Articles
Enhancing resource use efficiency in plant factory
Article number
1271_42
Pages
307 – 314
Language
English
Abstract
The operational costs and resource-use efficiency of multi-tier-based plant factory systems can be improved by appropriate production-system design modifications for key technologies and control strategies while considering the crop-specific minimum environmental requirements.
Lack of detailed engineering analysis in the system design can lead to inefficient use of resources (i.e. energy, CO2, water), non-uniform environment, higher system costs, and limit production quality, yield, and profitability.
For indoor farming, the outdoor climates, characteristics of building envelope, and HVAC systems have a significant effect on the heating and cooling thermal loads of an indoor plant factory and therefore influence energy consumptions.
In this study, potential factors that affect energy consumption of an indoor farm for growing lettuces were studied.
These factors include outdoor climate (with four typical climate zones: very cold, hot and dry, cold moderate, and hot and humid), different day period and dark period temperatures, operating schedule for day and dark periods, and light efficiency.
Energy saving was evaluated with energy consumption in kWh and energy use efficiency in kWh per kg of the fresh weight of lettuce.
The results show that operating an indoor farm in a cold climate and choosing lights in high efficiency can help to reduce energy consumption.
Setting day period temperature and dark period temperature with maximum lettuce production was suggested for maximizing energy use efficiency.
Scheduling day periods during the night can also help to save energy and avoid high cooling demand during the peak heat of a day.
It also helps to reduce the electricity bill by shifting the photoperiod to off-peak hours.
Lack of detailed engineering analysis in the system design can lead to inefficient use of resources (i.e. energy, CO2, water), non-uniform environment, higher system costs, and limit production quality, yield, and profitability.
For indoor farming, the outdoor climates, characteristics of building envelope, and HVAC systems have a significant effect on the heating and cooling thermal loads of an indoor plant factory and therefore influence energy consumptions.
In this study, potential factors that affect energy consumption of an indoor farm for growing lettuces were studied.
These factors include outdoor climate (with four typical climate zones: very cold, hot and dry, cold moderate, and hot and humid), different day period and dark period temperatures, operating schedule for day and dark periods, and light efficiency.
Energy saving was evaluated with energy consumption in kWh and energy use efficiency in kWh per kg of the fresh weight of lettuce.
The results show that operating an indoor farm in a cold climate and choosing lights in high efficiency can help to reduce energy consumption.
Setting day period temperature and dark period temperature with maximum lettuce production was suggested for maximizing energy use efficiency.
Scheduling day periods during the night can also help to save energy and avoid high cooling demand during the peak heat of a day.
It also helps to reduce the electricity bill by shifting the photoperiod to off-peak hours.
Authors
Y. Zhang, M. Kacira
Keywords
plant factory, climate control, building energy simulation, resource savings
Groups involved
- Division Greenhouse and Indoor Production Horticulture
- Division Precision Horticulture and Engineering
- Division Plant-Environment Interactions in Field Systems
- Working Group Nettings in Horticulture (subgroup of Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climates)
- Working Group Light in Horticulture
- Working Group Organic Greenhouse Horticulture
- Working Group Modelling Plant Growth, Environmental Control, Greenhouse Environment
- Working Group Protected Cultivation, Nettings and Screens for Mild Climates
- Working Group Vegetable Grafting
- Working Group Computational Fluid Dynamics in Agriculture
- Working Group Design and Automation in Integrated Indoor Production Systems
- Working Group Mechanization, Digitization, Sensing and Robotics
- Working Group Greenhouse Environment and Climate Control
- Commission Agroecology and Organic Farming Systems
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