182: The Importance of Smart Controls in Transforming Greenhouse Operations

Ever wondered if your greenhouse control system is actually helping—or if it’s leaving you in the dark about your energy bills? I’ve been there, and that’s exactly what we dig into in this episode.

Joining me are Neda, CEO and co-founder of Microclimates, and Gretchen, Executive Director at the Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering Consortium at Cornell, whose combined expertise covers everything from cutting-edge environmental controls to energy efficiency in controlled environment agriculture. Neda has an extensive background in developing technologies that empower growers with actionable data, while Gretchen brings years of research experience with leading universities and utility-backed initiatives in optimizing greenhouse lighting and automation.

This episode unpacks the real-world findings from the CalNEX Project—a first-of-its-kind scientific study focused on the impact of smart environmental monitoring and controls in California greenhouses. We compare “smart” and “smarter” systems, revealing surprising industry gaps in environmental data collection, misunderstood overhead costs, and how simple steps can lead to significant energy savings and business sustainability.

Beyond the results, we chat about practical steps for adopting automation without ripping out your current systems, new open-platform sensor trends, the reality (and future) of AI in controlled ag, and why a phased, data-driven approach will be key for small and large growers alike. If you’re daunted by all the talk of sensors, integration, or AI, consider this the guide to understanding what actually matters—and what you can do today.

Curious if you’re missing an easy win in your farm’s energy management, or want a reality check on all the AI hype? Tune in now and turn your environmental data into your biggest asset!

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Key Takeaways

00:00 Discussing the CalNEX Project findings

03:17 Smart Controls Project achievements

07:52 Improving greenhouse energy efficiency

10:34 Energy consumption misconceptions

12:57 Diverse systems in cannabis farming

19:10 Automating greenhouse light management

22:22 Operational impacts in construction projects

25:40 Consulting on greenhouse tech needs

27:50 Discussing phased approach for innovations

29:57 Phased approach to AI implementation

35:51 Parental influence on IT security

37:02 Adopting AI and Automation Tools

41:17 Starting with basic crop monitoring

43:32 Indoor farming control techniques

46:39 Year of retrofits and opportunities

49:46 Appreciating industry partnerships

Tweetable Quotes"Our job is to complement what's already there. The projects Gretchen mentioned, every site had something different… Our job wasn't to go in and just say, rip everything out for this control study and start over because we want to collect the data. It was really to take a look at what do you currently have, how can we complement that with adding more environmental insight, environmental visibility to that operation, and is there a way that we can integrate what you currently have?" "I'd say the biggest surprise and biggest lesson was that they didn't have enough environmental visibility. A lot of these operations had maybe one temperature humidity sensor hanging in the middle of the room representing the entire greenhouse or a section of the greenhouse. Your control system is only as good as the information it's taking in, like the input, right?""If you don't have the thousands of data points, if you can't summarize the trends, if you can't make any recommendations and alerts, and you can't generate those reports based on the thousand data points, how is this AI going to actually get to know you?... First of all, we have to step back and say, are operators actually collecting data? We already said early on in this conversation they are, but they don't have enough environmental visibility, which means they actually are not collecting enough data."Resources Mentioned

Website - www.microclimates.com

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Microclimates-Inc

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/microclimates

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/microclimates.inc

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/microclimates

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gschimelpfenig/

Resource Innovation Institute - https://resourceinnovation.org/

Microclimates - https://microclimates.com/

Priva Control Systems - https://www.priva.com/

Ritter Greenhouse Automation - https://rittergreenhouse.com/

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2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews

2025 Precision Ag Report