LED'S.TALK.BUSINESS. with Voshol

For the LED'S.TALK.BUSINESS. column in this month's newsletter, we speak with Wilco Voshol from Voshol Warmte- Elektrotechniek. Voshol is an installation company with whom Oreon successfully completed a great number of projects with.

 

Voshol Warmte- Elektrotechniek provides installations in heating, electrical, isolation, lighting and climate technology for horticulture. Wilco Voshol, director at Voshol, sees that growers want to innovate sustainably, but that it is often difficult and expensive.
“We have to get rid of gas, this is still a big step for growers. A CHP has a lot to offer: heat, electricity and CO₂. We get requests for heat pumps, but this will only become profitable if the price for energy falls. A heat pump can be a good option when a grower wants to bring a low temperature into his greenhouse.”
 
Greenhouse lighting has seen the most innovations in recent years. Wilco: “I expect that many customers will eventually switch to LED. There are many different fixtures on the market, so it can be difficult to make the right choice. Costs, efficiency and sustainability play an important role in this and we, as an installer, can contribute ideas and advice.
 
Because the Oreon fixtures are water cooled, the installation costs are a bit higher than non-water cooled fixtures, but this is compensated in the long run by efficiency and lifespan. Because the gained heat can be reused, it is really worthwhile for a number of crops. Last year we installed the LED installation at lettuce grower FromBoer. In this ultramodern greenhouse, the heat from the lamps is reused to heat the air that is blown under the cultivation system by air treatment units.
 
When asked whether Corona has had a lot of influence at Voshol, Wilco answers: “Our customers in bedding plants, floriculture and some vegetables had a hard time in the beginning, but they managed to recover. We notice that the prices for raw materials have increased enormously and delivery times are slightly longer. We mainly work in the Netherlands and Canada, where we have a subsidiary. It is a huge challenge to get our stuff there on time due to limited availability of containers, but so far we have been able to meet all our deadlines.”

Wilco Voshol - Director at Voshol Warmte-Elektrotechniek