A microleaf producer asked Sitetech to design and implement a comprehensive control system for their vertical farm. Our brief covered climate, dehumidification, LED lighting and irrigation, delivered as one connected system rather than separate packages.
Project summary: Sitetech automated ventilation, heating and air conditioning (VHAC), the dehumidification units and the LED lighting, and designed an irrigation system with multi-stage filtration and up to 8 injectors. Every sensor reading and setting is recorded for the grower in a closed PC-based system.
The client is a microleaf producer with a vertical farm. They needed a control system to automate the whole growing environment so that conditions could be managed precisely and consistently.
The scope of the project included:
Our preferred automation supplier, DGT by Senmatic, provided a full spectrum of control equipment tailored to the specific needs of the facility. Sitetech is the main UK distributor for DGT by Senmatic, and the project shows what that means in practice: climate, lighting and irrigation designed to work as a single system, with one team responsible for the design.
With Senmatic’s controls we were able to adjust both the light spectrum and the light intensity on a fitting-by-fitting basis. That level of precision allows multiple crop varieties, each with different environmental and lighting requirements, to be grown at the same time within the same structure.
For the grower, this means flexibility: different varieties with different needs can share the same structure. Our LED grow lighting page explains the DGT by Senmatic fixture range and the controller that ties it together.
The irrigation system was designed with a robust, multi-stage filtration process. Its purpose is to keep recycled water clean, oxygenated and free from pathogens, which protects the crop from problems carried in recirculated water.
The system also has up to 8 injectors. These allow precise addition of nutrients, acids or biological treatments such as nematodes, giving the grower fine-tuned crop management and the ability to target treatments. For more on the fertigation equipment we specify, see our irrigation and fertigation systems page.
All sensor readings and control settings are continuously recorded within a closed PC-based system. The grower has an unlimited amount of historical data available for analysis, performance tracking and long-term optimisation.
The grower can use that record for analysis, performance tracking and long-term optimisation. Because it covers both what the sensors saw and what the system was told to do, the grower can look back at how changes in settings related to conditions in the facility.
If you are planning a vertical farm or looking to automate an existing growing space, we would be happy to talk through what is involved. Our page on climate control systems covers the DGT by Senmatic range, and DGT by Senmatic explains our partnership with the manufacturer.
Planning something similar for your growing operation? Contact Simon on 07881 271 117 or email simon@sitetech.uk to talk through your needs.
See also our page on vertical farming irrigation and control.
Contact Simon on 07881 271 117 or email simon@sitetech.uk.
