Power management for vertical farms
Power management for vertical farms can be used to control different agricultural actuators such as phytolight, irrigation or fertilization with fixed-protocol growth (based on periodical timers) and feedback-based protocols (based on sensor data). Water-/air-preparation, e.g. pH control, adding fertilizers, ozonation/AOP (advanced oxidation process), aeration/OMB (O2 microbubbles), magnetic treatment and other approaches, can also use this system and combine it with a bio-feedback from plants.
The power management system is directly connected to the phytosensor and control up to 6 Solid State Relays (SSR), Electromechanical Relays (EMR) or high power MOSFETs. The AN28 shortly describes agricultural usage of this system.
Typical implementation:
- 3x controllable (ON/OFF) 220V/110V outputs (max. 10A): used for phytolight (full spectra, far-red, UV, any supplementary light)
- 3x non-controllable (always ON, max. 10A) 220V/110V outputs: used for continuous powering of infractuture (comunication, PC, etc.)
- 2x 12V PWM outputs (max. 10A): used for irrigation/fertilization pumps
- 1x 12V output (always ON, max. 10A): used for 12V fans or aeration
- 1x 5V USB output (max. 3A): used for autonomous powering USB devices
Applications
- vertical farms
- hydroponics
- water-/air- preparation systems