Famifarm
Grower Profile:
Jukka Pehkonen
Managing director
Crop: 13 varieties of lettuce, 33 varieties of herbs
Location: Järvikyle, Finland
Greenhouse: 60.000 m2
Climate Needs: Best possible climate with optimal light, temperature and humidity conditions and yet the highest possible energy saving
Svensson Solution: Luxous 1243, Harmony 3315 O FR
Maximum energy saving with a double screen solution
The more hours you use your climate screen, the more energy you save. But with one screen, you need to go for a higher shading level to avoid too high temperatures and burning sunlight on warmer days. And then you can’t use it as many hours you wish on days with less light. But there is a solution. With double screens, you can use it for more hours without losing valuable light.
Famifarm, one of the biggest lettuce growers in Finland, has just been taking a 5.000 m2 newly built production greenhouse into operation. “Our ambition with the new department has been to maximize the product quality by using the most efficient technical solutions," says Managing Director Jukka Pehkonen. “Important parameters have been energy-saving, maximization of yields, and maybe the most important of all - the ability to produce healthy green leaf cultures with a minimum of the carbon footprint.”
The solution is a high tech greenhouse combining heating, ventilation, lighting, and dehumidifying air-conditioning with a double climate screen installation in the best possible way. And the results are good.
“With a double screen system, we get the perfect climate,” says Jukka. “We can use the screens more hours per day, which is, of course, positive from an energy-saving perspective, but also has a positive impact on the product quality.”
The upper screen is a Luxous 1243, a clear energy-saving screen allowing maximum light penetration. With this screen, Farmifarm can save as much energy as possible during cold days and get a high light level for the crops.
The lower screen is a HARMONY 3315 O FR, a shading screen with high diffusing and ventilation capacity. It lowers the leaf temperature on warm days with a high light level, and as the screen is open, it provides an optimal airflow in the greenhouse, even when completely closed.
“The expected savings in energy and the improved product quality together with higher yields made us calculate a pretty short payback time on the investment,” says Jukka.
