnish herb grower Erno Laukkrainen from Nurmitarhat in from of the Ventilated Latent heat Converter
The growers at Nurmitarhat are always driven by a focus on quality and continuous improvement of the production. They use high level greenhouse technology inside their modern production facilities. One of these technologies is the energy-saving Ventilated Latent Heat Converter (VLHC) from Israeli company Agam.
At Nurmitarhat, the VLHC from Agam extracts humid air from inside the greenhouse, optionally along with fresh air. The machines convert the vapor into water and heat by blowing the air through a matrix of desiccant-filled elements in a compact cooling tower. In this process, vapor condensation naturally warms up the desiccant, and this heat is released by the unit into the greenhouse as warm, dry air. By doing so, the VLHC thus efficiently converts the latent heat stored in the water vapor to usable heat; a welcome by-product in the cold-climate greenhouse, dramatically reducing energy consumption.
Grower Erko Laukkrainen of Nurmitarhat decided to install this technology when he saw that his crop suffered from quality problems due to the high humidity levels inside the greenhouse. In order to drive the humidity out, he had to open his windows quite often, something that also resulted in energy spills, as a lot of heat also escaped from the greenhouse during the venting. Now the VLHC drives the humidity out, while the grower can recoup the energy stored in the warm humid air, which would normally disappear. This not only resulted in less energy spills and a lower humidity, but also in a reduction of pests and diseases caused by excess humidity in the greenhouses, as the plants thrive better in a slightly dryer climate.
For more information:
Agam Greenhouse Energy Systems Ltd.
Chaim Edelman
chaim@agam-energy.com
Tel. +972-8-9403050
Fax.+972-8-9403232
www.agam-greenhouses.com
www.agam-energy.com