Sprinkler systems in greenhouse horticulture
Why are they important?
Fires can severely damage greenhouses, technical installations and crops. A sprinkler system helps stop a fire quickly and protects your company. Horticulture Risk Specialist René Schoenmakers explains why sprinklers are so important and how they work.
Read more
Preventive maintenance in greenhouse horticulture
A practical checklist
Greenhouse horticulture relies heavily on technology to support cultivation and ensure efficiency. Proper maintenance is crucial to prevent malfunctions that can cause downtime, damage, and extra costs. Different systems require maintenance at varying intervals, with some needing annual checks and others less frequent attention. Following preventive maintenance tips helps keep your greenhouse business safe, reliable, and operational.
Read more
Prevent theft during construction
Here’s how you can safeguard your materials
Theft of construction materials is a frequent occurrence, posing challenges as delays are best avoided during construction. How can you prevent it?
Read more
Keeping a glass stock important for the continuity of your business
Maintaining glass reserves is key to business continuity
The times that glass could be delivered on short notice are over. The variety in sizes and types off glass have increased tremendously. Therefore the size of glass you select when building your greenhouse is important, as well as maintaining a small stock of glass in case a few sheets crack or break.
Read more
"We can't wait until 2040 to transition away from gas"
Dutch Strawberry Grower Marcel Dings of Brookberries Urges Early Action on Gas Phaseout
Dutch greenhouse horticulture has the ambition to become climate neutral by 2040. Marcel himself has already taken many measures. He shared his experience and vision of the future with us.
Read more
Ensuring Fire Safety with Sandwich Panels
Make the right choices before construction
Quality and continuity go hand in hand. Everyone knows greenhouse businesses that have experienced a fire or other business damage. You then see that the consequences can be severe. Short circuits, lighting problems, and disruptions from the lighting installation are the main causes of fires in the greenhouse sector, with flammable screen cloths acting as potential spreaders. Read our tips on how to deal with risks.
Read more
Measures to prevent harmful greenhouse gases
This is how you can prevent greenhouse gases causing growth retardation
In the winter, air vents in greenhouses are seldomly used. Incorrect adjustment or use of equipment can lead to an accumulation of harmful greenhouse gases. What are the possible negative effects of toxic gases in your greenhouse? In this article, we will explain how you can prevent greenhouse gases causing growth retardation or even damage or loss of crop due to toxic greenhouse gasses.
Read more
Combined heat and power (CHP) system consulting & maintenance
Proper maintenance reduces the chance of downtime
If your CHP or medium-voltage system fails, your entire business will come to a standstill. Proper maintenance reduces the chance of downtime.
Read more
"Greenhouse roofs wear down through weather and wind"
The importance of greenhouse roof maintenance
Risk specialist Olaf van Marrewijk: "Greenhouses need regular maintenance. Loose or weak connections and wear on components can greatly reduce the storm resistance of a greenhouse. The majority of greenhouses in Canada have tempered glass without fins, and this is increasingly the case in the Netherlands as well. Regular inspections of your greenhouse can help identify potential issues, allowing you to address them before they become larger problems. We are happy to share practical examples with you, so you know what to look for during your inspection rounds."
Read more
Maintenance is important for a safe greenhouse
Hagelunie can provide guidance on performing maintenance
Greenhouses are standing for longer periods and being used more intensively. Storms, rain, and frost can have an impact on the quality of your greenhouse or commercial building. Therefore, it is important to regularly inspect your greenhouse or building. Pay attention to washed-away soil around your greenhouse, pipe subsidence, broken panes, and leaks.
Read more
Check your heat water storage tank’s condition regularly to ensure operational safety
What is the condition of your hot water storage tank and is it still free of any leakage?
Just outside your premises is often the tank for storage of millions of liters boiling water. Having a functioning tank is key to keeping your business at peak efficiency.
Read more
5 Useful Tips to Ensure Virus-Free Water
How you can keep a drain water disinfector functioning optimally
Did you know there are risks associated with the reuse of drain water? Viruses and fungi which are present in the drain water can be spread throughout the greenhouse when recirculated. The attention for prevention and control of viruses such as ToBRFV has increased in the recent years. Good prevention also includes disinfection of drain water and maintenance of the drain water disinfector.
Read more
Water silos as a creeping risk
Maintenance is Key
When you invest in new or replace existing water silos, it is important to understand the added security available and have a regular inspection schedule of these silos during their lifetime. Silos used for the storage of rainwater and feed water are a must in the horticulture industry. Hundreds of cubic meters of water can be stored efficiently, but there is a danger in this.
Read more
Maintenance central heating feed water
This is how you can ensure a good and constant climate in your greenhouse
In greenhouse horticulture, climate systems have grown into a complex whole of high-tech subsystems with heat pumps, CHPs, heat exchangers and cold and heat storage tanks. The quality of the feed water is one of the most important factors for the service life of these systems. We advise you to look into this together with your installer.
Read more
Certain of light!
What can you do to minimise this risk?
Transformers are an important link in the continuity of your lighting installation. Make sure you have a backup.
Read more
The risks of new energy supplies can be limited effectively
How can you safely embed this in your organisation?
In more and more countries, the demand for new technologies to limit fossil fuel dependence is increasing. New techniques lead to new risks. How can you safely embed this in your organisation?
Read more
Regular monitoring of the generator increases the continuity of the CHP
A regular check from the start is important to collect data
Almost every modern veggie greenhouse uses a CHP to produce electricity, heat and CO2. A crucial part of the installation is the generator. Regular monitoring of the generator increases the continuity of the CHP.
Read more
Hortivation Point
Streamlining Precision: Introducing Hortivation Point for Enhanced Greenhouse Operations
It’s helpful for greenhouse builders, installers and suppliers of equipment and data services to have a standardized reference point for (automatic) positioning in greenhouses. The same applies to growers who use these greenhouses.
Read more
Identification plate shows design conditions glasshouse
Ensuring structural integrity with glasshouse identification plates
The European glasshouse standards demand the builder to attach an identification plate well visible on one of the posts presenting the design conditions. These conditions will be used to re calculate the new loads and design adaptations to make the switch possible.
Read more
Explosion safety on the flue gas cleaner
Mitigating Explosion Risks in Flue Gas Cleaners for Horticultural CHP Systems
Ever since early 2000 CHP has been a common appearance in horticulture to provide heat, power and CO2. Unfortunately, on a regular basis explosions appear in the chambers between the engine and the flue gas cleaner due to exhaust gases that are not fully burnt. An explosion safety can save you the investment in a new cleaner.
Read more
How to prevent cybercrime
Awareness is the best remedy
Botnet, ransomware, phishing, DDOS, trojan horse. All examples of methods hackers use to get access to your systems, to blackmail you, or to simply ruin your computer files. It’s all called cybercrime. Is it really a threat and what can you do against it?
Read more
Fire retardant ground cover
Ground cover solutions for enhanced safety
New screens (energy and or shading) in greenhouses must be of fire retardant quality. With the appliance of these climate screens a huge step was taken in fire safety of greenhouses.
Read more
Damage to CHP after maintenance
Check the CHP more often
Recent observations amongst Hagelunie clients show an increase in the number of damages to a CHP closely after having the 30,000 hours revision or a big overhaul. At this stage no explicit reason is found but attention is needed.
Read more
Not every greenhouse is suitable for crop gutters
Assessing greenhouse suitability for crop gutters and snow loads
Sometimes you hear growers talking about swapping the load for snow for the load of crop gutters. After all: the largest load of crop and gutter will be in summertime and obviously there will be no snow in summer. Although the train of thought is not strange, this is a mistake!
Read more
At the start of a new cultivation dont tighten your crop wires
This is why you have to maintain a sag in the crop wire in every section of your greenhouse
Around october/november many crop seasons are in their final stages. Old crops are being removed, greenhouses cleaned and preparations for the new season are taking off. It might be tempting to tighten the crop wire. But be aware! This can have a devastating effect on your greenhouse.
Read more
Close the air vents in case of storm
Mitigate the risk of ensuing storm damage in large greenhouses
Insights are changing. Especially when we talk about the prevention of storm damage. Recently conducted research tells us that greenhouses are significantly stronger when the air vents are closed during a storm.
Read more
Safe repair of glasshouses
Repairing roof sheets is a very specific job to do. Because of the worldwide expansion of horticulture, craftsmen are not easily found or available. In an increasing number of situations you have to depend on yourself for a quick repair.
Read more
Prevent fire in your screen
Use fire retardant screens
Make sure that newly acquired screens are fire retardant. For existing screens we advise you to replace combustible screens by fire retardant screens.
Read more
Building Plans?
Pay attention to these aspects if you're planning to build
Small adjustments in the construction, design and execution of a new greenhouse can have a huge effect on the quality, sustainability, continuity of your business and in the end the insurability. Some examples that you should pay attention to:
Read more
Storm is coming!
What can you do to prevent damage?
Although modern greenhouses are calculated to resist heavy storms. They still remain sensitive for storm damage. By exceeding wind pressure, through sudden wind gusts, or by loose things that blow against the greenhouse, the glass sheets can break and cause a progressive damage to your greenhouse and crops. What can you do to prevent damage?
Read more
Solar panels
Purchase, installation, use, and maintenance
Ensure your greenhouse/building can support the added weight of solar panels, which typically range from 12 to 20 kilograms per square meter. Especially in greenhouses, where this weight can increase due to a modified snow melt factor, it's crucial to assess the additional snow load.
Read more
Prevent your water silo to burst or overflow
Build it correctly and allow for regular inspection
Minimize the risk of your silo bursting or overflowing by building it correctly and allowing for regular inspection.
Read more