Development of a Multi-Fan System (MFS) in a Plant Factory with Artificial Light

• Published in: 2022 IEEE International Conference on Power and Energy: Advancement in Power and Energy Systems towards Sustainable and Resilient Energy Supply, PECon 2022
• Main Authors: Abdul Kader M.M.M., Razali Z.B., Mustafa W.A., Mansor M.N., Nagoor Gunny A.A., Akbar M.F., Osman M.K., Setumin S., Idris M., Bin Ramli M.A., Sharifful Mizam N.S.
• Format: Conference Paper
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 2022
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85146434208&doi=10.1109%2fPECon54459.2022.9988825&partnerID=40&md5=4183bcfd7762ebb713e9e51650222aa9

A plant factory is a factory that grows plants indoors. These indoor farms could be the key to solve food shortages in the world. Plant factories are operated in indoor spaces under controlled cultivation conditions such as light, temperature and humidity. Then, a multi-fan system (MFS) for single culture beds. The MFS had four fans which were installed on both the front and back sides of culture beds to generate airflow from two opposite horizontal directions by using the Internet of Things (IoT) via the access and connection of smartphone devices. The fans that push the air into the culture bed were air inlets while those that pull the air out of the culture bed were air outlets. The main problem is in plant factories with artificial light, a heat that is usually used to control the environmental parameters and the air velocity is generally lower than the optimum range required for plant growth. Compare to a plant factory without using a multi-fan, it no circulation of air in the container to ensure continuous gas exchange. This reduction in gas exchange can impact calcium uptake by the plants. The gas exchange makes the tip burn. Tip burn can have a significant impact on the salability of a lettuce crop. Based on the limitations that have been highlighted previously, this research has been carried out by using multi-fan and without multi-fan. To get the data that need to be compared. Then, to improve the airflow in a plant factory with artificial light and prevent tip burn occur on the lettuce itself. In a nutshell, this prototype is expected to help plant factories reduce tip burn symptoms on leaf lettuce and the airflow can improve the growth of indoor cultured lettuce. © 2022 IEEE.