Selection Criteria
Your Cravo sales representative can help you determine which retractable roof house design is right for you, by understanding:
-
Which crop you wish to grow,
-
What time of the year you wish to have maximum production,
-
The weather conditions during the time of year when you want to grow the crops,
-
And your budget.
All Cravo retractable roof houses are available with white or clear roofs and are designed to optimize growing conditions throughout
the day while protecting crops from:
-
Cold night time temperatures,
-
Excessive plant and soil temperatures during hot, sunny conditions
-
Damage due to strong winds
-
Damage due to the impact of a hard driving rain
-
Damage from hail
However the retractable roof house designs differ in:
-
Their wind and snow load capacities
-
Whether they keep 95% or 100% dry during rain
Answers to the following questions will better determine what is important for your CROPS:
-
Which crops do you want to protect?
-
Do you only need protect crops damage from excessive cold conditions which occur infrequently or do you need to maintain greater than 10C temperature differentials 24 hours a day during the winter?
-
Can plant get wet during the rain, but they must be protected from damage due to the impact of a hard driving rain?
-
Is it sufficient to keep 95% of crops dry during rainfall or must 100% of crops be kept dry?
-
When 95% of crops are dry, rain will drip through the roof on a 45cm x 67 grid pattern.
-
The capital cost of the retractable roof house will increase by 100% to go from 95% rain protection to 100%.
-
Can the rain be directed away from the crops and then fall on the ground between the crop line, or must rain must be collected in gutters?
To better understand the CLIMATE of where your farm will be located:
-
Are winter temperatures generally too cold 24 hours a day or primarily at night?
-
What is the maximum wind speed that occurs at the farm?
-
If hurricanes or cyclones occur, can the roof be retracted to protect the structure and covering or is it preferred to be able to keep the roof and walls closed to protect the crops?
-
You will retract the roof when a hurricane approaches, then at what wind speed would you retract the roof to protect the structure and covering?
-
You want to leave the roof closed to protect the plants, then what is the maximum wind speed that you want the house and roof designed withstand?
What is the snow load ( kg/ sq m) that house must be designed to withstand?