Agriculture and AGRI – Food Canada (AAFC) London Research Farm

Details:

A 590 m2 research Greenhouse facility constructed for Agriculture and AGRI-Food Canada for the purpose of scientific research. JGS Limited provided both the Engineering expertise as well as the Construction Expertise to complete the project in a professional and timely manner. Our knowledgeable sales & project management teams provided constant communication with the General Contractor and end user.

This greenhouse consists of 1 corridor, 7 containment compartments, and a header house. There are 3 compartments approximately 90 m2, 2 compartments approximately 66.8 m2, 2 compartments approximately 44.5 m2 and 1 main corridor approximately 3 m x 33.5 m.

The greenhouse structure is constructed with hot dipped galvanized steel framing accompanied with an aluminum/glass cladding system. The glazing consists of 1 pc glazing for the roof, 1” insulated glazing for the exterior walls, and single glazing for the interior partitions.

Although under one roof each compartment is an individual airtight unit by itself, capable of maintaining temperature, humidity, light, irrigation and insects of specific size independent from compartment to compartment. These units are controlled manually or automatically by the programmable centralized computer system provided by Argus Controls Inc. This centrally controlled computer system also has the ability of being accessed locally or via internet.

All compartments are equipped with horizontal and vertical shade systems. They are also equipped with High Intensity Discharge (HID) grow lights provided by Kavita Canada.

Cooling of the Greenhouse compartment(s) is programed into the Argus Controls system as a sequence of operations. The system will first utilize natural ventilation by way of the shade system and ridge vents. When the temperature rises beyond the capability of natural ventilation for 5 of the rooms there are evaporative coolers to further the cooling capabilities. The evaporative coolers are located on the exterior walls and are all controlled via the Argus computer system. The other two compartments are equipped with Fan Coil Units placed under the benches adding another level of containment.

Heating of the greenhouse is generated by a centrally located boiler in the header house then delivered via pipe to each compartment. Each compartment is independent of each other and is computer controlled manually or automatically. The heating system inside each compartment consists of pipes located around the perimeter at the concrete knee wall and along the underside of each gutter. The heating along the underside of the gutter(s) is also utilized as a snow melt system.

Overall this ‘greenhouse’ is a complex research facility which will aid the researchers in their studies for many years to come.