The greenhouses at Cympha Orchids in Bleiswijk, the Netherlands, are in full production by mid-January, with millions of orchids thriving on the benches. Above them, LED lights and dehumidification units create the ideal growing environment. This combination of LED lighting and dehumidification is increasingly being recognized by growers for its effectiveness. Ivo Biemond, the owner of the 1.6-hectare nursery, also saw its potential. A few years ago, he took the initiative to develop his own custom dehumidification system to enhance the growth conditions for his orchids.
"If I'm going to do something, I make sure to figure it out thoroughly," he says as we walk through his nursery, which is also a trial location for Bimco Holland. Bimco Holland is a young company that has focused on conservation technology for greenhouse horticulture.
Today, the company has both dehumidification systems and LED lights in its product range. Systems for air and water disinfection will be added later this year, says Joost de Goeij, who is responsible for sales at Bimco Holland. At GreenTech Amsterdam, where Bimco Holland has a stand, he will be able to tell more about this.
Joost de Goeij of Bimco Holland and Ivo Biemond of Cympha Orchids.
Compact
The dehumidification system offered by Bimco Holland is different from known systems on the market. Grower Ivo was looking for a system that suited his needs and finally decided to develop a unit himself. "Bimco Holland's units are compact, and we place them at the top of the greenhouse. I'm not a fan of working with trunks; that blocks light. With these compact units, we limit light loss. The power consumption is also low."
Bimco Holland now has units in different sizes on the market. There are the Bimco-5E and 4E, and there is also a 3E. "This smaller variant operates on the basis of propane," Joost points out. Propane has become a viable alternative refrigerant, especially as the use of several other refrigerants is no longer permitted.
Inside the orchid-filled greenhouse, it's noticeable that the dehumidification units are suspended above the rows of grow tables in an alternating pattern. One unit's fan faces the concrete path down the middle of the greenhouse, while the next faces the greenhouse wall. A small but clever detail is the two LED lights that glow from a distance, indicating whether the units are operational. "Look, that one is on because the green light is illuminated," Ivo points out. This feature makes it easy for growers to quickly check from across the greenhouse whether the units are running during their inspection rounds.
The dehumidification units are strategically positioned to seamlessly integrate with the horizontal airflow throughout the greenhouse. "This allows us to efficiently extract moisture from the air in every corner of the space," the grower explains. After an extensive development process, Bimco Holland successfully optimized the different unit types, achieving an efficiency of 3.5 liters per kilowatt at 20 degrees Celsius and 80% relative humidity.
Bimco Holland's compact dehumidification units operate without air hoses.
LED
In the orchid greenhouse, a multilayer cultivation system has been partially implemented, with LED lights from Bimco Holland installed throughout. "I would have loved to have the lights we're using now ten years ago, but the technology just wasn't available back then. Now, it is," he reflects.
Cympha Orchids works with 200-watt LED fixtures, with a daylight spectrum. Depending on the distance of the lamp from the plant, LED's with lower powers, e.g. 80 or 40 watts, are also available. "We are even currently testing a 6-watt luminaire in a multilayer cultivation set-up," he says.
For this initiative, the orchid grower is collaborating with Bimco Holland in a climate cell equipped with Danish carts and LED tubes that consume just 6 watts. "By the end of this year, we expect to have enough data to expand the number of climate cells for further testing," Ivo explains. "Ultimately, I anticipate that around 50 percent of the cultivation process will take place in these climate cells." This approach aims to maximize the use of the available cultivation area and optimize production per square meter.
Testing cultivation in a climate chamber
Next step: ionization
Bimco Holland's dehumidification units can also optionally be equipped with air disinfection using ionization. The technology can eventually be placed on fans as well. "This is still in the development phase," Joost points out.
The orchid grower in Bleiswijk has invested heavily in increasingly closed cultivation in recent years. For instance, three screens are installed in the greenhouse. "We have a daylight screen, an energy screen, and another light screen hanging," Ivo lists.
The investments have led to lower energy consumption. "Compared to 2019, our energy consumption has decreased by 55 percent.". The biggest change here is that the grower no longer works with a minimum tube. "We only heat for temperature and no longer to get rid of moisture."
For the innovative grower, who has been developing and implementing his own sustainability techniques, it's frustrating that his energy bill has not decreased. "On the contrary, it's even slightly higher than it was in 2019, despite all our efforts."
However, beyond the financial aspect, he does see many positive effects from the changes he has made. "I see a lot of benefits, but progress never happens as quickly as we would like." As the greenhouse becomes increasingly closed, air disinfection has become an important consideration. "The goal is to prevent the air from becoming contaminated and to stop mold spores from spreading."
By installing air disinfection units, mold pressure can be reduced in the orchid greenhouse, with the aim of achieving the lowest possible failure rate. "That's the ultimate goal." While Ivo doesn't think 0% downtime is realistic, the company strives for minimal failure. "We've also started using biostimulants to improve plant resilience, aiming to strengthen the wax layer on the plants."
Horizontal fans also hang under the three layers of screen cloth. Bimco Holland's dehumidification units are placed in the horizontal air flow.
Payback period
Greenhouse horticulture is often under intense scrutiny in the Netherlands, and at Cympha Orchids, they are aware of this. It motivates the company to continuously take steps toward more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, while also striving for the shortest possible payback period on investments. "With all the regulations and the ongoing social debate, it's important to quickly recover the costs of innovations. Right now, it's hard to plan too far ahead," says Ivo.
The payback period can vary depending on the case. Bimco Holland's systems are already in use by several growers in the Netherlands, across both floriculture and horticulture, as well as in other parts of Europe. The more a grower embraces closed-environment cultivation with LED lighting and dehumidification, the greater the energy savings, and thus the shorter the payback period, based on the experiences at Cympha Orchids.
"In the midst of the energy crisis, people were visiting here every week to see what we were doing. Now, those same people are making investments. The urgency is growing," Ivo and Joost observe.
The smallest dehumidification unit that Bimco Holland is developing works with propane as the refrigerant.
For more information:
Joost de Goeij
Bimco Holland
+31 6-42204984
[email protected]
www.bimcoholland.nl
Cympha Orchids
[email protected]
www.cympha.nl