Controlled Environment Agriculture
MEP engineering and controls for greenhouses and vertical farms
Whether you are glazing a new greenhouse range or stacking ten tiers in a converted warehouse, the mechanical, electrical and control scope is what decides whether your rooms actually hold setpoint. We design that scope and build the systems that run it, from load calculations through commissioning.
Greenhouses
A greenhouse has almost no thermal mass and an enormous solar swing, so the same range can be shedding heat at 6am and fighting it by noon. Sizing for peak alone gives you equipment that short cycles most of the year.
- Heating and ventilation. Unit heaters, hot water and perimeter systems, ridge and roll-up vent control, exhaust fan and evaporative pad staging, and horizontal airflow layouts that keep the canopy uniform.
- Energy and shade curtains. Staged retraction tied to light and temperature so you are not trading away light to hold heat.
- Supplemental lighting. Fixture selection and layout against your light and photoperiod targets, with distribution sized for the connected load and controls that respect utility rate windows.
- Irrigation and fertigation. Injection skids, EC and pH dosing, recirculation and filtration, boom and drip zones.
- CO2 enrichment. Distribution and interlocks with ventilation so you are not dosing straight out the vents.
Vertical and indoor farms
A sealed room removes the solar problem and replaces it with a latent one. Nearly every gallon you irrigate comes back into the air, and at tight rack pitch the hard part is moving conditioned air through the canopy instead of around it.
- Dehumidification and cooling. Latent and sensible loads calculated from irrigation rate and fixture heat rather than rules of thumb, with equipment staged for both lights-on and lights-off conditions.
- Airflow at the canopy. Distribution designed around your actual rack geometry so every tier sees the same conditions.
- Power distribution. Rack-level distribution, driver placement and service sizing for high lighting density.
- Fertigation. Recirculating nutrient delivery with dosing, filtration and sanitation, engineered as process equipment.
- Room automation. Setpoints by room and growth stage, with trending and alarms on the conditions that will cost you a crop.
What you get
Engineering and design
Load calculations, equipment selection and AutoCAD drawing sets coordinated across mechanical, electrical and plumbing, with PE stamps coordinated in the state your project is permitted in.
Controls and automation
PLC and HMI programming, SCADA for setpoints, trending and alarming, and integration with the climate and irrigation equipment you have already chosen.
Panels and power
Custom control panels, operator stations, motor control centers and wire harnesses, built to your project's listing requirements including UL 508A through our partner fabrication shops.
Planning a build or a retrofit?
Send us your room count, target crop and stage plan, and we will tell you what the mechanical, electrical and controls scope actually looks like.
Designing and building controlled environment and industrial facilities since 2012. Based in Carol Stream, Illinois, with projects nationwide.