Case Study: Nancy Duvall
Sunnyside Farms, CA
Increased Yield and Faster Growth
The Challenge
Nancy knew that greenhouses are prone to suffer from reduced levels of CO2 and that increasing the CO2 concentration above ambient could help boost her crop yield. However, her experiences with CO2 burners had always been disappointing and she wasn’t interested in a liquid CO2 system. One option that had always intrigued her was to use exhaust gas from a boiler system, but she had assumed the technology was either unsafe or simply too expensive to implement. BioTherm had already success- fully provided rootzone heating and oxygen infusion technologies to help her grow bigger, healthier crops in less time. Since those investments had paid for themselves very quickly, she wanted to understand how a CO2 system would benefit her and requested a proposal for a centralized CO2 Enrichment system which could increase her yield even more.
The BioTherm Solution
BioTherm CO2 Enrichment systems provide elevated and uniform CO2 levels using the same equipment that heats the greenhouse. A condensing boiler is the heart of the system, and as it burns fuel, it produces combustion gases rich in CO2. Through the use of a blower and control assembly, this flue gas is routed into the greenhouse zones evenly and without a lot of complicated equipment. CO2 is introduced at truss level, and as CO2 is heavier than air, gently drops onto the plant canopy, bathing Nancy’s crops in Carbon Dioxide. Within weeks, she saw the difference. More leaves and flowers, faster growth, and higher yield. Within a few harvests, the investment bore fruit.
How It Works
“With a completely heated floor surface, we were able to shorten our grow time by 4-5 weeks, increase production, and grow a more consistent and healthy crop,” Patrick said.
Also, while maintaining a gentle and con- sistent heat for his hanging basket crop, the DuoFin Top Heat System did double duty as a snow melt system for his greenhouses.
With the added benefit of high-efficiency boilers, Patrick was able to save money on fuel, adding to his bottom line. Because of the increase in energy savings, Michael’s even qualified for a grant which helped pay for the boilers!
CO2 levels are naturally low in a greenhouse environment as plants use available CO2 as part of the photosynthetic process. Increasing CO2 levels above ambient conditions promotes increased plant growth and health. With the right condensing boiler system in place, a BioTherm CO2 System can be easily integrated to achieve elevated CO2 levels in the greenhouse environment. BioTherm systems pull CO2 directly from the boilers exhaust gases and distribute them uniformly into the greenhouse environment, while ensuring other harmful gases are kept at a safe level. With a BioTherm CO2 System, there is no need for large bulk tanks, or individual CO2 burners. These systems can be used in both indoor and outdoor greenhouse operations.
