As indoor commercial cultivation becomes the gold standard in cannabis grows, environmental control systems' demand increases. Also known as controlled environment systems, these complex systems require extensive research. Let's cover some basics before you dig into specifics.
What are environmental control systems?
A growing environment is more than just the air temperature. It's a potent combination of multiple factors that impact plant growth. By controlling light, humidity, airflow, air and root zone temperature, nutrient, pH, and EC – you can optimize growth and efficiency.
Most innovative agricultural technology companies make sensors that collect critical crop level data to drive yields, reduce losses, and optimize irrigation. Additionally, controllers allow growers to automate many tasks associated with a thriving cultivation operation. Let's examine the different ways that a control system can improve your bottom line.
What are the environmental control system benefits?
Plants thrive in ideal conditions. Creating those conditions takes planning and knowledge. Different types of plants require different environments depending on the current growth stage the plant is in. Factoring in these differing conditions will provide an opportunity to increase plant health and encourage more robust yields.
By understanding each of these factors and taking control of them individually, you stand a better chance of providing precisely the right combination for you and your plants to succeed.
Take control of your grow room!
While our descriptions above provide a simplistic overview of indoor growing and greenhouses' environmental controls systems, these are complicated processes that require expertise. Here's a more detailed look at the different ways to control your growing environment.
Controllers - Industrial IoT controllers are designed to upgrade your farm to smart farm status. Connected to the internet, most have high-quality components combined with robust processing power to coordinate hundreds of connected devices throughout your greenhouse.
Sensors - Connected to the right controller, sensors monitor critical crop level data, capturing massive amounts of data that can be analyzed. This data can increase yields, prevent disease, and reduce energy usage.
Software platform - The right software platform connects virtually all of the technology in your grow space. It controls nearly every device and system in your greenhouse, giving you and your team an easy-to-use way to automate, create reports, and see real-time data, typically from your smartphone.
There are many options when searching for the right environmental control system for your greenhouse or grow room. Research companies and make sure that you can source your environmental controls from a reputable company that offers customer support. These are complex systems to install, and working with a team who can assist during installation is critical.
Technology is driven by necessity. By using various environmental controls, growers have gained better control over growing crops, making them more predictable, profitable, environmentally friendly, and efficient.
