LettUs Grow collaborates with greenhouse shading technology experts, Albotherm
LettUs Grow collaborates with greenhouse shading technology experts, Albotherm
LettUs Grow is embarking on a research project with Albotherm, a fellow Bristol-based agri-tech company, to investigate the impact of intuitive shading technology on glasshouse productivity and energy efficiency.
The study will use a combination of Albotherm’s responsive glass coating and LettUs Grow’s farm management software, Ostara, to monitor performance and capture data.
The coating, developed by Albotherm's CTO Dr Sian Fussell, transitions from transparent, when temperatures are cooler, to translucent white as temperatures climb, in order to shield crops from damage and mediate internal greenhouse temperatures. By combining the coating technology with Ostara farm software, the team will be able to track how the coating impacts rising and falling temperatures in real time.
A particular challenge for greenhouses is environmental control and sun exposure - which can rapidly change growing conditions. While sunlight is needed for photosynthesis, too much sun exposure can create excessive heat which stresses crops. As a result, often greenhouse growers either have to invest in additional shading infrastructure or increase energy usage to cool the environment to avoid crop losses.
In initial crop growth trials run with Rothamstead Research held in July-October 2022, Albotherm shading technology was shown to increase basil crop yields by 34% and 10% in a greenhouse setting, compared to the two current shading technology equivalents. This was achieved by maintaining suitable growth temperatures, while simultaneously allowing up to 18% more natural light.
Molly Allington, CEO at Albotherm (pictured left), and Dr Sian Fussell, CTO at Albotherm (pictured right)
The second trial being held in collaboration with LettUs Grow will look to expand on this research, with the trial running from January 2024. The team will be using Ostara farm software to track the internal temperatures of the model greenhouses, to further validate the technology.
Molly Allington, CEO of Albotherm said “We are a small team so the ability to analyse our data effectively and efficiently is key to us gaining the most out of our product trials. Ostara can generate graphs simply and easily and we can access the data in real time. This will allow us to fully analyse and understand the performance of our new coatings and provide the insights we obtain to our partners and customers.”
By utilising this retrofit, water-based coating, growers can fine tune their operations without installing expensive shading technology or relying on energy intensive cooling systems, both of which negatively impact profitability.
Speaking on the collaboration, Dan Peel, COO of Ostara commented “We’re delighted to be supporting the research of a fellow Bristol agritech developer, and this trial will open so many doors for growers utilising greenhouse technology. Controlling the elements is an unrelenting challenge in agriculture, and indoor growers certainly are not immune to the uncertainty in weather patterns or energy price fluctuations we’re seeing across the industry. This is exactly the sort of innovation that greenhouse growers throughout the world will be searching for to bring stability to their operations.”
This challenge isn’t unique to greenhouses, with glass buildings of all descriptions struggling to regulate temperatures as extreme weather conditions become a normality across the globe. Controlling temperature is a significant factor driving global greenhouse gas emissions, with air conditioning representing 20% of electricity consumption in buildings and 10% of the world's total electricity usage! Glass structures, in particular, struggle with overheating due to their tendency to trap solar radiation. Thus this technology could have wider impacts outside of agriculture.
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