Yes, under the right conditions, low-grade heat can become a valuable energy source for greenhouse production.
Industrial facilities, data centers and other energy-intensive operations can produce significant amounts of heat that are not always put to further use. For greenhouse projects, this creates an opportunity to connect locally available energy with controlled food production.
The challenge is that not every greenhouse is designed to use lower-temperature heat efficiently. That is why the greenhouse concept, climate strategy and available energy source need to be considered together.
Greenhouse heating does more than maintain the desired indoor temperature.
It is part of the overall climate strategy around the crop and interacts with factors such as air movement, humidity and ventilation. The way heat is introduced into the greenhouse therefore has a direct influence on how effectively it can be used.
Conventional greenhouse concepts often depend on relatively high-temperature heating systems. This can make lower-temperature energy sources more difficult to apply efficiently without additional measures. KUBO's technical material similarly distinguishes conventional high-temperature greenhouse heating from the lower-temperature possibilities offered by Ultra-Clima®.
Low-grade heat is heat available at a relatively low temperature compared with traditional greenhouse heating sources.
It can come from several sources, including: industrial processes; data centers; energy and power facilities; geothermal or other suitable low-temperature energy sources.
Not all of these sources are technically waste heat. Geothermal energy, for example, is a low-grade heat source rather than residual heat from another process.
What they have in common is that the available temperature may require a different greenhouse and energy approach.
The lower the available temperature, the more important it becomes to use that energy efficiently.
Ultra-Clima® was developed around a different approach to greenhouse climate management than a conventional greenhouse. This makes it possible to work effectively with lower-temperature heat in situations where traditional greenhouse heating concepts may require higher temperatures.
For the project developer, that can open up energy sources that might otherwise be difficult to integrate into commercial greenhouse production.
KUBO's previous work identifies low-grade energy sources as a particularly relevant match for Ultra-Clima®.
The exact solution, however, is always project-specific.
Temperature alone is not enough to determine whether an available heat source can support a greenhouse project.
KUBO considers several factors together.
| Available capacity | Is enough heat available to support the greenhouse when it is required? |
| Consistency | Is the energy source available reliably throughout the day and throughout the year? |
| Energy profile | Does the supply of heat align with the seasonal heating demand of the greenhouse? |
| Location | How close is the heat source to the proposed greenhouse site? |
| Infrastructure | What infrastructure is needed to make the available energy usable within the greenhouse project? |
| Commercial conditions | What agreements apply to heat price, availability, offtake and other operational requirements? |
Together, these factors determine whether an available heat source represents a genuine project opportunity rather than simply an interesting source of energy.
The strongest opportunities arise when energy and greenhouse design are considered together from the beginning.
A greenhouse designed without considering the characteristics of the available energy source may miss opportunities for more efficient integration later.
KUBO therefore approaches waste heat as part of the complete production ecosystem — connecting energy availability with greenhouse technology, climate requirements and long-term operation.
This also means considering continuity. An external heat source may not always be available, so reliability and potential backup requirements need to form part of the project strategy. These considerations are also explicitly identified in KUBO's waste-heat project material.
KUBO has greenhouse experience with several types of external heat sources, including industrial processes, power generation and data centers.
One example is Selected Group in Sweden, where greenhouse production is connected to heat from a paper mill. KUBO's project overview lists the project among its real-world applications of low-temperature industrial heat.
These projects demonstrate an important principle: there is no universal waste-heat solution. The opportunity needs to be evaluated around the specific source, location and greenhouse project.
If a site has access to waste heat or another low-temperature energy source, it may create an opportunity for greenhouse production.
The first step is not to select equipment. It is to understand the available energy and determine how it fits with the greenhouse production concept.
KUBO helps project developers, investors and operators assess that opportunity and translate it into an integrated greenhouse concept.
Explore KUBO's waste heat solutions →