The energy wake-up call? Energy audit pilot project in Ontario shows what savings are possible

摘要

The greenhouse industry received a stern wake-up call with last year's skyrocketing energy prices, according to a speaker at last fall's Canadian Greenhouse Conference. Years of low prices had lulled many producers into a reduced "sensitivity" with respect to energy efficiency, noted Jeff Chambers of Geomatrix Consultants. The Waterloo, Ontario company completed a greenhouse energy audit pilot program for the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Grow-ers. The project was designed to "work out the bugs to provide an even more cost-effective program in the future," said Chambers. As chilling as it was for greenhouse budgets, the energy price crunch may have been a blessing in disguise. It was a wake-up call for which growers now have numerous remedies they can -- and should -- implement to be ready for the next inevitable rise in energy rates.