Using computer simulations to model light and water use in an indoor vertical farm
Source: VFD.com
Using computer simulations to model light and water use in an indoor vertical farm Indoor vertical farming is a promising solution for sustainable urban food production, but its energy demand is strongly affected by the coupled operation of lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and dehumidification systems. The simulations were validated against a 72-h experimental campaign.
Cases neglecting evapotranspiration reproduced air temperature with apparently acceptable errors, but strongly underestimated relative humidity, with mean absolute errors of 5.98–6.93 percentage points. The coupled radiation-evapotranspiration approaches provided the best overall agreement: the constant-source model achieved mean absolute errors of 0.57 °C and 1.70 percentage points for temperature and relative humidity, respectively, while the fully predictive Penman-Monteith-based model yielded comparable values of 0.64 °C and 1.90 percentage points.
Venturini, Coupled radiation-evapotranspiration CFD modelling of an indoor vertical farm: Validation and sensitivity to model complexity, Applied Thermal Engineering, Volume 302, Part 3, 2026, 131906, ISSN 1359-4311, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.131906 Source: Science Direct Frontpage photo: © Serhii Neznamov | Dreamstime Publication date: Fri 3 Jul 2026 Related Articles → See More Using computer simulations to model light and water use in an indoor vertical farm Analyzing how lighting energy affects costs in vertical growing "The industry holds tremendous potential but lacks an organized platform" Singapore: University takes next step in translating sustainable growing media platform From fields to space farming, new tool detects crop drought stress before it's visible "We're building the brains for machines that will soon be used in greenhouses" Niger: 100 youths, women undergo hydroponic training St. Nigeria: UN-backed hydroponic fodder training reaches conflict-affected communities in Borno State Related Articles Using computer simulations to model light and water use in an indoor vertical farm Analyzing how lighting energy affects costs in vertical growing "The industry holds tremendous potential but lacks an organized platform" Singapore: University takes next step in translating sustainable growing media platform From fields to space farming, new tool detects crop drought stress before it's visible Related Articles "We're building the brains for machines that will soon be used in greenhouses" Niger: 100 youths, women undergo hydroponic training St.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
