Written by
Sabina
You might not give it a second thought when you look at an Orchid, but behind this flowering plant lies a smart energy strategy. From LED lighting to solar panels and geothermal heat, Orchid grower Opti-flor brings a range of technologies together in one modern greenhouse. Read on to discover everything that happens before your Orchid reaches your windowsill!
Over Opti-flor
The story of family business Opti-flor in Monster began almost a century ago. The Hendriks family started out growing a variety of vegetables, before focusing mainly on tomatoes from the 1970s onwards. When the third generation joined the business, a new dream took shape: to grow the most beautiful Orchids of the finest quality.
Today, everything in Opti-flor’s greenhouses in Monster revolves around growing Orchids with a strong focus on sustainability. Their belief that energy can be used more intelligently and efficiently drives them to keep innovating and making their business more sustainable.
In this greenhouse, it’s not just Orchids that are growing, but smart energy solutions too.
A smart energy strategy
Light, warmth and the right humidity are essential for healthy Orchid growth. And that takes energy. So Opti-flor developed a smart greenhouse with a carefully planned energy strategy, helping the business work towards energy-neutral growing.
Opti-flor’s new greenhouse is equipped with LED lighting and solar panels. The electricity generated by the solar panels is used, among other things, to cool the greenhouse in summer. Geothermal heat, energy drawn from beneath the ground, is used for heating. Outside air is also drawn in to reduce humidity in the greenhouse in an energy-efficient way.
These energy-saving measures are paying off. Measurements in the new greenhouse show that gas consumption per m² has fallen by 45%. It also uses 16% less electricity and requires 31% less heat input.
The greenhouse as a ‘power station’
The smart energy system extends beyond the greenhouse itself. The neighbouring residential area is connected to the nursery’s geothermal heating network, with the nursery acting as a buffer for the neighbourhood’s geothermal heat supply. Opti-flor also works with the energy grid to better balance energy supply and demand. This means the business acts as a kind of power station for sustainable growing.
The smart energy system extends beyond the greenhouse: it supplies geothermal heat to the neighbouring residential area and electricity to the grid.
Discover more growers’ stories
Curious to hear more stories from flower and plant growers? Read Marginpar’s story and discover how Clematis, naturally a climbing plant, can also thrive as a cut flower in your vase. Or take a look behind the scenes at LG Flowers, one of the floriculture sector’s leaders in sustainability, and discover how colourful Gerberas are grown.
