Design and management of PFALs

Abstract The components of the design and management (D&M) system of plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs) are analyzed and discussed in this chapter. A core part of the PFAL D&M system is a model of the interaction among the plants, environment, and cultivation room. The features, structure, functions, and usefulness of our PFAL-D&M system are described. It is emphasized that the rates of supply of electricity, water, and CO2 in a highly airtight PFAL can be measured accurately and continuously, and their use efficiencies (ratio of the amount of a resource fixed by plants to the amount of the resource supplied) can be estimated online. Some typical estimated values of the hourly and monthly electricity consumption, coefficient of performance (COP) of air conditioners, light and temperature distributions, and plant growth are presented to show the performance of the PFAL-D&M system. It is noted that the rates of net photosynthesis (net CO2 uptake) and water uptake of plants can be measured based on the CO2 and water balance equations of the cultivation room (see Chapter 5 ).