Hi Henry,
All of our data gathered on sensor reading, and equipment response can be easily exported to Excel. We have quite a few people doing that. A very effective tool for management. More research is needed. Currently we are seeing people setting their parameters way too close. The greater your “deadband”, the more money you will put in your pcoket.
We’re already hearing it from production and facility owners, the rising cost to produce a pound versus the lowering cost to sell at wholesale. It’s a real concern for sure!
What kind of man-power can this type of equipment typically replace? And what kind of manpower is realistic to maintain and work the equipment?
We are seeing quite a few areas of misconception:
People feel that they have to spend a lot of money to get top notch climate and irrigation control. Buying a system just because someone else has it does not make it the best choice for your application.
A good climate system takes a bit of planning. Off the shelf thermostats from Home Depot may work well for your home, but not for your grow rooms or greenhouse.
Horizontal fans, and vertical fans are important. They must be high quality though, and tied into your climate control. Air movement is critical, but again, stick to the “hort built” equipment. It will last for years.
Do you have any type of data, research or white papers that you share with prospective customers?
Hmm, you know when I stop and think about that one, I have to say that it has been the people that I have come to meet and work with over the past 40 years. My closest friends started out as industry associates. My partner, Jerry Halamuda, and met almost 43 years ago when I was starting out as an electrician. Since then, he went on to becoming the largest grower in North America (Colorspot, Hines Wholesale). We recently connected again in the business world when he stepped down as CEO. Personal relationships, commitments to our customers, having a very high satisfaction rate, jumping on any problems, and never shy away from saying “sorry, we messed up” to a customer" helped to build my greatest “Aha” moments. I am lucky enough to have a great team at Micro Grow-Q Com. Many have been with me for well over a decade or more.
On the tech side, it would be the introduction of our very simple to use controls. make it simple that a manual is not needed, yet make it powerful and innovative. Keep that free customer support going for life! It always comes back to you many times over.
Where does that planning process start with your potential or prospective customers? Do they come to you with plans and say “can you work with this?” Or do you offer a comprehensive service by sending someone out to work with the facility manager if someone is totally clueless?
Spot on! Our very first control system using a microprocessor was a huge, large, and clunky device. We had couples with an engineer in San Jose to bring this to the market. It only did heating and cooling, and the processor was a Rockwell. At the time, it was pretty cool. Nowadays, there is more processing power in your watch, ha ha. Yet, it was exciting and we had some really good sales. I had a few years running the electrical division of IBG, which was the largest greenhouse manufacturer in the world then. so, I had a lot of willing customers as Guinea pigs. We evolved, and to this day, always listen t the growers for input. The very best systems come from grower idea. They are the experts. We are only the guys who make everything dance, but the ideas come from them. When a control company stops listening to their customers, it is time to re-think your operations.
At that time, we did not have the European guys here yet (Priva, Hoogendoorn, etc.) There was Wadsworth Controls (who I respect very much, and stay close friends with the founder), and a couple of other guys who have since gone out of business. It was fun, and you know, I would love to have a time machine and do it all over again!
wait… losing the thread… was that in reply too?
Great Question. The biggest misconception is that having a good control system will make you a good grower. This is no more applicable than having the best set of tools will make you a great mechanic. Any control system needs input from the grower. Knowledgeable settings. Good feedback.
Do the homework. Find out exactly what you are willing to spend. Stay away from any companies that do not have a full tech team behind them for support. It is easy to create a control and have it react to a sensor, but much harder to have everything work together. The lighting has to interact with the rest of the equipment as it affects the temperature and humidity also.
What does the future of greenhouse automation have in store for cannabis producers? Where will we see efficiencies that increase production and/or reduce expenses and labor?
Can never have too many discussions guys. Great ideas are born out if great dialogue . Glad to be a part of it. I believe that my fellow control manufactures always welcome it also.
Tom, wouldn’t you say lots of folks come to us with an idea of what they and a budget and then find it’s not always in line? I know we can do the whole design from scratch or incorporate into an existing plan
I’m interested in price points and comparisons. What might a typical installation cost for, say, a grower with a 60x30 high tunnel greenhouse?
It was in the early 80’s that we did our first one. I believe it was 1980, or 1981.
Thanks for the heads up! That makes sense and I’d be very curious to see the data exported from your system and how you’ve seen different cultivations using that data.
I wonder if there is an easy, intuitive interface that can help growers grok that “deadband” concept so they can see (or you can showcase) the optimal efficiency and profitability.
Hi, we have all sorts of customers. On the indoor grow side, from few zones, up to 30 and more zones. On the Cannabis greenhouse side, the areas are much larger of course and tend to be in the thousands of square feet. Out of the Cannabis world, when you get into our systems for commercial growers, research facilities such as Monsanto, BASF, Synegenta, USDA, we have upwards of 90 greenhouse zones. Interesting, we have done a movie set with Sandra Bullock, a home greenhouse for Eddie Albert (Green Acres), even one on Burt Reynolds old tennis court in Holmby Hills. Never boring. We even control the fogging systems in Las Vegas at the Belagio Hotel. We offer electrical design, permit drawings, engineering, as well as full installation. Nationwide, and Canada.
You are too kind!
Hey everyone, we normally schedule the AMA’s for about an hour (from 11 am to noon,) and we’re actually past time! If @microgrow would like to continue on answering questions by all means but let’s start wrapping up the questions if we could please and I’m sure both Tom and Daphne (who have been wonderful) would be more than willing to help answer them afterwards (and they can be messaged directly!)
Fantastic questions, you have all been great!
We do not do any direct research ourselves other than control development. We do find that other growers share readily their findings. I would like to see more University research done. Take lighting for example. People spend thousands on lights and their operating expenses. Some real research is needed as to what exactly works. Perchance you could cut the lighting intensity down 20% and this save thousands each year on electric costs. We will see more research being done as time passes a bit.
thanks Jordan… You are great to work with
