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  • Author Author: m.ratcliffe
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Automated Green House Blog:11.x - Self Optimising Automated Nutrient Doser - EC Optimisation

m.ratcliffe

This week has been a busy week on the farm, not that much work done regarding the project.

 

In the last Blog [11] we covered how to make a self learning Hydropinics nutrient doser, it worked out the system variables to keep the growing fluid at the specified EC. This works very well, but we might be able to go one step further.

 

This Blog will cover the theory and implementation of optimising the EC set-point for the grow system. That is instead of the user specifying the EC setpoint we will let the controller optimise the set point for itself.

 

Basic theory:

 

A plant will only take the nutrients it requires from the growing fluid. The concentration of the growing fluid is dependant on:

>Temperature

>Sunlight intensity

>Plant strain

>CO2 abundance

 

A lot of variables here, so not well suited to model based optimisation. Instead we will be using feedback to optimise the situation.

[More to come her]

 

Again not much work has been done this week, the code and more info will be online next week.

 

Keep watching,

Mike

  • in reply to DAB

    Hey Dab thanks for the feedback as always,

     

    This Blog isnt saying any of the previous ideas dont work, just we are evolving the automation to the next level. With the end goal of a full automated and optimised control system that is plug and play so to speak, no in depth knowledge needed.

    In some cases we cannot control all of the variables due to cost concerns but we should be able to adapt to the changes pretty well.

     

    Farming can be a hard job, but worthwhile. Especially the tasting part, Ive got some chillies just cropped that are beauties.

  • Now you understand why farming is a hard job.

    So many things are beyond your control and you seldom get ideal growing seasons.

     

    One of the objectives of indoor farming is to create that optimal environment to establish consistent crop yields.

     

    The biggest problem is learning what those optimal conditions are for a given plant type.

     

    You should have many years of exciting research and tasty sampling ahead of you.

     

    DAB