DAD & Raymond
-Team Members
Danilo Rincon Camacho
Electrical Engineering
Raymond Li
Computer Engineering
Abby Anthes
Environmental Engineering
Daniel Jeon
(Undecided) Engineering
Problem Statement
Indoor Cannabis Farming in the Northeast is both costly and inefficient due to high rates of energy consumption associated with ventilation and convection.
User/Purchaser
Indoor cannabis cultivators in the northeast (mostly New England area) who operate out of large warehouses.
Magnitude
Current State of the Art
This is a new industry, therefore alternative solutions to current ventilation practices do not exist.
Prototype (Version 1) & Design Drawing
Problems with V1
Styrofoam offers very poor insulation so a lot of heat is escaping the system.
Through research and trial-and-error, we found that the lights we plan to install need to be a certain height away from the plant for optimal growth.
The computer fans we initially used did not have enough CPM for displacement ventilation.
Making the structure out of styrofoam was not sturdy and reliable for other potential parts that were to be added to the system.
Final Prototype (Version 2)
Iterative Design Changes (from Prototype 1)
wooden exterior to support lighting implements
optimized lighting and exhaust fan using PPFD and CPM
replaced PVC exhaust tubing with aluminum ducts to increase heat transfer with surroundings
Future Design Considerations
In a scaled-up system, we can use a Air to Air Heat Exchanger device to cool larger volumes of air
Incorporate Insulation Foam at the ceiling of the system
Thermoelectric materials pads improve heat exchange rates at the bottom of the system
Testing
Raised temperature of box to 31℃(87.8 ℉)
Optimal temperature for cannabis growth around 30℃(86℉)
Tested time needed for each of the 2 ventilation system to lower temperature of box by 1℃ to 30℃(86℉)
Displacement Ventilation: cold air blown from bottom
Conventional: cold air blown from top
Ethics and Sustainability
Acknowledgement: Our project does not seek to condone or promote the growth or use of cannabis. We simply discovered a key environmental issue associated with cannabis' production and sought out a solution to increase the industry's energy efficiency.
Ethics
Due to legal restriction on cannabis growth in certain states in the country, our product is limited to only being applicable to states that have legalized cannabis production
Within the Northeast/New England, all states except New Hampshire have legalized cannabis cultivation, so our product can be safely implemented across most of the region without breaking state laws.
Our product exhibits no potentially harmful hazards or risks for its users, as the ventilation system optimizes an indoor air temperature of between 85 -90 degrees Fahrenheit which is of no risk to people.
Sustainability
Okala Impact points help us identify material alternatives to reduce the environmental harm of our product.
User Feedback
We have emailed multiple local farms and some cannabis farms down in Massachusetts inquiring about our displacement ventilation system. Unfortunately, we have not heard back from any of these groups, but we will update the page as soon as we do.
Business Plan
