CONSERVE 



TO PRESERVE YOUR BUSINESS 



Margaret Pratt Hagen 



A SHORT while ago, I was putting 

 together a talk on how to save money 

 in the greenhouse without a lot of 

 capital investment. In doing some 

 background reading, I once again 

 encountered the factoid that the two 

 highest costs of running a greenhouse 

 are labor and energy. And since reduc- 

 ing labor usually means spending a lot 

 of money on mechanization, I didn't 

 explore that avenue very far. Which 

 brought me back to energy and a feel- 

 ing of deja vu. But since energy is a 

 significant production cost, I though it 

 might be worthwhile to review some 

 of the ways its use can be regulated to 

 save money. 



The costs of heating your green- 

 house in winter and early spring can 

 add up to more than 20% of the cost 

 of producing bedding plants. Or to put 

 it another way, the cost of heat is 

 often 70-85% of a greerJiouse's total 

 energy requirement. Ventilation at 5- 

 10%, soil sterilization (if you do your 

 own) at 7-9%, lighting at 2%, and 



refrigeration at 1% account for the 

 remaining energy costs. 



A yearly checkup on boilers and 

 furnaces as you start up greenhouses 

 in the spring can often lead to fuel 

 savings of more that 10%. This more 

 that pays you back for the time spent 

 or the cost of a service call. 



Basically, boilers need to be 

 cleaned, steam and hot water leaks 

 repaired, and exhaust stacks examin- 

 ed for corrosion and leaks. If you use 

 polyethylene tubes for air ducts, you 

 should check for the integrity of the 

 duct. Automatic shutters often stick, 

 a common source of heat loss; they 

 should be checked for free operation. 

 You can check (or have checked) the 

 efficiency of the combustion process 

 with equipment designed to measure 

 C02 concentration and temperature 

 of the exhaust gases. Incorrectly 

 adjusted combustion units can 

 operate at below 60% efficiency; 

 ideally they should operate in the 

 85% range. 



A potential obstacle to efficient 

 heating is an inaccurate thermostat. 

 Temperatures below optimum levels 

 reduce productivity and delay crops. 

 Temperatures above optimum levels 

 waste energy. For example, when the 

 outside air temperature is 40 degrees 

 F, a greenhouse maintained at 62 

 degrees will use 10% more fuel that 

 the same house maintained at 60 

 degrees F. 



What this comes down to is that 

 simple capillary bulb air thermostats 

 can be much more accurate if they 

 are aspirated. They just do a better 

 job of sensing temperature if they are 

 placed in an air-stream. The easiest 

 way to do this is to place the thermo- 

 stat in an enclosure and force air over 

 the sensing element by installing a 

 small fan. You can use the same fan 

 that is used for inflating small poly 

 greenhouses. Aspirated thermostat 

 shelters can be constructed with 

 white-painted plywood. They should 

 continued on n£xt page 



75 CHESTNUT HILL, RTE. 190 

 STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT 06076 



W. H.MILIKOWSKI, INC. 



GREENHOUSE SUPPLIES& EQUIPMENT 



PLANTS BULBS SEEDS 



ALL YOUR GREENHOUSE NEEDS 



:r()\v with us- 



Conn 203-6B4-5811 

 ; of State 800-243-7170 



BUTLER 



AgricuUural Insurance Specialists Since 1967 

 508-366.1512 ^^^^ . WEsraopoo^f" 508^898-9230 



•^Z"^ 



Name 



Address . 

 Phone 



Interested In: 



<LJ Quote D Review 



j Update D Questions 



fffill 



fherry 



^ nurseries inc. 



A prowing tradition Bince 1832 



WHOLESALE OKLS 



Growers of Quality Hardy Plants 



Trees • Shrubs' Evergreens 

 BiB and Conlaincr Crown 

 Wide Ranpe of Malcnals "N 



West Newbury, Massachusetts 01985 



508-462-6688 



^ffC 



