What Should You Look For in a Greenhouse Dehumidifier?
Whether growing in a closed greenhouse, semi-closed greenhouse, or completely indoors, adding a dehumidifier is a key step to increasing efficiency, reducing costs and boosting the yield and quality of your crop.
Buying new equipment can be daunting. So we put together a checklist of the top factors to consider when shopping for a greenhouse dehumidifier.
Why Use a Greenhouse Dehumidifier?
First and foremost, dehumidifiers are there to reduce relative humidity. Dehumidifiers remove water vapor from the air, effectively maintaining a humidity range that doesn’t reach the dew point. In this manner, the water vapor contained in the air never appears as liquid water.
There are many reasons to keep moisture in check. When water condenses in the greenhouse, diseases such as botrytis and downy mildew begin to pop up. If water never condenses, these fungi cannot exist, even if their spores are present.
The second reason is that, just like temperature and radiation, plants have different preferred ranges of relative humidity. Unless you are a tropical fruit grower, chances are your crops would enjoy moderate humidity, aiding them in growing faster, larger and of better quality.
Greater Energy Efficiency
An effective agricultural dehumidifier needs to operate in optimal greenhouse conditions. Therefore, a temperature range of 18-24oC and relative humidity of around 80% should be the levels at which a dehumidifier maximizes its water removal capacity.
Under these conditions, DryGair removes 45 liters per hour, consuming only 10kWh.
Next, you should consider the energy consumption. Modern agriculture strives to reduce inputs. In some cases, there are legal regulations to which farmers must adhere. Any new gear introduced to a growing area should be able to assist in reducing the overall cost of growing, as well as the environmental footprint.
Better Temperature Control
The most basic aspect of any type of indoor cultivation, is temperature control. When looking for humidity control solutions, the big picture needs to remain in the forefront.
Optimally, your new machinery will assist in additional tasks. Make sure to note the benefits, or negative side-effects which may occur during operation.
A good dehumidifier will allow you to gain extra control over the temperature in your growing space. Temperature is dynamic, so your dehumidifier should be as well. As most of the time heating is necessary, it should be able to boost heating efforts. Though it shouldn’t heat out of control, as during warm summer days you may find yourself investing energy in trying to cool things down.
These systems are already treating and moving air. So, the best machines may be able to help in cooling as well, transforming from simple water removal, to a one stop air control unit.
DryGair emits minimal heat. It may be harnessed to boost temperatures by a few degrees, by effectively closing and insulating the grow space. Additionally, DryGair may come equipped with integrated heating and cooling, further reducing the need for extra equipment and fuels.
A Greenhouse Dehumidifier Can Improve Air Distribution
Air circulation is one of the leading buzz words in greenhouse cultivation, though it is not always fully understood.
The pattern in which air travels is critical in a closed growing space. We put so much effort into maintaining the correct environment. But without equal air distribution throughout the entire space, these efforts may be in vain.
As mentioned above, dehumidifiers already handle air. So, the right dehumidifier should effectively spread the optimal growing environment throughout the entire space, to all corners. If this is not done correctly, humidity related diseases will continue to appear in the more humid parts, and consequently travel around, infecting additional plants. The crops in these sections will also underperform, as they are still subjected to suboptimal conditions.
DryGair is equipped with a patent protected canopy which distributes air equally in all directions, creating uniform climate conditions over large areas.
