Grower Cuts Greenhouse Heating Costs By Thousands

[Acra, NY] November 26, 2001 Imagine heating an entire greenhouse for FREE! Remarkably, Rich Morris, owner of Todflex Nursery in South Glens Falls, NY, has been able to completely eliminate his annual heating costs with a revolutionary radiant in the floor and bench heating system. Mr. Morris has been in the growing industry for 13 years and knows first-hand what it takes to heat his forty-five hundred square foot greenhouses. “With conventional hot air heating, I used to spend thousands per month, but with the Radiant Roots bench heating design, I was able to have a payback on the entire system in less than one year!” Morris exclaims.

The move to a radiant system resulted from the skyrocketing heating costs Morris faced in order to maintain his greenhouses at 72 degrees. At a recent growers show, Morris met Erling Andersen, owner of Radiant Roots; a division of A.I.M Radiant Heating. Intrigued by the revolutionary bench heating system displayed, Morris sought out more information. He discovered that Mr. Andersen understood growers’ need for a more efficient and economical alternative to traditional heating methods. Andersen has been active in the residential and commercial radiant heating industry for 23 years. Recently, he has seen a tremendous increase in the purchase of his energy-saving greenhouse heating systems. “We go to a grower’s show and owners can’t believe they can heat their greenhouses for FREE,” Andersen states. “Free heat is something that is going to allow Radiant Roots to take the greenhouse heating industry by storm.”/

How does this system heat more efficiently for less? Andersen’s design offers a combination of in the floor and bench radiant heating systems, powered by a waste oil boiler with burner. By contrast, most greenhouses today are heated with conventional forced hot air systems. Andersen notes that “by using a hot air system, hot air rises and causes the ceiling of the greenhouse to reach much higher temperatures (20-25 degree difference) than the floor.” This unique radiant system heats roots directly, as opposed to the space of an entire greenhouse. A traditional system pours hot air from a location high above the plant benches. Imagine how much space must be heated before the hotter temperature can travel down to the plants themselves. By heating the benches and floors directly, there is very little space between the roots and the heating source. Radiant Roots drastically reduces the area growers need to heat, while significantly increasing the space available for growing.

Radiant Roots delivers heat directly to the source AND does it for free! Andersen has created an innovative burner that can be fueled by waste oil. This oil type is available for little or no cost from gas stations, oil change franchises, car dealerships or a variety of other sources. Not only does this alternative fuel source save growers thousands of dollars annually, it helps to conserve energy and protect the environment. These boilers are designed to generate under 500,000 BTUs to comply with EPA standards and allow for step firing. In addition, Andersen has designed a switch that allows growers to still use #2 fuel/diesel oil when desired. This advanced burner/boiler connects to a manifold system distributed to both the in the floor slab piping system and to the mat bench heating design. The water’s temperature in the pipes and mat is always consistent, due to a controller maintained by probes injected directly into a plant’s soil.

With a relatively small, one-time investment in Radiant Roots, you can finally increase your profits. Grow more plants—keep them healthier—and save money! For more information on this innovative solution, contact Radiant Roots, a division of A.I.M. Radiant Heating, at 1-888-773-4564 or check us out online at www.radiantroots.com.

Radiant Roots is a division of A.I.M. Radiant Heating; a family-owned company that has been providing innovative heating design systems for over 23 years. A.I.M.’s founder, Erling Andersen, has been featured on This Old House and continues to be a leader in the radiant heat industry. Contact Erling Andersen at 888-773-4564.

As you can tell, David Chiaro of Yonder Farms in Troy, NY is very satisfied with his new bench heating system.

Here is a picture of the installation process on the benches at Yonder Farms.