Microclimate Control Using Unsaturated Air Around Organisms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing climate control systems for greenhouses and other spaces housing organisms are complex, energy-intensive, and sensitive to maintenance, often failing to maintain optimal conditions due to interactions between climate factors and equipment, leading to inefficient energy use and suboptimal growth conditions.
Innovation Solution
A control system that utilizes unsaturated conditioned air supplied at a height level below the organism to create a comfortable microclimate, leveraging principles of air movement and humidity to influence the boundary layer around the organism, promoting natural air circulation and vaporization, thereby reducing energy consumption and enhancing growth conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional climate control systems are used to maintain optimal growth conditions, then organism comfort and growth conditions are improved, but energy consumption increases and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows the organism to actively participate in its own climate regulation by measuring its body temperature and using this information to control the surrounding microclimate, rather than requiring complex external control systems to maintain optimal conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts climate parameters (temperature, humidity) based on real-time organism body temperature measurements, creating adaptive microclimate zones that respond to actual organism needs rather than maintaining fixed setpoints
2Reliability
If traditional climate control systems are used to maintain optimal growth conditions, then organism comfort and growth conditions are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of controlling the entire greenhouse climate uniformly, the system creates localized microclimate zones around individual organisms or plant groups, with each zone independently controlled based on local organism temperature measurements
Solution Approach 2:
The organism itself serves as the sensor by providing body temperature measurements that directly control its own microclimate, eliminating the need for complex external sensing and control systems
3Use of energy by moving object
If average climate values are maintained in traditional systems, then energy consumption is reduced, but organism comfort and growth conditions deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from maintaining fixed average climate parameters to dynamically adjusting microclimate parameters based on real-time organism body temperature, allowing optimal conditions to be achieved only when and where needed
4Stability of the object's composition
If traditional greenhouse control systems are used, then climate stability is improved, but productivity decreases due to inefficient energy use
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates localized microclimate zones around individual organisms or plant groups, providing stable optimal conditions only where needed rather than maintaining uniform stability throughout the entire greenhouse, thereby improving productivity while reducing energy consumption
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly reduces energy use while improving the comfort and growth conditions for plants and animals by creating a responsive and adaptive microclimate, leading to increased yields and more efficient use of greenhouse space, with tested results showing 10-30% yield increases in conventional greenhouses.
Implementation Method 1
influ ence the boundary layer around the organism
Implementation Method 2
promoting natural air circulation and vaporization
Implementation Method 3
promoting natural air circulation and vaporization
Data Source
AI summary
Controls for the climate in a space such as a building such as greenhouse, barn, office and house or such as a vehicle such as car, ship and aircraft. An organism therein forms part of the control system for the climate in the space, and the controls comprise the at least co-controlling of the temperature of this organism. Use is here at made of at the level of the organism supplied, unsaturated, in dependence of directing by the controls conditioned air. The controls depart from a temperature registration of the organism and climate registration (temperature, air humidity and -speed) in the space at two respective height levels. With an at a first level established relation between climate parameters and organism temperature an expectation in organism temperature is determined on the basis of a change in the climate parameters at the second level.