Project aims to create 'smart' greenhouse

Cleveland Botanical Garden and Kent State University’s Liquid Crystal Institute launched a research project this spring to explore ways liquid crystal technology can be used to create more sustainable, energy-efficient greenhouses.

Officials from both organizations unveiled the two greenhouses that will be used in the first phase of the project. One contains liquid crystal panels and the other, a control, has plain glass. A demonstration revealed how the panes “switch” to manage the amount of sunlight that enters the greenhouse.

Results from the experiment will be collected and analyzed over the next several years. Cleveland Botanical Garden and the university plan to use the findings to create a fully automated “smart” greenhouse that will provide an ideal growing environment for a variety of plants.

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For more: Cleveland Botanical Garden, (216) 707-2814; www.cbgarden.org. Kent State University, (330) 221-4272; www.kent.edu.

August 2008