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> Traditional greenhouses (which the one at that landing site appears to be) are extremely energy intensive. Uhh, I am not seeing anything in that article that
by qqqwerty 3y ago
> Traditional greenhouses (which the one at that landing site appears to be) are extremely energy intensive.
Uhh, I am not seeing anything in that article that supports that claim, other than the first sentence, which does not cite any sources.
That article appears to be discussing ways to maximize greenhouse performance in winter, on the premise that glass is a poor insulator. But no where does it discuss energy consumption of modern greenhouses. My understanding is that they do not use climate control at all, except maybe some fans for air circulation. So sure, put some walls on your greenhouse for better heat retention. But making something more efficient, that already uses nearly zero energy might not be the best use of resources.
- tfourb 3y agoClimate control is only one aspect of energy usage. Another is light. Flying over the Netherlands at night is spectacular, in some parts it looks like they've just flooded entire regions with grow lights. I think I've read that many use heating as well, though I have no data on that and I don't think it is very common outside the Netherlands.
- gtop3 3y agoIf you look at https://district.farm/ https://district.farm/ as was citied in the root comment, you'll see they aren't using lights or heaters. California doesn't require those. The energy usage and output of greenhouses varies significantly by seasons and region. You really need to do direct comparisons for individual bits of land instead of broad statements. It's probably worth the light and heat costs if a country cannot grow enough vegetables for it's population without it. The US doesn't have that issue, because we have lots of growing space with long growing seasons.
- justincormack 3y agoNetherlands uses gas heating often, to heat and increase co2 levels.