Cleaning Greenhouses With Drones
- Geoffrey M Green
- Feb 23
- 4 min read
Greenhouses are the backbone of modern horticulture, providing controlled environments for growing everything from tomatoes to exotic flowers. However, keeping these structures clean - free of moss, mold, dust, and debris - is a persistent challenge.
Traditionally, this has meant labor-intensive manual cleaning or costly machinery. Enter drones: A revolutionary tool transforming greenhouse maintenance. These unmanned aerial vehicles are soaring into the agricultural sector, offering efficiency, safety, and sustainability.
Table of Contents
Lets explore how drones are reshaping greenhouse cleaning, their benefits, the technology behind them, real-world applications, and what the future holds.
1. Why Greenhouse Cleaning Matters?
Greenhouses rely on sunlight to nurture plants, but dirt, algae, moss, and mold can reduce light transmission by up to 10%, directly impacting crop growth. Greenhouses with a 10% light reduction translates to a 10% drop in yield - an alarming statistic for any operation. Beyond light, cleanliness affects structural integrity and pest control. Dirty roofs harbor pests like moths or fungi, threatening entire harvests.
Manual cleaning - clambering onto roofs with brushes or pressure washers - is time-consuming and risky. Workers face falls, and fragile greenhouse materials can crack underfoot. Traditional roof washers or helicopters, while effective for some, aren’t always practical for smaller setups or tight spaces. This is where innovation steps in, and drones are proving to be a game-changer.
2. How Drones Clean Greenhouse?
Drones are no longer just for aerial photography - they’re tackling dirty greenhouses with precision. Equipped with sprayers, drones can clean hard-to-reach surfaces without scaffolds or ladders.
The process is straightforward: a drone, piloted or autonomous, flies over or alongside the greenhouse, applying water, biodegradable cleaners. Unlike helicopters, drones can navigate tight spots, and unlike roof washers, they don’t require built-in infrastructure. They’re also safer - no one’s balancing on a slippery roof or gutters. This blend of accessibility and efficiency is why growers worldwide are taking notice.
ReduSystems, in The Netherlands, takes it a step further by using drones to spray greenhouse roofs with a sun blocking coating to control the amount of sunlight entering the greenhouse. After the summer season is complete - they come back to clean the coating off of the greenhouse roof.
3. Benefits of Using Drones
The advantages of drone-based cleaning and inspections are compelling, making them a smart investment for growers. Let’s break them down:
Safety First: No more sending workers up ladders or onto fragile roofs. Drones eliminate human risk, a major plus after incidents like the one reported by Greenhouse Product News, where a worker inspecting a greenhouse fell from the gutter - prompting the grower to switch to an $800 drone for future inspections.
Time Efficiency: A drone can cover vast areas fast. Agdrone’s team logs 4-5 hours of flight time daily, cleaning up to 1.25 hectares - far quicker than manual methods.
Cost Savings: Hiring a drone cleaning service eliminates the hefty upfront cost of buying a drone, offering immediate savings without the commitment. You also avoid expenses like scaffolding, heavy machinery, or even ongoing maintenance and the time it takes to learn how to use the cleaning drone.
Precision and Coverage: Drones ensure even application of cleaners, minimizing waste and runoff. Their reach extends to every corner, unlike ground-based tools.
These perks resonate with growers facing labor shortages and rising costs, especially as greenhouse acreage grows 5-10% yearly. Drones aren’t just a luxury they’re a necessity for scaling operations sustainably.
4. Technology Powering Drone-Based Cleaning
What makes drones so effective at cleaning greenhouses? It’s all in the tech. Modern drones combine advanced hardware and software to tackle this unique environment:
Spraying Systems: Drones like the DJI Agras uses precision sprayers, adjustable for water, cleaning solutions, or shading to spray greenhouse roofs.
Autonomy: Autonomous drones, can clean without constant human input, following preset flightpaths to use the least amount of power, water, and cleaning solution to complete the job quickly and efficiently.
5. The Future of Drones in Greenhouse Care
The horizon for drone-based greenhouse cleaning is bright. As technology advances, expect broader adoption and new applications. Subscription services, where vendors handle maintenance (noted by Greenhouse Grower), are lowering entry barriers for small growers. Imagine a “drone-in-a-box” setup: you schedule a cleaning, and it flies, sprays, and returns - all hands-free.
Integration with data-driven horticulture is another frontier. Drones already monitor crops (think Corvus’ germination counts), so pairing cleaning with real-time analytics could optimize light and yield simultaneously. In pest-heavy regions, bat-inspired drones like PATS-X might evolve to clean and control pests in one pass, merging hygiene with protection.
Challenges remain—regulations, initial costs, and scaling specialized drones—but the trajectory is clear. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International predicts an $82 billion economic impact from drones in agriculture over the next decade, with 80% tied to commercial uses like this. As climate change shifts pest patterns and labor grows scarcer, drones will be indispensable.
Conclusion
In an era where efficiency, safety, and sustainability define agricultural success, drones are proving to be more than just a high-tech novelty—they’re a vital tool for keeping greenhouses in top shape. From slashing labor costs and risks to boosting yields through cleaner, light-optimized roofs, these aerial innovators address challenges that have plagued growers for decades.
The agricultural drone market is poised for explosive growth. Now is the time for growers to embrace this revolution, ensuring their greenhouses remain the thriving heart of modern horticulture.
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