What Is Air Circulation?

Greenhouse growers constantly monitor, regulate and adjust their climates. These operations happen in large spaces, meaning large volumes of air. So how is everything optimized everywhere all at once? The answer is greenhouse air circulation.

Between HVACs, fans, vents, windows and other climate control systems, air moves. In most cases, growers do not factor the direction of this movement in their grow space design. Most greenhouses include multiple vents throughout the space, distributing air, either from an air conditioning system, or from the outside.

In addition to vents, most operations use fans, which create an airflow, but lack control over how they move air. This can easily create a cacophony of air currents working unharmoniously and creating varying conditions throughout the space.

What are Microclimates?

The ability to harness all these currents, knowing their directions and capacities, adds great value to an already knowledgeable grower. While we constantly treat the air to be optimal, reducing variability over time (maintaining a constant level throughout the day and throughout the year), most systems do not consider the variability of conditions across space.

This creates a situation in which one area may have, for example, colder or more humid air than another area. This is usually caused by structural leaks of outdoor air which happen at the joints and connections in a greenhouse.

But this doesn’t just differ between far corners of the growing space. It may actually occur inside the dense foliage, creating microclimates with different conditions in different areas surrounding the same plant.

Why Does Greenhouse Air Circulation Matter So Much?

Plants constantly transpire water, creating a small area surrounding the leaves which is cooler and more humid than the rest of the space. This is the boundary layer.

Without sufficient air movement, this layer stays in its place, creating a low VPD. Low VPD means that their is a slower transfer of water molecules from the leaves to the air. This, in turn, slows down the entire water cycle, from the soil, through the roots, and to the entire plant. This water transfer is what supplies the nutrients to the plants. So, when the VPD is low, it slows down nutrient transfer as well, causing slower growth. Additionally, slower water transfer directly hurts the plant’s ability to photosynthesize efficiently, further inhibiting growth. Not ideal for an operation which needs to turn a profit.

Every crop has its favorite environment, which allows it to grow faster, larger, healthier and stronger. Just as with temperature and lighting, humidity levels should be kept optimal for the plant, all around, all the time.

It’s not all about physiological disturbances though. A single cold or humid pocket of air may well be a hotbed for disease outbreak. Diseases such as botrytis, known as “bud rot”, develop in these conditions, undoing efforts to maintain low relative humidity levels in order to combat its appearance. Once bud rot appears on even one plant, it produces spores that travel through the air, potentially infecting the entire operation.

In short – microclimates undo all the hard work put into optimizing conditions.

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How Air Circulation Works

So, how does well planned air circulation work?

DryGair has designed a concept which is built into their dehumidification unit. The concept is based on the principle that closing the growing space and treating the air from the inside allows the grower to maximize growing potential.

The system is located in the center of a closed growing facility (or greenhouse with a thermal screen). Its operation consists of taking in air from the bottom and expelling it from the top, in a 360° radius. The specialized design allows the expelled, dehumidified air, which is dry and slightly hotter, to travel along the ceiling (or screen) throughout the space to all corners, descending as it cools.

This concept creates circular air movement which goes through the foliage horizontally and vertically, diffusing the air surrounding the leaves while supplying optimal conditions at all levels.

Greenhouse air circulation

There are several factors influencing the ability to translate air movement and circulation into uniformity. Growers should consider and integrate these into the design of their operation:

  • The size of the space – both vertically and horizontally
  • Density of plants – both placement and foliage (leaf area index)
  • Plant height

Benefits of Greenhouse Air Circulation

Air circulation has many benefits. First and foremost, it helps diffuse microclimates, letting the plants enjoy the conditions they need. This happens by creating homogenous conditions, meaning that similar conditions are maintained throughout the entire space, including inside the dense foliage of the plants.

Creating these uniform conditions is a huge factor in the plant’s wellbeing. Both in providing constant optimal conditions throughout the entire growing area, and through the control of disease outbreak. Being on point with this lets growers reap extra benefits as well, such as increasing crop placement density at lower risk.

Dr. Avraham Arbel, Head of the Department of Growth, Production & Environmental Engineering at the Agricultural Research Organization, Israel: “Circulation is the glue which binds all efforts to maintain uniform climate conditions to maximize crop yield and quality. When it is not integrated into the entire operation design scheme, growers experience fluctuations in all aspects, from the conditions themselves to the end product”

This article was originally published on Growers Network