Environmental control systems have proven to be a key element for indoor and greenhouse growers, helping users to improve plant quality, control temperature and other variables. They also help growers collect useful data and are an important labor-saving tool. However, only well-designed systems will elevate an operation to optimal levels. During this webinar, three industry experts from Argus Controls explore the advantages and how to optimize the use of indoor and greenhouse automation systems.
Topics addressed include:
What is a well-designed automation system?
Macro and micro views, and conditions to understand what is happening within your greenhouse
What can an integrated greenhouse control system control?
How does a well-designed automation system help you be more efficient?
How can people use the monitoring data to reduce costs?
How can predictive algorithms help you achieve peak efficiency?
It may not seem like much with 3 or 4 zones, but with 50 or 60 zones in an area that has its fans off for most of the day, it adds up to significant electricity savings, which increases your profit margins.
Below is an excerpt from the full webinar entitled How a Well-Designed Automation System can Contribute to Increased Yield & Quality. The full webinar transcript can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
What is a well-designed automation system?
First and foremost, a well-designed automation system is a fully integrated system. There are factors that affect your greenhouse and the yield of your crop, such as different watering systems, fertilizer systems, lighting, venting, heating, and cooling systems. The more of them you include under one platform, the better position you will be in when it comes to automation.
What is happening in your greenhouse?
One of the advantages of a fully integrated control system is having visibility of what is going on throughout the entire facility. Not only will it give you a good view of what’s going on at your entire horticultural facility, you can also dive deeper to see a more micro view per zone. When looking at that zone view, you are looking not only at environmental parameters, but also comparing them to external parameters such as the weather station data and seeing what the equipment is actually doing. Part of an automation system – and control strategies in general – is trying to optimize how equipment and mechanical systems are utilized.
I have gone into systems and have tuned their environmental controls and increased their yields by up to 20, 30, and sometimes 40 percent.
What can I control?
An integrated controls system like Argus can control virtually everything. We mainly support horticulture facilities that intend to control the complete environment, the irrigation system, the nutrient delivery systems, and CO2 injections. When talking about the environment, irrigation, and fertigation, they all tie in together, which is why full integration is so important. There are so many aspects in a horticultural greenhouse or vertical farm, you need to control everything because it is all interrelated.
How can I reduce costs?
The first step is to trend absolutely everything you have a sensor for, and do so against your parameters. This means seeing the real time values of what is going on and comparing it to what you want to happen. When you have a well-designed, fully integrated automation system, you can see the direct cause and effect between what’s trending and the desired outcome you are looking for.
Read the full transcript here:
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Increased Yield & Quality with Greenhouse Controls Systems
