Full Description

Recent interest in indoor urban food production is driven by the need to increase food capacity and food security. A small-scale and low-cost indoor vertical food production unit has been built and demonstrated to evaluate the potential for such systems to be integrated into residential buildings. The prototype contains 8.358 m of growing space packaged over a footprint of 1.393 m. 21-day production trials were run for arugula and lettuce. Results suggest that such a unit can supply up to 2 servings of fresh vegetables per day to the household. The effect of such a system on the indoor environment is discussed, and lighting, HVAC, and irrigation loads are evaluated. Economic analysis shows payback within the first year. Moreover, the scalability of such a unit offers promise for medium and large commercial operation.

Citation: 2018 Winter Conference, Chicago, IL, Conference Papers

Product Details

Published: 2018 Number of Pages: 7Units of Measure:DualFile Size: 1 file , 580 KB Product Code(s): D-CH-18-C047