Dehumidification in the field of vertical farming with hydroponic systems
Trotec dehumidification solutions ensure yield, quality and yield reliability in food cultivation in indoor farms.
According to a prognosis by the United Nations, the world’s population will have almost increased to some 10 billion people in 2050 – three quarters of them in the urban space.
For decades, cities have been growing steadily and the population density in many regions have increased continuously. As a result, urban centres are extending more and more and swallow valuable farmland. Additionally, large parts of the worldwide cultivation areas for food are already contaminated today with organic and inorganic pollutants and are thus lost to agriculture. Fertile soils, however, are one of our most valuable resources and indispensable where the food supply of the population is concerned.
A global challenge for nourishing the world's population – which more and more companies are meeting globally with innovative indoor vertical farming solutions.
For this purpose, disused factories, storage facilities or shipping containers in the heart of the urban space are converted to multi-storey gardens that are arranged vertically, in which, with innovative air-conditioning technology from Trotec healthy and fresh food such as fruit, vegetables or spices is cultivated.
Trotec air-conditioning technology promotes growth and yield
The light required for the plant growth is provided via artificial lighting systems. In addition to the lighting in the suitable colour spectrum, in particular an ideally regulated temperature and humidity play a fundamental role where controlled plant growth is concerned.
With mobile dehumidifiers, powerful industrial condenser dryers and smart climate data loggers from Trotec, these parameters can be monitored, controlled and regulated fully automatically.
TROTEC CASE STUDY:
Alesca Life, vertical farming in Dubai
Hydroponics is an agricultural technology with future potential. With vertical farming, plants can thrive in urban areas to supply the growing population with fresh, regional fruit and vegetables. The company "Alesca Life" banks on dehumidification solutions from Trotec to provide for ideal climate conditions in the growth process – for vegetarian foods of the highest quality. Read the Case Study here:
Advantages of climate control with indoor farming
Whereas the climate conditions for the cultivation of food crops are predominately good to ideal for outdoor farming, indoor cultivation proves to be considerably difficult. In addition to the necessary nutritional supply of the plants with hydroponic systems, perfectly attuned lighting and air-conditioning technology, for example to simulate a change of the times of year or day, a controlled humidity level is of vital importance for a healthy plant growth in the field of indoor growing.
Therefore, companies like Alesca Life Technologies specialising in vertical farming rely on suitably dimensioned air conditioning solutions from Trotec to provide for ideal climate conditions (humidity level and temperature) with smart technology for the dehumidification, ventilation and temperature control in their indoor farms.
Controlled humidity values in all flowering phases
In the course of their initiation, formation and maturing, plants pass through different phases with different requirements to the humidity level in each case. Therefore it is indispensable for indoor farming that the humidity level is checked and adapted to the different stages of the growth phase.
In the germination and propagation phase, plants require a relatively high humidity level of about 70 to 80 % RH. to develop their roots. Until the roots have formed, the cuttings draw the water from the air via the leaves. In the growth phase, the humidity requirement decreases to approx. 50 to 80 % RH, since the water consumption is now increasingly effected via the roots that are developing. The humidity level in the flowering phase should be considerably lower. A controlled humidity level of 40 to 60 % RH minimises the risk of mould infestation on the dense leaves and blossoms.
Our mobile dehumidifiers of the TTK series and flexibly configurable industrial condenser dryers of the DH series guarantee a controlled humidity level in all phases of indoor cultivation. The water consumption can be accelerated via the air with constant ventilation by axial fans of the TTV series with high air flow rates. To ensure the permanent control and long-term storage of all key climate parameters, the use of DL200 climate data loggers is recommendable.
Yield maximisation and protection against harvest failures
For indoor growing in indoor farms, where the plants show extreme sensitivity to variations in temperature and humidity, Trotec dehumidifiers ensure ideal conditions for a healthy plant growth as mobile or permanently installed floor-mounted or wall-mounted solutions.
The formation of harmful condensate and consequently the development of plant diseases such as mildew and grey mould is prevented in a controlled fashion so as to prevent a reduced yield of flower mass and a reduced quality, or even harvest failures.
Mobile dehumidification systems for every room size
Whether you have a growbox with a small base area, a converted container, or extensive indoor farms in halls – the highly versatile commercial dehumidifiers of the TTK series with their dehumidification capacities of 20 – 150 litres per day and a scalable air flow rate of 250 – 1,000 m³ per hour ensure a high dehumidification performance for almost every room sizes.
The dehumidifiers do not score their winning points with unnecessary “frills” which in practice only complicate maintenance and cleaning and force up the costs, but by focussing on the essentials. Durability, robustness, reliability, a high dehumidification performance and value retention – these features define the coordinate system of the TTK professional series, for an excellent dehumidification performance in vertical farming environments.
Up to 150 litres of water per day, i.e. an equivalent to approx. 6 litres per hour, are for example condensed from the air by a TTK 655 S in the shipping containers converted to vertical gardens by Alesca Life Technologies. The excessive humidity is conveniently and easily transported away via a powerful condensate pump with a pump performance of up to 50 m as well as a maximum delivery head of 4 m. Ideal conditions for vertical farming applications on different levels up to farms covering several storeys.
In these conditions, the extremely maintenance-friendly drying devices demand a comparatively small space, they are exceptionally mobile, versatile, and can be stacked, if necessary, to ensure space-saving storage or to accomplish transport to the site of installation.
For all commercial dehumidifiers of the TTK series including:
- mobile, versatile, space-saving and perfect to use
- Maximum protection against dust and moisture for all electrical components
- Scalable dehumidification performance for all room sizes
- Robust sheet steel housing with high-quality coating
- Comparatively low investment costs
On the lower end of the scale, the range of mobile dehumidifiers is topped off by the equally powerful and attractively priced commercial dehumidifiers of the TTK-S and TTK ECO series. The perfect basic equipment to provide for a perfect start to indoor farming with a sufficient power capacity for continuous growth.
Stationary dehumidification solutions for maximum profitability
Industrial condenser dryers of the DH series are powerful drying devices with a dehumidification performance of up to 500 litres per day (air volume of 4,600 m³/h) – designed for large-scale indoor farms in halls and buildings specifically constructed for this purpose.
The air sucked in by air circulation is led through an evaporator, cooled below its dew point temperature, condensed to water drops and is then discharged to a collection container. The cold, dry air is now guided through the hot condenser, there it heats up due to the process energy and then flows back into the room as dry, warm air before taking up moisture again. This heat pump principle ensures an optimum humidity level at minimum energy costs.
Maximum drying air performance is guaranteed by the extensively equipped industrial desiccant dehumidifiers of the TTR series. With a scalable dehumidification performance of up to 1,790 litres per day (air volume of 14,700 m³/h), the desiccant dehumidifiers are ideally equipped even for larger cultivation areas.
All Trotec drying devices include:
- Professional quality "made in Germany" – originally produced by Trotec
- Scalable dehumidification performance for all applications and cultivation surfaces
- Robust sheet steel housing with high-quality coating
- Can be configured individually for any application due to a wide range of equipment options
Why the tried and tested dehumidification solutions from Trotec are also your best choice when it comes to vertical farming
Optimum climate conditions and humidity values are indispensable for the indoor cultivation of plants. To ensure a maximum harvest with a high quality and at the same time prevent expensive harvest failures, reliable dehumidification solutions are required. With the mobile and stationary dehumidification systems from Trotec, you rely on well-proven solutions with a high economic efficiency in all phases of indoor growing.
Make use of our best practice industrial services
Since every industrial undertaking has characteristic process flows, installations and facilities, every air treatment solution demands case-specific device configurations. All in all, the combined effects of air currents, humidity conditions and temperature fluctuations are often hard to calculate on a purely theoretical basis, e.g. in airlock areas or on conveying paths. The consequence: Unnecessary additional costs due to an overestimated demand or – even worse – solutions not working sufficiently in real life.
You can count on our experts
In order to precisely calculate the demand in the industry and to develop tailor-made concepts for climate conditioning experienced climate specialists are needed. Rely on our team of experts as well as the industrial services: We analyse the individual requirement situation with you present on site, determine the specific demand for devices and develop a tailor-made project solution right up to the exact positioning of the devices.
Just give us a call at +49 2452 962-777 – our industry consultants will be pleased to help you personally and provide information regarding our best practice industrial services. Or send a request indicating your personal requirements directly to our industry experts. We will answer promptly!
Products for vertical farming & indoor gardening with hydroponic systems
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