Energy Consumption of Plant Factory with Artificial Light: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Plant factory with artificial light (PFAL) is a promising technology for relieving the food crisis, especially in urban areas or arid regions endowed with abundant resources. However, lighting and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems of PFAL have led to much greater energy consumption than open-field and greenhouse farming, limiting the application of PFAL to a wider extent. Recent researches pay much more attention to the optimization of energy consumption in order to develop and promote the PFAL technology with reduced energy usage. This work comprehensively summarizes the current energy-saving methods on lighting, HVAC systems, as well as their coupling methods for a more energy-efficient PFAL. Besides, we offer our perspectives on further energy-saving strategies and exploit the renewable energy resources for PFAL to respond to the urgent need for energy-efficient production.